Page 24 - 2017 ZAMBIA

Land Safaris

After our amazing experiences with Philemon at Kakuli who greatly
spoiled us with his knowledge, his excellently planned routes and his

clear understanding of our hopes for each game drive, we were
probably doomed to be disappointed in George here at Chongwe. And

we were! During our first few drive safaris, we had some difficulty
communicating with George, our driver guide. He did not seem to
understand when the birders wanted to stop for a better view or when

Kay wanted time to get the perfect picture and he would just go on
ahead.

He also seemed intimidated by the expertise of our 4 skilled birders. He

misidentified at least three bird species they had easily recognized. That
certainly dimmed their appreciation of his guiding skills. Soon he

stopped trying to spot or identify birds at all.

Another failing was his seeming misunderstanding of our wish to see

the wild dogs said to be in the area. He told us that they were usually at
airfield between 6:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m. So when did he get us to the

airfield? At 8:30 a.m. and the dogs had gone to bed by then. Since he
knew the hours when they would most likely be seen, we were

disgruntled that he never got us there during that window of
opportunity. We repeatedly told him that we were more than willing to

start the morning safaris earlier but that seemed to make no difference
to the "plans" in his head.

He also seemed determined that we should explore every different
habitat in the park, including the mountainous area, even though he

admitted that at this time of year there would be very little bird or
animal life up there. He also reported that the drive would be long and

arduous and probably take up most of our safari time on whatever day
he decided to take us up. We were in consternation about what to do