MORE INCREDIBLE SIGHTINGS
After suffering through the heat of the day and missing the cooling effects of the kikoi, I made a point of asking the assistant hotel manager if they had any kikoi that we could use to keep cool during the afternoon heat. She looked puzzled until I explained what they were. "Oh, you mean the chitenge. I'll put a couple in the room for you."
With that problem solved, we set off with Newton. We had discovered on the morning drive that Newton possesses the eyes of an eagle. He can spot animals at least two kilometres away - even Glen is impressed. We have all learned that when Newton slows down or stops, removes his sunglasses, and checks through his binoculars that we had better pay attention as he has seen something really worthwhile. This happened again not far from camp. He spotted an African Civet - a nocturnal cat-like animal, rarely seen and very secretive. We drove closer and sat silently as the animal approached running along what was once a channel for water. With audible gasps from Glen, and hushed Wows from us, we watched as he poked his head out of the channel, looked squarely at us, decided we were nothing to be afraid of and continued on right past our vehicle. As the sun had yet to set, it was highly unusual to see a Civet in such good light. Again, this was Glen's most spectacular sighting ever of this elusive, nocturnal animal. We followed the ditch and got ahead of it and watched again as it passed us by, totally unconcerned with our presence.
We tore ourselves away and continued driving all of us deciding that we'd rather drive than have a Sundowner in the bush - we could have it back at the camp if we wanted. As night fell, Newton heard something, stopped the car, and said: "Pennant-winged Nightjar". That is when we learned how exceptional Newton's hearing is. The call is a very faint sound that mimics an insect. Glen said how he heard it over the vehicle's motor is amazing. With both Glen and Newton's flashlights, we had good looks at this spectacular Nightjar that has two long feathers or pennants trailing from its wing tips. Later on, another one was spotted, so more great looks.
On the way back to camp, Newton again used his spotting skills to find us another new nocturnal mammal for our lists - the White-tailed Mongoose.
We decided to celebrate by ordering our Sundowner at the bar and taking it to our room to drink while we freshened up for dinner. Newton had assumed that we would have the same drinks that we had ordered the night before. Charlie, our bartender, had to go to our vehicle to get the gin and JW Black that Newton had packed. I discovered that the bar had Rose's Lime Cordial so taught Charlie how to make a proper gin and lime.
When we got back to our room, Norma and I discovered two beautiful pieces of African cloth wrapped with a note that explained the importance of the Chitenge to Zambians. It has many uses, from filtering water, to carrying babies, in addition to cooling. Then came the shocker: we were given them as gifts as a memory of our stay! We were very touched by this.
After another delicious dinner, a refreshing shower, it was time for bed.
After suffering through the heat of the day and missing the cooling effects of the kikoi, I made a point of asking the assistant hotel manager if they had any kikoi that we could use to keep cool during the afternoon heat. She looked puzzled until I explained what they were. "Oh, you mean the chitenge. I'll put a couple in the room for you."
With that problem solved, we set off with Newton. We had discovered on the morning drive that Newton possesses the eyes of an eagle. He can spot animals at least two kilometres away - even Glen is impressed. We have all learned that when Newton slows down or stops, removes his sunglasses, and checks through his binoculars that we had better pay attention as he has seen something really worthwhile. This happened again not far from camp. He spotted an African Civet - a nocturnal cat-like animal, rarely seen and very secretive. We drove closer and sat silently as the animal approached running along what was once a channel for water. With audible gasps from Glen, and hushed Wows from us, we watched as he poked his head out of the channel, looked squarely at us, decided we were nothing to be afraid of and continued on right past our vehicle. As the sun had yet to set, it was highly unusual to see a Civet in such good light. Again, this was Glen's most spectacular sighting ever of this elusive, nocturnal animal. We followed the ditch and got ahead of it and watched again as it passed us by, totally unconcerned with our presence.
We tore ourselves away and continued driving all of us deciding that we'd rather drive than have a Sundowner in the bush - we could have it back at the camp if we wanted. As night fell, Newton heard something, stopped the car, and said: "Pennant-winged Nightjar". That is when we learned how exceptional Newton's hearing is. The call is a very faint sound that mimics an insect. Glen said how he heard it over the vehicle's motor is amazing. With both Glen and Newton's flashlights, we had good looks at this spectacular Nightjar that has two long feathers or pennants trailing from its wing tips. Later on, another one was spotted, so more great looks.
On the way back to camp, Newton again used his spotting skills to find us another new nocturnal mammal for our lists - the White-tailed Mongoose.
We decided to celebrate by ordering our Sundowner at the bar and taking it to our room to drink while we freshened up for dinner. Newton had assumed that we would have the same drinks that we had ordered the night before. Charlie, our bartender, had to go to our vehicle to get the gin and JW Black that Newton had packed. I discovered that the bar had Rose's Lime Cordial so taught Charlie how to make a proper gin and lime.
When we got back to our room, Norma and I discovered two beautiful pieces of African cloth wrapped with a note that explained the importance of the Chitenge to Zambians. It has many uses, from filtering water, to carrying babies, in addition to cooling. Then came the shocker: we were given them as gifts as a memory of our stay! We were very touched by this.
After another delicious dinner, a refreshing shower, it was time for bed.
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