Happy Birthday Jay!!!
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We arrived in Busanga on Tuesday, November 6th after the longest travel day for us in a long time. Up at 5 AM in Cape Town to fly South African Airways to Johannesburg. Jo’burg via South African to Lusaka, Zambia. Both flights fully booked. Lusaka by 4 seater plane to Lunga River Airstrip (2 hour flight) and finally a helicopter ride (20 minutes) from Lunga to Busanga.
Was it worth it?
You bet. Look at the photos. Busanga is “lion country” and we followed the Busanga pride of lions for three days – 4 females, 2 cubs and 2 males. They are fascinating animals but they are still “killing machines” as our guide reminded us. The cheetahs were as spectacular as we remembered, the hippos extremely entertaining, and the zebra spectacular to look at. Some of the other wildlife we have seen include hyena, impala, puku, warthogs and various antelope species. Our guide, Mike, was terrific and a never-ending source of information on the fauna and flora.
The bushcamp itself was very primitive. The bed was covered by canvas and netting, but the bathroom was open to the sky and got rained on several times. Susan and I have never seen so many bugs in our room as Busanga.
Thank God for mosquito netting. Every day greets us with a 5 AM wake up call, followed by a very light breakfast and then about a 4-5 hour drive in the bush. We return to a full brunch and then siesta until 4 PM. After tea and hors d’ouvres, we set out on another drive until sunset, during which we have “sundowners” on the plains. 
We arrived in Busanga on Tuesday, November 6th after the longest travel day for us in a long time. Up at 5 AM in Cape Town to fly South African Airways to Johannesburg. Jo’burg via South African to Lusaka, Zambia. Both flights fully booked. Lusaka by 4 seater plane to Lunga River Airstrip (2 hour flight) and finally a helicopter ride (20 minutes) from Lunga to Busanga.Was it worth it?
You bet. Look at the photos. Busanga is “lion country” and we followed the Busanga pride of lions for three days – 4 females, 2 cubs and 2 males. They are fascinating animals but they are still “killing machines” as our guide reminded us. The cheetahs were as spectacular as we remembered, the hippos extremely entertaining, and the zebra spectacular to look at. Some of the other wildlife we have seen include hyena, impala, puku, warthogs and various antelope species. Our guide, Mike, was terrific and a never-ending source of information on the fauna and flora.The bushcamp itself was very primitive. The bed was covered by canvas and netting, but the bathroom was open to the sky and got rained on several times. Susan and I have never seen so many bugs in our room as Busanga.
Thank God for mosquito netting. Every day greets us with a 5 AM wake up call, followed by a very light breakfast and then about a 4-5 hour drive in the bush. We return to a full brunch and then siesta until 4 PM. After tea and hors d’ouvres, we set out on another drive until sunset, during which we have “sundowners” on the plains. 
Susan has so far made it out of bed on time, with minimal negative comments. We’ll see how long she lasts.
The weather has been unpredictable. We left all our warm clothing in Cape Town, only to find Busanga very cold, with rain coming down in buckets the second day. It warmed up enough the day we left to put on shorts for the first time.
We are being allowed to use the camp’s administrative internet to post this blog. We’re not sure when we’ll get to you next, but keep posted. Aside from sharing our dinners with a large variety of flying insects, and our room with more nature than we had planned, we are having a ball!
The weather has been unpredictable. We left all our warm clothing in Cape Town, only to find Busanga very cold, with rain coming down in buckets the second day. It warmed up enough the day we left to put on shorts for the first time.
We are being allowed to use the camp’s administrative internet to post this blog. We’re not sure when we’ll get to you next, but keep posted. Aside from sharing our dinners with a large variety of flying insects, and our room with more nature than we had planned, we are having a ball!
