At the beginning of July, Busanga Bush Camp (known as BBC) opened its doors to guests for the first time this season and hit the ground running. The first guests were treated to a lioness relaxing in the afternoon sun with her two playful cubs using her for pouncing practice a mere five-minute drive south of camp. She spent the next two weeks moving north and south around BBC, occasionally joined by another female who could be seen hunting from the BBC main area; unfortunately both of her hunts failed on that occasion.

While the mornings are still cold up on the plains there is still an abundance of wildlife to view from your hot water bottle-equipped game viewer. The lechwe appearing through the mist as a lazy sun breaks the horizon is one of the sights that guests talk about most and still proves to be my favourite time of the day. Soon though the ground heats up to rouse the birds and the air is filled with the beating of wings, as little bee-eaters swing out and back from their perches. With a lot of water still around the camp, the birdlife is chaotic as the waterholes are swamped by masses of African openbill, saddle-billed stork, bateleur and sacred ibis vying for fish. Orange-throated longclaw were also seen a number of times.

Neil Midlane was in residence at BBC for a short time during the month too. Neil is a lion researcher for Panthera, a wild cat conservation charity, and he is based in the northern section of the Kafue. He stopped in to explain some of his work and show his results to the guests. Neil has been in the Kafue for three years, and knows the prides and individuals intimately and is able to show a side to these magnificent creatures not often seen.

Large herds of buffalo have been hanging around the camp, and they have been mixing with the abundant elephant herds, creating a great sighting, which is topped off with the scenic splendour of the area in front of the camp, especially when the sun sets. As the water dries up, the action around camp will only intensify.

Kind regards

Joe Hadley and the Busanga Team