July 2013

A cheetah was seen chasing impala in the Fly Camp yesterday…hope it’s on a trail camera…

Lucas (the hippo)….Lucas has a room/nest 15 metres from our house, where he sleeps when he is not eating grass. He eats in the day time….gets up about 8-9, grazes, comes back to bed about 1-2 pm. He varies this a bit sometimes.

Article by Butterfly Bishop from African Fusion Travel

I have just had the wonderful privilege of a few days in the Zambian bush with my husband and good friends. They were spent at the unique, McBride’s camp, in Kafue National Park. The camp is run by Charlotte and Chris, both just special people and totally dedicated to the bush around them and the wonderful game and creatures that live within the camp (all have their very own personalities and names). There is Lucas the Hippo, Hamish the Hueglins Robin, Sherlock the lion along with many others…

Having met Chris before at a travel Indaba sometime ago I decided it was time to get to their camp. We were warmly welcomed by Charlotte (Charlotte and her team fed and looked after us extremely well). Having spent many years growing up in the bush Chris is a fountain of knowledge, especially about all the birds and always has some interesting knowledge to part with.

Thanks for making us all feel so at home.

We went on numerous walks, a game drive and sunset cruise on the river. I thoroughly enjoyed the 3 hour walk from McBrides Camp to their “fly camp” based further down the river. On arrival at the fly camp we were fed a wonderful picnic and then had the chance to pass out for a couple hours of rest in one of the tents before heading back on the boat where we were plied with delicious cake and afternoon tea.

I just loved being back in the bush in a rustic, bush camp – very comfortable with all the luxuries of hot water, comfortable bed and paraffin lamps. The lion wandered through the camp two out of the three nights during our visit, their resounding roars along with the hippo grunts tried to keep us all awake and a true reminder of how close we really were to nature.

Mcbrides must be put onto your “bucket list” and we will be going back!!!

Chris has recently appeared on Animal Planet in a film entitled “White Lions, King of Kings”, and “Mission Natural,” an Italian wildlife programme.

He and Charlotte, together with a valued friend in the USA, have nearly completed a book about their experiences at McBride’s Camp, which will soon be published

While doing his thesis for an Msc degree on lions from the University of California at Humboldt, two white lions were born into the lion pride the McBride’s were already studying. This resulted in a book “The White Lions of Timbavati” and a Msc. Thesis. The book was translated into eight languages including Dutch, Japanese (Shokagukan), French (Robert Lafont), German (Droemer Knaur), Italian (Rizzoli) and Finnish. A feature movie was also made.

Chris published another book on nocturnal lion research “Lion Tide” in Northern Botswana in the late 70’sand early 80’s. A journal article also came out of this.

Both books may be ordered via the Internet.

The White Lions of Timbavati and Lion Tide

In this extraordinary place, an oasis in a world of disappearing and endangered species, what appears to be a new strain of lions has suddenly emerged. And for once, man, responsible for the destruction of so much wildlife, is in a position to use a whole battery of new and sophisticated techniques to protect and foster these unique animals – Temba, Tombi and Phuma; the white lions of Timbavati.

website www.africanfusiontravel.com