Will we make it back in time? The storm clouds have been building all morning and now, as our Land Cruiser lurches towards camp, lightning flashes along the horizon and a sky of rumbling purple hangs above us, poised to burst. The first heavy drops cannon off the bonnet as we roll into camp, quickly gathering rhythm, and within seconds, the skies have opened: a thunderous downpour that hammers on thatch and canvas and explodes from the dusty ground. But we’ve made it. After two days of building tension — each morning, the bubbling call of the coucals promising rain — it’s exhilarating at last to watch nature unleashed. Especially when safe and dry, with beer in hand.
For visitors to Zambia’s South Luangwa National Park — as in many safari destinations — the rainy season is traditionally the one to avoid. The May–September dry season is seen as a much better bet. This is when the game herds concentrate at the shrinking water sources and the vegetation dies back, making wildlife easier to spot. Come the rains, according to conventional wisdom, it all becomes too difficult: the wildlife disappears behind an impenetrable curtain of greenery, the temperature soars and the flooded roads become unnavigable.
Occasionally, though, conventional wisdom misses a trick. Right now, it’s January, the very height of the rains, and yes, the grass is chest high and the bush blanketed in green. The sweeping river terraces, on which just a few months ago buffalo raised clouds of dust as they trudged down to drink, now lie submerged beneath the great cocoa-coloured Luangwa. Many of the park’s roads are under water or beyond reach. Many of its lodges have closed.