out there | departures
Cape buffalo, South Luangwa National Park
OUT THERE: MICROLIGHT SAFARI IN ZAMBIA Safari in the sky
Matt Carroll takes to the skies for an aerial view of Zambia’s South Luangwa region enabling unrivalled access to its wildlife
HOWEVER MUCH YOU see of Africa, it’s never enough. From the open plains
of Kenya to the bushland of Namibia, you could spend several lifetimes exploring this incredible continent and still only scratch the surface. But after heading to Zambia and strapping myself into the seat of a microlight plane, I was about to get the big picture. Located in the middle of Southern Africa
— sandwiched between countries including Zimbabwe, Botswana and Mozambique — Zambia is home to some of the continent’s remotest wilderness. It also has the highest number of hippos, as I quickly realized after getting airborne.
Following a safety check, my pilot and guide
John Coppinger opened the throttle and within seconds we were cruising up into the enormous orange sky. Stretched out below us was what felt like the whole of Africa, with nothing but bush as far as the eye could see. From up here, the trees looked like florets of broccoli and in the distance — about 30 miles away — an escarpment rose up out of the earth like a row of jagged teeth. As my eyes adjusted to the omniscient
perspective, I began to spot shapes below. “There’s a huge herd of buffalo right
underneath us,” John said over the plane’s intercom, as we swooped down lower for a closer look.
In all, South Luangwa features more than
5,500sq miles of pristine wilderness that’s home to lion, leopard, buffalo, elephant and all kinds of creatures great and small. The best thing about a microlight is that you
can pretty much decide to look for your favorite wildlife, then fly around until you see it. Because the plane is slow and quiet, it ensures minimal disturbance to the animals’ natural behavior. After swooping low over the Luangwa River for
a closer look at some crocs, and cruising down to inspect a gathering of lions, we headed back to Tafika Lodge in time for supper. My home for the next few nights was one of six reed huts scattered beside the waters of the river. This was back-to-basics luxury at its best, with
The best thing about a microlight is that you can pretty much decide to look for your favorite wildlife, then fly around until you see it
creature comforts including double beds, private al fresco showers and flushing toilets. Just when I thought I’d seen it all, however, an elephant plodded nonchalantly past as I was taking a shower — just a few yards from where I was standing.
fall 2015 | ASTAnetwork | 119
IMAGE: GETTY
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