Wildlife Adventures In Zambia

Such Varied Wildlife Adventures In Zambia

We were excited about all our great wildlife adventures in Zambia.  Our stay at the Thorntree River Lodge was a relaxing and luxurious break.  But we did not pass on opportunities to get close to the animals.

This great African adventure was planned to experience the African Big Five animals – elephants, rhinos, buffalo, lions and leopards.  We were a bit disappointed that there were no big cats in the game parks close to our safari lodge in Zambia.  And we never caught sight of buffalos on our day trips.  But we were quite delighted with the elephant, rhino and other wildlife sights we got.  

Each day trip adventure gave us more great wildlife experiences on this stop on our amazing African adventure.  And some other fun too!

Seeing Wildlife In Zambia

We met our private guide Nevi when we crossed the border into Zambia and headed for the Thorntree River Lodge.  He was a wonderful guide for our 3 days in Zambia and went out of his way to provide the adventures we sought.  

Unlike on our next game drives at Sabi Sabi Earth Lodge, there was no tracker on the jeep with Nevi.  So all of our eyes constantly searched for signs of life in the trees.  He introduced us to the concept of “ALT” or “Animal Like Things”.  Not everything that looked like a wild animal was really alive. 

Many times Nevi stopped the jeep and got out when he saw animal tracks on the ground.  We had no idea how he saw them as we travelled.

We had several choices for day trip excursions into the in Mosi-Oa-Tunya National Park on our safari lodge stay in Zambia.  Most of our choices got us great animal experiences.  Although we were so glad we also made time to tour Victoria Falls from the ground and by helicopter too.

We chose one evening game drive that offered an up-close encounter with white rhinos.  Leaving our jeeps gave us an unparalleled view. On another morning we did a game drive and caught the early risers.  It was wonderful to see elephants, zebra and giraffes.  And monkeys too.  When we watched carefully, we saw antelope and warthogs running away when they heard the jeep.

We went out on boat cruises on the Zambezi River both at sunset and sunrise.  It was a great way to get closer to the hippos in the water. And we even saw two crocodiles!

We found lots of opportunities for wildlife adventures in Zambia.

Seeing Wildlife In Zambia

We got our first view of elephants right on the resort as they wandered through.  It was a very amazing way to start our stay at the Thorntree River Lodge.  

Our second view of elephants was equally as interesting, if not as close.  When we did a night cruise on the Zambezi River as the sun set, we saw elephants on the far banks of the river.  They were a lovely sight as they glowed with the sunset light.

On our first afternoon game drive, we found a family of elephants by the water hole.  We were fascinated as we watched them drinking from their trunks.  We were delighted when our zoom lens showed us that the youngster sure had it figured out!

When we went out for our early morning game drive, we saw movement in the woods beside our jeep.  And were rewarded with a close-up view of an elephant to start our day.

We saw lots of elephants on our first trip to Africa.  But we never tired of finding more elephant wildlife adventures in Zambia.  

A Close Up Experience With White Rhinos

We had previous close encounters with white rhinos on a game drive near Richards Bay at Huhluwe Game Reserve in South Africa.  On our game drive excursions when we took the Rovos Rail train from Pretoria to Victoria Falls we learned a little about white rhinos.  The “white” was not the colour of “white rhinos”.  The word “white” actually came from the Afrikaans word for “wide” for the very wide jaw of the “white rhinos”.  Close up views of the rhinos confirmed these were white rhinos.

One of the special day trip excursions on our stay at the safari resort in Zambia was a walk with the rhinos.  We went into the Mosi-Oa-Tunya National Park and began our search for the rhinos.  This excursion was done with a trained ranger equipped with a gun.  Nevi got instructions on where to meet the ranger.  When we parked our jeep, we stayed put but saw the rhinos in the distance by the watering hole.

Once our ranger joined us, we were given instructions for leaving the jeep for a closer view as the hippos moved away from the watering hole.  We were told to walk in a single file and to avoid any loud our quick movements.  He led us through the trees and placed us a safe distance back from where the rhinos had stopped. 

It was interesting to be out of the jeep with rhinos close by and we felt safe during this stop.  But there were 3 other groups positioned where we stood.  And our viewing time was only about 10 minutes.  But we were still happy on our wildlife adventures in Zambia to get this unique rhino opportunity. 

We Saw Hippos All Day Long

On a previous visit to the Aquila Game Reserve from Cape Town we found hippos in a shallow mud hole and we got a great look at them playing.

This stay at the Thorntree River Lodge was right on the Zambezi River. All day long we heard the hippos barking in the water just off our lodge. With a zoom lens we just caught sight of their heads. We were warned that the hippos often came out of the water around our resort as dark approached. But we never saw any hippos out of the water on this visit to Zambia.

When we took a cruise on the Zambezi River at sunset and then again at sunrise, we got a chance for a bit closer look at the hippos. We saw the ears wiggle, sometimes they spouted water and once we caught a hippo yawn way off in the distance.

It was cool to know there were hippos in the water everywhere. But we would have loved to see more than just hippo heads. Interesting but a bit disappointing wildlife adventures in Zambia.  

Always Delighted When We Saw Giraffes And Zebra

While we planned our great African adventure to see the African Big Five animals, we were always so delighted when we found giraffes on our game drives.

We got our first giraffe treat on our stay at the Thorntree River Lodge before we even checked in. Our guide Nevi told us to watch for animals as we drove down the long driveway. He suddenly stopped and had us locate a giraffe buried in the trees. We wondered if he radioed ahead and had the blow-up giraffe inflated for our arrival. But the zoom lens view showed it really was our first giraffe.

On our early morning game drive, we were surprised when a giraffe wandered across the road ahead of the jeep. We watched the unique gait. The legs one one side moved and then the other side moved. After stopping in the road to check us out, the giraffe continued into the trees.

We watched the giraffe attack the tree tops. We learned they used their very long tongues to pull off the leaves surrounded by thorns. And we caught that great sight with the zoom lens!

If we were delighted when the giraffe crossed the road, we were even more happy when a group of zebra crossed in another part of the game park. We stopped the jeep and watched the group (a “dazzle”) move in single file. They stopped in a field beside our jeep and we got a great close-up look at the zebras.

Zebras were always fun to watch. We learned that zebras were actually black with white stripes. And that the black and white colour helped with temperature regulation. Every game drive was such an eduction!

We always smiled when we caught sight of giraffes and zebras on our wildlife adventures in Zambia.

A Look At The Fast Running Antelope

As we drove past large open fields, we often saw large groups of impala in the distance. They scattered as we drew near. On our afternoon game drive, we found a group with youngsters by the river when we stopped for sunset. But they too loped away when we stopped the jeep.

Unlike on our game drives at the Sabi Sabi Earth Lodge, we did not find a huge range in antelope species on our visit to Zambia. Although we got our first look at the eland with its spiral horns.

It was always fun to find the fast running antelope on our wildlife adventures in Zambia.

We Found Monkeys Everywhere

When we arrived at the Thorntree River Lodge we were warned that there were monkeys everywhere on the resort. We had this same experience when we stayed at the Iguazu Falls in Argentina. The baboons wandered all over the property. We regularly saw them lope through our yard and into the trees along the Zambezi River. Several times the paths to our suite were swarmed with smaller monkeys that climbed on everything.

On our game drives, the baboons were a bit less visible as they scurried away from the jeep. But we knew they were close by watching. One time we even caught a view of a vervet monkey with its baby.

Monkeys were a regular sight on our wildlife adventures in Zambia.

Special Experiences On Game Drives

On our morning game drive, we stopped at the Old Drift Cemetery.  Nevi shared a bit about the early European settlers in the area.  This cemetery was the last resting place for a number of the those settlers.  

We learned about the African tradition of “Sundowner” on our game drive excursions when we took the Rovos Rail train from Pretoria to Victoria Falls.  On our safari stay in Zambia we took a boat cruise on the Zambezi River and enjoyed a Sundowner as the sun set. We got our second Sundowner experience in Zambia on our evening game drive with Nevi.  And on our early morning game drive, Nevi came prepared with some treats as we watched the sun rise.

We loved all the great animal adventures in Zambia. But we enjoyed the variety of other things we experienced too.

A Great Stay With So Many Wildlife Adventures In Zambia

We had a great stay at the Thorntree River Lodge and were so happy we had so many wildlife adventures in Zambia.  We found animals right on our lodge property, on daily game drives and on cruises on the Zambezi River.

This great river safari stay sure added to the experiences on our African adventure. It made us so excited and prepared for our next safari lodge stay at the Sabi Sabi Earth Lodge in South Africa.

Have you enjoyed wildlife adventures in Zambia?  What was your favourite?

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