Our time in Livingstone was up, as we were now due to head north to the South Luangwa National Park, a national park in eastern Zambia, often cited as one of the greatest parks in Africa, due to its beauty and prolific wildlife. This had been my home for six months back in 2008, when I had my first dose of the safari hospitality world while working at one of the bush camps belonging to the Robin Pope Safaris company. I'd stayed in touch with my former employers - Simon had also met them when we went on holiday to Zambia in 2011 - and when we told them we hoped to pass through there while on our travels through Africa, they asked if we would like to fill in for one of the camp managers who was taking a two-week holiday at the beginning of May. We were in Rio at the time, and it didn't take long at all to decide that it would be a great opportunity, so we were two happy and excited campers when we arrived at the company's HQ one evening, after a couple of hot and long days travelling up by bus from Livingstone. When off the main road and approaching the company's office, the excitement mounted as we passed a giraffe, and then a hyena, while just going past in our taxi - definitely a sign that we were in the bush and surrounded by animals, hurrah!

After a couple of days at the company's headquarters catching up with some familiar faces, we were then transported to our new home and place of work: Luangwa River Camp - a lovely camp on a bend of the Luangwa River, with just five chalets/rooms, a beautiful central area, and plenty of trees and bushes in-between all the chalets for elephants to hide in. As the camp wasn't 100% full during our stay, we were able to stay in one of the guest chalets throughout our time there, which felt like the height of luxury, and we were particularly excited by the en-suite bathroom: something we hadn't had in about a month!

We got there a few days before Polly (the manager) went on holiday so that we could have a couple of days handover, meet the staff and get to know the camp….which included joining guests on a game drive one morning, seeing a beautiful leopard, having a fry-up in the bush and going through the management of the camp over G&Ts at sunset, all very taxing stuff.

Then it was D-Day and Polly was off, and that was it, we were on our own! The role of (temporary) manager was quite leisurely - the early morning starts (being at breakfast at 5.30am before the guests get there) didn't take their toll so much as we took them in turns, and we were able to split the job between us (overseeing the smooth running of the camp, food and beverage, supplies, daily menus, general maintenance, housekeeping, hosting guests etc). We also had Sebastian, the head guide, who I had worked with before in 2008, who organised the guides, vehicles, rangers and other such stuff.

All sounds very cushy right?! Well it was, but life on a safari camp is never straightforward or predictable….animals wandering through camp, staff coming down with malaria, tricky guests, supplies not arriving and so on are all pretty much standard challenges, from what I remembered. So we were surprised that our two weeks managing the camp, with Sebastian's assistance, was actually very smooth, probably because we were overseeing a tight, well-run ship (thanks Polly!). We found the staff of 10 well-trained, welcoming, and generally great to work with. Even luckier than that, our guests were mostly very lovely, and a pleasure to host. When you have a good group of guests in camp, and everyone gets on, it can sometimes feel like you are just entertaining friends in your own home (with the luxury of kitchen staff!) and it really feels like the best job in the world. Also, when guests are paying on average $500+ per person, per night, you can expect to meet some pretty interesting people, with some very interesting life stories.

But the main reason I keep coming back here are the surroundings, and the wonderful people you end up working with. I don't think there is a better located 'office', when you have hippos snorting in the river, elephants wandering through camp, baboons darting around, and wonderful birdsong all around you. We were regularly woken up in the middle of the night, by the sound of an elephant rustling through the bushes next to our room, or a hippo chomping at the grass by our front door...one night Simon awoke to see just the outline of a tusk pass our window, illuminated in the moonlight. Hearing roaring lions or whooping hyenas was pretty common…at dinner one night while sat with guests, we heard a lion roar so loudly that it reverberated through your entire body, and it sounded like it must have been sat just behind the dinner table as opposed to the other side of the river bank. There was the time when we'd just unloaded a vehicle full of stuff on the other side of the river, into the boat to get back to camp - having surprised some guests out on their game drive with some champagne sundowners - when literally moments after we left the vehicle, three lions walked past in front of it…where we had just walked ourselves. One morning Simon and I were trapped in our room as a herd of elephants had come into camp and had decided to settle for a morning get together and snooze just by our bathroom, and didn't look like they were moving on anytime soon... And there was the time just after breakfast when the guests had left for their morning game drive when the waiter Moses and I saw four wild dogs trotting along the sand bank in front of the camp...I could go on! It really is just the amazing environment, and being surrounded by all this wildlife is such a life-affirming experience, you cannot help but feel extremely privileged. Hearing (and seeing) a lion roar just metres from you, listening to the low rumble of a herd of elephants communicating to each other, watching a giraffe run as if in slo-mo, hearing the mournful call of a Pel's Fishing Owl, watching a bunch of qualea birds darting in total unison like a schoal of silver fish, or sitting under the through-your-soul gaze of a huge leopard...well these are the magical moments that keep drawing me, and now Simon, back.

Then there is the people... the staff at Luangwa River Camp were just so lovely, always full of smiles, and lived up to everything I remembered about Zambians. And this is also why I love this part of the world and this safari company - everyone from the lowliest kitchen porter to the senior management are so welcoming, you really of feel part of a family, and which is why leaving is always such a wrench. The staff at River Camp were particularly sweet on our departure, asking when we would be coming back... I left a snivelling wreck, for some reason crying more than when I left after six months in 2008, think I'm getting more emotional in my old age!

Once back at safari company HQ, we felt at a bit of a loss as we hadn't planned anything in terms of our onward travel, didn't feel ready to leave yet, and missed the camp and staff hugely. So it was with delight that we took on another couple of jobs with Robin Pope Safaris - the first was to oversee the last week of getting Nsefu camp ready for guests, a seasonal camp which had guests arriving in just under a week. Senior management were a bit concerned that the opening preparations for Nsefu weren't moving along as quickly as they should be, so we were sent up there to oversee things and lend a hand. With days to go until the first guests arrived, there was a huge amount to do, and the current manager Braston was being incredibly relaxed about it all - maybe a bit too relaxed…But then, TIA (this is Africa!).

Nsefu was also where I worked in 2008, and I loved being back up there, a place of many happy memories, and wonderful seeing some of the same members of staff who hadn't changed a bit. It was funny being back in the same room as last time I worked there, a little thatch hut which is pretty basic but has the best view in the camp facing directly into the setting sun over the Luangwa River each evening! It's a great camp, the first and oldest photographic safari camp In Zambia, with the guest chalets dating back to the 1950s. It's also got the best spot on the river, a wide sweeping bend where elephants regularly cross, the little ones sticking their trunks up in the air like snorkels.

Our role here was very different to what we had been used to - no guests to deal with for starters, but just a very long list of things which had to absolutely be ready before the first guests arrived. During each day Simon and I would swing from feelings of mild panic ("we are never going to be ready on time....") to feeling that everything was under control, and we had different opinions at different times which at least was good in that one would normally restore the other's confidence! And there were some frustrating times but also times you just had to laugh, or summon enormous patience...like when unloading the container where most items were stored when the camp was closed, and ticking off everything against the inventory with the staff: you ask a question (eg why are there only x no of pillow cases ?) then follows a 3-minute discussion amongst themselves in their local language, and then after all this discussion the answer to your question is: "I'm not sure, we will check later". And repeat...

However when the first guests arrived on the final morning (literally as were just clearing away the last cleaning products from the rooms) it was actually a relief to be open, and there was certainly a new buzz of anticipation around the camp, as after all, all the hard work is geared towards having guests in camp so it's great when they are there and everything starts clicking into place. I could imagine all the staff saying to each other "Not sure why they were so worried, we knew we would be ready on time…". When we left it was sad saying goodbye again, as I never quite know when I will return to Nsefu, but between my stint working there in 2008, our visit there in 2011, and this most recent stint, well I can't imagine not seeing it again so it is just goodbye for now, I hope.

At Nsefu we had also started our third work assignment - visiting the company's different camps in the area, as not-so-mystery guests, to provide the senior management team a report on where things could be improved, suggest new ideas, etc. This was of course a huge hardship - as we were expected by our employers to have the full guest experience (wonderful food, going out on game drives or walks, sundowners on the river) while casting a critical eye over things....so suffice to say this was a pretty enjoyable job, and we made the most of it, all in the name of research of course! We had some fantastic wildlife sightings as well as a couple of great walks at the tented camp, Tena Tena - walking in the bush is a wonderful experience, with just the sounds of the birds, the crackle of dry branches underfoot, hippos grunting in the river...it so special.

This new assignment took up about 10 days of our time, and included a couple of nights back at River Camp to get in one last fix, hang out with Polly and say goodbye to her and the staff again....second time round I was a lot more dignified! We then had a couple of days back at HQ, to type up our findings (our 'office' being the blissful surroundings of Luangwa Safari House, on the deck above a watering hole which is an animal magnet, we could almost touch the elephants they were so close...) and then also sort out the small issue of our visa…a story I'll save for the next blog post!

It really was the most fantastic month, and I loved the fact that Simon loved it too - sharing this experience together was so special, and once again we just counted our lucky stars that these opportunities had come up, in what I call my 'spiritual home'. I'll always remember the first time I stepped off the small plane that landed into Mfuwe Airport in 2008 - there was something about that first step onto Zambian soil, and the smell in the air, and then just an immediate feeling of 'ah, I am home'. I can't really explain it, but this corner of Zambia, and the South Luangwa safari world, will always be so special to me. Upon leaving everyone asked "When will you be back?" and then.. "I think you will be back sooner than you think…." And I really, really hope they are right.

This blog post is dedicated to my grandma, Bila, who passed away on 6th May, while we working at Luangwa River Camp. We toasted to her long and adventurous life the same night we toasted to our one-year anniversary of being away, 7th May, knowing we would have her full approval of what we were doing, as long as we kept on the 'straight & narrow'. I miss you Bila.