There is a transit road through North Luangwa and it is how most people see this park. And like most people, we too drive the transit road headed for  Kapishya Hot Springs high in the hills west of the park. First a soak in the sandy-bottom natural springs then a visit with the owners. Mark Harvey claims to remember me from nine years ago – hmmm – but the more we chat, the more remarkable his memory is. He has seen a lot in three decades in Zambia.  Maybe he does remember us. He and his wife Mell, and Michal, the camp liaison, are so enthusiastic about North Luangwa we decide to see more of it from their Buffalo Camp operation. It is a four-hour drive and well worth it, Buffalo Camp is as wild as Zambia gets.

6:15 am. Is that a lion? I ask myself, half aloud, taking my first sip of coffee. Why yes it is; nine lions in fact. Right there on the sandy bank. I have an ear to ear grin, it is a splendid sighting. Michal goes total primate – “Lions! We’ve got lions!!” he is squealing at the staff. Everyone is heading for the best vantage point. I top off my coffee first then follow them – priorities, you know. There are seven beautiful females and two six month old cubs and they don’t hang around long but that’s ok. It is time for a three hour bush walk, in the opposite direction as if these nine girls are the only lion around. All told we see three different groups of lionesses  (and two tiny baby cubs) along with clouds of bright green Lillian Lovebirds, mongoose (white-tailed, banded and slender) civet cat and the graceful Genet cats both large and small. The usual suspects, the buffalo, impala, zebra and wildebeest abound, and there are elephant. This lioness had a run in with a porcupine – she looked better the next time we saw her.

Charlie and Peanut are the resident elephants at Buffalo. Mark talks to them like we talk to our dogs – and like our dogs, Charlie and Peanut “get” what Mark says. We did not witness this, but it has been documented. Science would likely dismiss such a connection as  anecdotal but I totally believe it. Elephants are brilliant creatures. At 1am Charlie pays a visit to our chalet. We thought perhaps he wanted a shower as it sounded as if he was going to crush the thatch walls around the ablution. He was on his hind legs reaching into the winter thorn tree for the fruit with his trunk – how awesome is that? I stand on the toilet and watch. Mark can talk to Charlie about wrecking the thatch fences later, Charlie really made a mess.

Making friends fast is a fact of life on this road. We really like Michal, an engaging young man from Poland and after lunch the three of us begin a conversation about music and such – he plays guitar and is interested in hearing some of my brother’s music. Before we can get that far, a four-door Land Cruiser pulls into camp. A “big man” and three armed guards disembark and they are here for Michal. Who brings three armed men all the way to Buffalo Camp just to talk to a slight young man? The “big” man (using the term for an African man who is full of himself) is angry and the guards are serious. Michal tries to slow down the confrontation but the big man is having none of it. “Get in the car, you are wasting our time” he says. He is the head ranger for NL Park, his superior is out of reach so now he is in charge and he wants everyone to know it. We cannot interfere. Michal has solo-traveled enough to to take care of himself. He is shoved into the Toyota  in-between two armed men (he might try to escape, right?) and headed for a miserably long drive to Mpika and the ZamPark office. We don’t know if we will ever see him again.