The Guest Who Walks in Zambia

By Srinivas Krishnan

There is an old jungle saying: “The tourist who walks deep into the bush understands the heart of Africa best.”
Apologies to Lee Falk and his famous comic creation, the Phantom, but we guess you understand the sentiment behind that ‘old jungle saying’. Because if you want to absorb the real wild Africa, you have to immerse yourself and be a part of the jungle, like our ancestors did for thousands of years. The only difference is that you can do it in great comfort and safety, with a dash of luxury.

It’s a different experience altogether compared to watching the bush unfold from the back of a vehicle. In a mobile walking safari, you are one with the vast sky, the distant horizons, the teeming wildlife, the lush flora, the untamed waters, the unpolluted air and the breath-taking sunsets. All your five senses are on a refined state of alertness, allowing you to take in the bush in its real state, where even seemingly insignificant sounds, smells and sights get highlighted. The flutter of a bird’s wing, the cry of an animal, the rustle in the grass, the distant sounds of water gushing, the smell of the earth… It’s like being inside a David Attenborough documentary! Sounds like an adventure, right?

The mobile walking safari in the unspoiled South Luangwa National Park in the beautiful, blessed and peaceful country of Zambia is a unique African adventure. The Park is unsullied and offers you Africa in its primal, natural form. The magic is because of the seasonal flooding that, with its ebbs and flows, makes it inaccessible by road. Consequently, there is a terrific concentration of game in this Park and it hosts some of the most varied collections of wildlife on this planet.

Centred in and around the Luangwa River, there are over 400 species of bird, large pods of hippos, as well as lion, leopard, elephant, unique zebra and giraffe species as well as the extremely endangered African wild dog. Now imagine walking through it, accompanied by a campsite that moves along with you. Of course, you will be accompanied by an experienced naturalist who will ensure you know and understand more than what you’d get by watching a documentary on the telly. You will be taught how to spot clues, hone your skills as well as use your senses to the fullest to truly discover the African bush. From tiny ants to humongous elephants, from understanding the intricacies of a bird’s nest to tracking a lion, you will experience the rawness of wild Africa the way it’s meant to be.

You must be thinking that’s fine during the day, but many of these animals are nocturnal. True. Which is why you can go on a drive in a specially customized vehicle which is equipped with a powerful spotlight – so you can witness the mighty cats and other animals in the darkness too.


Starting your trip at the ideally situated Nkwali Camp which has an excellent view of the Luangwa River, you begin your orientation of the African jungle. Your walking experience starts soon after, along the Mupamadzi river (which is a major tributary of the Luangwa), through remote parts of the park. The camps will be set and ready to welcome you from your walks through the bush. They are well-equipped with walk-in tents, with a shower under a tree while the toilet is a wooden throne with a long drop. Camping out in the open in the true African wilderness is an unmissable experience, especially at night with the vast sky and the countless stars to look up to… with the inimitable noises of the jungle providing the scene with a soundtrack!


Will the walks through the bush be strenuous? Well, if you are moderately fit, you should be able to accomplish the adventure with not much effort. Want to test it out rather easily? Try running for about 50 metres; if you can do it, then you are on! The walking safari, on the varied ground, averages about 10 km daily, but you have a staggering four hours to accomplish it. So it’s a decent pace, which allows you more time to observe and watch the real African bush.

But the walking safari is not only about giving your shoes a good work out. You get to relax and rest your weary legs at some very good spots. For instance, the Tena Tena camp, which is located in a remote section of the National Park, sits atop a sweeping bend of the Luangwa River. From the comfort of the camp, you can watch elephants, hippos and antelopes pretend as if you are not there. You will also get to spend some time at the Nsefu game camp, which was the first one to be set up in Zambia way back in the early 1950s. This one overlooks a waterhole, where you can observe game during the day and leopards in the night.


Sounds good? Come with us for the Walking Safari in Zambia – you can be our Guest Who Walks, who makes old jungle sayings come true!

Email: askus@thewanderers.co.in

Check out our package on Zambia : Zambia Package

Iceland: Shoot your own saga

By Srinivas Krishnan

The great Nordic stories and tales set in that magical realm called Iceland are alive even today. The sagas are epics of great battles and journeys, larger-than-life heroes and heroines and reflections of human nature and condition.

The landscape in which these sagas typically unfolded is strange, bizarre and eerie even by today’s standards. God seems to have taken a break from creation and let nature do its own thing in Iceland. It’s a place that’s highly unusual from what we are used to. No wonder the sagas developed here; it’s a mysterious land where you’ll find it difficult to separate reality from illusion.

Wouldn’t it be great then, to capture it all with your own camera and make an Icelandic saga of your own?

Picture perfect

Iceland is a geographical wonderland. Built on basaltic rock, Iceland is also geologically young. And you know how temperamental youngsters can be! It is a geologically active hotspot, with not just volcanoes, but glaciers, waterfalls, geysers, ice caves, lagoons and black-sand beaches. Then, of course, are the magnificent Northern Lights These unique characteristics give Iceland its otherworldly, surreal look that makes it a great setting for futuristic or mythological movies as well as makes it the hottest destination for photographers.

Imagine:

• Shooting water from a cavern behind the 63-meter drop of the mighty Seljalandfoss waterfalls
• Attempting to capture the double rainbow created by the spray of the Skogafoss waterfalls on sunny days
• Doing justice to the black sand and imposing basalt columns of Reynisfjara beach
• Visiting the mind-blowing Vatnajokull National Park with Europe’s largest glacier at its core and getting mesmerized by the Aurora high above.


• Trying to shoot serene ice crystals that wash up on the black sands at the edge of Jokulsarlon glacial lagoon
• Getting dumbstruck and forgetting to take pictures inside of the incredible ice caves that tunnel deep into the Vatnajokull glacier
• Contemplating the rift between the two continental plates at Thingvellir National Park, capturing the mighty Gullfoss waterfall and observing the turbulent geothermal area that gave us the word ‘geyser’

In fact, you don’t have to imagine it anymore. Plan on a Winter Photography Workshop Tour of Iceland with The Wanderers and you can actually do it…

Photo finish

What’s special about the Winter Photography Workshop Tour of Iceland with The Wanderers? Well, let’s say once you do it, you will never get behind the lens of a camera and not think of Iceland.

• The tour is led by award-winning professional landscape photographers who will impart their skills to sharpen yours
• It can accommodate all levels of photography skills – whether you are the point-and-shoot type or think you are the next Ansel Adams
• Travel aboard custom-built four-wheel drive vehicles that are safe and comfortable
• Be part of a small group of not more than 14 participants, to give you individual attention
• Travel to – and of course shoot professional quality photographs of – some of the most stunning landscapes on God’s own Earth, including some remote parts of south Iceland
• Stay in comfortable and the best hotels in the individual locations

Don’t dream of it. Go on our Iceland Photography Tour and come back with beautiful memories stored in precious pixels…

Call us or mail The Wanderers today to know more about how you can create your own Icelandic pictorial saga!

Call Farah: 9820904765

Email: askus@thewanderers.co.in

Check out our package: Iceland: Winter Photography Workshop