Luxury is a swimming pool in an African safari bush camp

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Category: Life

Published on Saturday, 24 August 2013 17:36

Written by Maximus Jayme Gonzaga / Text and photos

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SINCE time immemorial, exotic endeavors have been known to be the blight of man.

From the perspective of natural history, he was able to jump from a single-celled organism to the complexity of a humanoid, finally stretching his spine to a more vertical axis, perhaps to reach the bough of a tree. But in a remote Zambian wildlife reserve, one of the most primeval places in the planet, the hunger games of the species have turned into something else. Fruit is neither reached for nor food scavenged; a dining table is set before brunch hour in the Anglo-Saxon style. Instead, one jumps into the swimming pool and waits for hippos and elephants. A proposition to go sunbathing hangs in the air when you opt for deluxe accommodations in the African outback.

To get to Zambia, one takes a British Airways jet and arrives in Lusaka, the capital city. A short day trip in the urban center ends the next morning with a propeller-driven flight to Mfuwe. From there, 4×4 Land Rovers can take one to any of a dozen bush camps.

Zambia is a land-locked country in the south of Africa. Blessed with a tropical climate on a terrain of mostly high plateau with some hills and mountains dissected by river valleys, the country with the size of Texas overflows, not with oil, but with lots of fresh water. Zambia was named after the great Zambezi River, which feeds into the Seventh Wonder of the World, Victoria Falls (which was featured recently in the Travel Section).

The Zambezi has two large tributaries, the Kafue and the Luangwa, which have provided life blood for two of the planet’s most legendary game reserves, the Kafue National Park, the largest and most exotic in the country; and the South Luangwa National Park, one of the very few that allows nighttime safaris. (Watch out for our feature stories on the Kafue and the South Luangwa. The travel group did not opt to visit the more prominent Serengeti in Kenya due to reports that it was under maintenance.)

A man in the wild is an island

THE saying that “No man is an island” may be refuted in the bush camp where one can be the start and end of all. Arguably, it only takes one man for the species to survive in the wild. All he needs are his tools.

But that would be quite solitary, right?

Mfuwe Lodge, the pioneer since the 1960s and the largest in South Luangwa, was completely rebuilt and refurbished for today’s world traveler. Located within the park, the lodge is hidden under an umbrella of ebony and mahogany trees. Its thatched-roofed chalets dot the banks of two lagoons where guests can find reverie in the wildlife. A wooden open-air resort deck beckons travelers to take a dip in a swimming pool or consume a few nibbles in the al-fresco dining area. The deck, crowned by a mahogany tree, allows views of elephants, hippos and other animals dipping in the Luangwa River. It is perhaps the most perfect spot in the planet to have brunch, as our travel group found out. With a nearby bar, barbecue pits, food servers and armed attendants, what else does one need in order to survive in the wild?

Open all-year-round, Mfuwe Lodge maintains 18 roomy, en-suite chalets with electricity, warm showers and private verandas, aside from the lodge’s spa and curio shop. The establishment offers day-and-night game excursions in the South Luangwa National Park, plus walking safaris, provided by third-party specialists.

On the brink of sounding comedic, I only have one complaint about my stay in Mfuwe Lodge. Perhaps, it may be a glowing testament to the venue’s proximity to the animal kingdom. Being a light slumberer, I wasn’t able to get much sleep at night, perhaps owing to jet lag and the hippos that were making a racket. Near my chalet was a marsh of noisy and gregarious hippopotamus which, by day, were enigmatically quiet, but gave off the snorts and the sounds of pigs at night. Like humans, they were also partying in the wild. I decided to go to the bar. I wanted to hear safari stories on the eve of our assault in the South Luangwa.

In Photo: The deck at Mfuwe Lodge features a swimming pool, a luxury to punctuate an African safari. (Right photo) The deck also serves as an al-fresco dining area and is perhaps the most conducive place for brunch in the planet.