travelandleisureindia.inthe lechwe, guarded the shoebill nests, and started training
people to do commercial bee-keeping. The fish stocks are
recovering, and lechwe are up to 50,000 animals.”
The lechwe graze in the dry areas and buck through the
water in surging parties. “It sounds like it’s raining all
night,” Stuart said. “But it’s lechwe. You’ll see them jumping
at sunrise.”
FOR THE REST OF THE DAY, we explored the area around
the lodge, readying ourselves for our quest for the shoebill the
next day. From the waving tips of the tall phragmites, which
are pale bronze reeds, tubed, and feathered like bamboo, to the
flicking hops of tiny frogs, the wetlands are a world of profuse
motion and colour, the waters constantly shining and pulsing.
This is not an easy place to live. We visited a family
encamped in huts on a small area of dry ground. They had
almost nothing. When I asked about the highlights of their
year, the mother immediately said March, when the fishing
ban ends. The months when they cannot fish are grindingly
hard. But with all the evidence pointing to the fact that, without
a ban, the stocks would collapse entirely, African Parks has
taken a tough line: the greatest good for the greatest number,
in the name of long-term sustainability.
As we headed back to the camp, four wattled cranes flew
over, towing the evening toward sunset. Women and children
stepped home along the dikes. I found it moving just to be
there, as if we had found the shifting green heart of the
continent. When night fell, the stars were shockingly bright,
the Milky Way a vast arch in clouds of light above us. Lechwe
surged through the water as Stuart had predicted, and toward
dawn the voices of fishermen gave way to cockerels crowing.
After breakfast, we set out to find the shoebill. Standing
up to five feet tall, with ungainly long legs and a comically
enormous bill, these birds look like fantasy creatures from a
children’s poem. The search would require an hour of
paddling and a two-and-a-half-hour walk, Jackson
informed us. Through reed tunnels and channels we
punted, along broken dikes we jumped,
through streams and pools we waded, up
to our thighs in swamp.
“Watch out for leeches,” Rod said.
“Any crocodiles?”
“Not really.”
The sense of life in abundance was
thrilling; the vast scale of the sky and the
water were humbling. Here were
currents, channels, and limpid ponds, an
entire universe gleaming like a new day.
“I came here as a baby,” Jackson said.
“My father was a fisherman. He sent me
and four brothers to school. When the last
boy finished, the big man died. His work
was done.”
Jackson led us on. Fifteen minutes
later he stood up suddenly, wobbling in
the canoe.
“Binoculars!”
I passed them.
“Yes!” he cried. “Shoebill!”
And there was the tall hunched figure,
the bird with the dinosaur face. We were
exhilarated, as if we had encountered an
alien regent in an unearthly kingdom.
The shoebill cocked its huge crested
head and regarded us briefly, then
stepped into the wind and climbed slowly
into the air.ZAMBIA, FROM SAVANNA TO WETLANDS
Begin with a classic safari in South Luangwa National Park,
before witnessing innovative conservation techniques
in the Bangweulu swamp.GETTING THERE
One-stop flights are available
from most Indian metros to
Lusaka. From Lusaka’s
Kenneth Kaunda International
Airport, Proflight Zambia
(proflight-zambia.com) flies
to South Luangwa’s Mfuwe
Airport in just over an hour.
From there, it’s a short drive
to South Luangwa National
Park. To Shoebill Island Camp,
in the Bangweulu Wetlands,
hour-long chartered flights
are available from Mfuwe
Airport. Transfer to and from
the camp is by canoe and
takes 40 minutes.STAY
Shenton Safaris (shenton
safaris.com) offers Kaingo
Camp, which has six chalets on
the Luangwa River (from
`60,423 per person), and
Mwamba Camp, which hasfour chalets on the Mwamba
River (from `56,990 per
person). Access to a range of
blinds makes this safari
company especially popular
with photographers.
In Bangweulu, Shoebill Island
Camp (tents from `44,600 per
person; shoebill island camp.
com) has four large, walk-in
safari tents with en suite
bathrooms and private decks.
There’s also a spacious
restaurant with a fireplace
and lovely views.TOUR OPERATOR
This trip was planned
and led by Rod Tether of
Natural High Safaris
(seven nights from `5,07,100
per person, all-inclusive;
natural high safaris.com).
The Uganda-born naturalist
has been leading safaris
since he was 17.A male lion, as seen on a night-time drive
in South Luangwa National Park.