Farming News
Winter wheat is now heading and farmers are looking to have a good season, receiving a good income of US$320 per tonne. Yields in Zambia average around 6 / 7 tonnes per hectare. Wheat is the most viable crop grown in Zambia at the moment and one of the few to make money. Unfortunately the price for crops like maize are controlled by Government and farmers’s can hardly give it away.
Beef is also at an all time high, one farmer said it’s the best price he has received in last 30 years. There has also been an increase is there is a huge demand by the Copper mines in the copperbelt in the north of Zambia. Huge development of billions of US$ is going into mining Copper in Zambia. In addition there has been a need for increase in chicken and pork production.
Spurwing Island - Lake Kariba (Zimbabwe)
Amongst Zimbabwe’s chaos’s it is refreshing to know there is a little haven where one can retreat to undisturbed. Spurwing Island is built on an Island within Lake Kariba on the Zimbabwean side of the Lake near the Matusadona National Park. Lake Kariba brings back a feeling of nostaligia to most ex Zimbabweans and if you ask them what they miss about Zimbabwe, invariably they will say Lake Kariba. I felt like this when we went to Spurwing Island with some friends for a long weekend. Fortunately for us Lake Kariba is only a 4 hour drive away. Spurwing Island is brilliantly run by Colin and Gill Patterson and very good value for money. Although the fishing was not great as it was rather chilly, game viewing was good and we saw plenty of elephant. For those who know Spurwing and Kariba of old, will be pleased to hear the buffalo have returned to the lake shores of Matusadona National Park. A few years ago when the Lake filled up, all their grazing was underwater, many starved, got taken out by huge prides of lion and the rest moved up to Matusadona hills. Now with Zimbabwe pumping the lake desperately for electricity the lake has gone done considerably but the grazing plains have returned and so have the buffalo.
Matusadona has an Intensive Protection Zone for Black Rhino.
It is very easy to combine Spurwing with a safari in Zambia, as we have arranged for a group of UK farmers who are visiting Spurwing in November this year, we charter clients across to Kariba airport to clear customs and then either boat or charter them across to the Island. Activities include fishing, game cruises, game drives and walks.
News from Derek Solomon, South Luangwa National Park
Wild Dogs
In late May we came on a pack of seven dogs a few minutes after they had killed a Puku on the banks of the river close to Kapamba Bushcamp. Within 20 minutes most of the carcass had been eaten and the four youngsters then played with the backbone pulling it in and out of the shallow river. After an hour the pack moved a short distance to rest in the shade of a large fallen tree before disappearing into the woodland across the river.
A few weeks later we found the pack on the main road to camp, one dog lying right in the middle of the road and moving reluctantly as we suddenly came round the corner - not sure who was the most surprised! This female then resettled on the edge of the road about 10m from the front of the vehicle. The others were lying nearby in thick bush and all had very full bellies so had obviously fed a short time before we arrived. Over the next week the pack moved between Chindene, Bilimungwe and Kapamba Bushcamps giving great views and photo opportunities.
Snared Elephant
In early June we found a herd of six elephants in front of Chindene Bushcamp that included a young female that had lost part of her trunk to a snare. Surprisingly she was in good condition but the only way she could collect food was to use a combination of foot and shortened trunk to lift food items to her mouth. Every time one of the other family members defecated she would rush over and carefully pickup the dung by curving the end of her trunk and pushing the dung onto the scoop she had created and then lifting it carefully to her mouth. As an elephant's digestion is so poor this was obviously still a reasonable source of nutrition. At one stage a younger elephant investigated a pile of fresh dung and she trumpeted furiously and chased him away from her source of food.
A little later we found the family drinking from the Chindene lagoon. This poor elephant couldn't suck up much water and had to bend right down with her mouth close to the water, the remaining end of her trunk close to water level and carefully squirted small amounts of water into her open mouth.
Egret eating Tiger Fish
During the same week we found a Great White Egret in front of Chindene Bushcamp with a huge Tiger fish that was far too big to swallow. It pecked viciously at the fish over and over to kill it, occasionally taking a short rest and then continued pecking until the fish was eventually still. Then using the sharp points of the bill it broke off small pieces that it could swallow. Finally it carried the remains off to the other side of the lagoon where it was no longer visible.
Baby Boom
The Feb/Mar floods had little impact on breeding success in the Valley. Giraffe in particular have had a good season and there are plenty of babies at the moment. Puku too have done well and several newborn youngsters were seen in June. Other babies seen during the month included elephant and zebra.
Postnet 726, P. Bag E891, Lusaka