South Luangwa - A Photographer’s Dream
Award-winning photographer and team member, Bret Charman, looks back on his time leading photography tours in Zambia's South Luangwa National Park.
After finishing my studies I was looking for a little adventure and settled on a different type of ‘gap year’ – I ended up managing a remote bush camp in the remote southern reaches of South Luangwa National Park. I spent months enjoying the magical surrounds of the Luangwa Valley and photographing the wildlife when I had a moment. Fast forward nine years, and I was back in the valley, leading three ‘affordable’ photography tours. It wasn’t long before I was back in safari mode and working with our local guides to get our groups the best photography opportunities.
The first week seemed to be all about the lions, with 30 different individuals spotted on one particular day. However, it was also a great week for spotted cats too – we saw six leopards overall and had some beautiful sightings. Photographic highlights included numerous close encounters with the big cats (particularly lion cubs), but also a very young baby elephant suckling from its mother, glorious carmine bee-eater colonies and numerous species of antelope. Our guide Jonathan was a delight throughout, always working closely with me to get the vehicle in the right place for the best angles and light. Having our own private vehicle, obviously, made all the difference as we were able to dictate the plan for each day.
Our second group arrived the day our first group left the valley and on the following morning, we headed out into the park for the first time. This first drive started as the week went on, it was a leopard bonanza, with an adolescent leopard walking right in front of the vehicle. The second day was even better. We had heard of a leopard kill and went to investigate, only to find the leopard was in a tree and the kill was on the ground nearby. We decided to wait close to the kill as a heavy downpour soaked the parched landscape. Our patience paid off as the leopard came to drink from a puddle some 10 yards away and then settled down to feed on the kill – we were in the prime spot and the group all managed to capture some fantastic images. There was another day when we came across large female leopard sat perfectly in a huge open tree, we had her all to ourselves for around half an hour as a herd of elephant started to feed around the base of the tree. It really was perfect. On the final day of the second week, we were able to enjoy a pride of lions defending their kill from a huge kettle of vultures, with a young male desperately doing his best to defend the meal. Our guide on this particular week was Bwalya, with his passion for photography shining through and his knowledge of the wildlife was excellent.
The final week proved to be the most varied, every day seemed to be completely different and equally rewarding. New born giraffes, mating lions, lions on numerous kills, hunting leopards and birdlife galore – you name it, we had it. Sometimes it seemed hard to keep up as to the sheer number of sightings we had, and the photography opportunities came thick and fast. For me, one of the real highlights was the first evening with the mating lions – they not only performed right next to the vehicle but they posed perfectly for some truly stunning portrait photography. When wildlife co-operates, it obviously makes it easier, and with the expert guidance of Geoffrey, we were able to see such a diverse number of species.
Our last morning in the park, only hours before we caught our flight back to Lusaka, was surely one of our best. We had two leopard sightings and a lioness on a baby giraffe kill. It was the leopard known as Lucy that proved to be the star of the show. Just before we were about to leave the park, for the final time, we decided to check up on her. As the other vehicles left, to make their way back to their respective lodges, Lucy started to show signs that she might be about to move. Something was bothering her and she was obviously unsettled. It was then we realised she was being attacked by either a biting, or stinging insect and she decided to walk down the branch towards us – it was the perfect way to end the trip.
Africa has always had a certain hold over me. It has well and truly embedded itself within me. I can’t wait to be back and I am very excited to lead three more trips in 2020, with new departures in 2021.
Join Bret in South Luangwa National Park if you want an African photography safari at an unrivalled price. Contact the team for more information.
