Picasso Bug at Pinnon Safari Lodge

Look at this stunning Picasso Bug photographed tonight. Most of our visitors are interested in the elephants, the big cats, wild dogs, birds, hippos and even the crocs but at Pinnon we’re big fans of the insects too. This diverse group of creatures are fascinating and can be as beautiful as any jewel or work of art. 

You can see why this particular bug is called the Picasso Bug. Though the markings also reminds us of the masks from the  Mighty Boosh series!

Submarine Spotted On Site

Nile Crocodile
The Monster

The Picture taken is of a resident croc we call ‘the monster’. We estimate him/her to be approximately five metres long.

Nile Crocodiles are fairly common in Kafue National Park. Growing up to six metres long the crocodiles around Pinnon Lodges feed mainly on catfish and occasionally small mammals. Due to the lack of people inhabiting the area these crocodiles have a healthy fear of humans, even the local fishermen have had no issues with them despite working in tiny dug out canoes. As an apex predator of the river system you cannot help being in awe of them as they swim past the lodge at dusk and dawn. Always to be respected.

The Monster was photographed by Lyndon as he sat down for an evening beer outside the restaurant.

Safari Zambia with Pinnon Lodges, Kafue National Park.

The Kingfisher Transition

Kingfisher chalet was Pinnon Lodges first in Kafue National Park. Construction took place in mid April 2016. Exactly four months later and we cannot really believe how the transition looks. With water on three sides this chalet gives you a real sense of being part of the river, hippos provide daily morning alarm calls due to the sand bank 30m away and the fig tree above is always a busy place with birds from all around coming to feed on its fruits.

 

Kingfisher Chalet is surrounded by water on 3 sides. Lyndon photographed 4 species of kingfisher in one hour once from here: Malachite, Giant, Pygmy and Pied kingfisher.

Along with Wagtail, our other chalet now open, kingfisher was named because of the frequency of birds spotted when birdwatching from the chalets position. On one evening alone Lyndon photographed Giant, Malachite, Pygmy and Pied kingfishers.

Chalet Bathroom. Made from bush stones. Gives a nice cool feeling in the hotter months
A sneak preview inside.
Kingfisher Veranda overlooking the Kafue river
Chalet Veranda

Now Kingfisher is fully functional we cannot wait to start having guests in it and enjoying the peace and tranquility it has to offer.

Kingfisher 2 (FILEminimizer)

Pinnon cheetahs come to say hello

The official Pinnon cheetah

Just last week we had 2 cheetah appear on site for the first time since Pinnon Lodges set up camp. We watched them excitedly as they prepared to begin a hunt on the plains which back on to our restaurant. Unfortunately they were not co-operative enough to re-enact our cheetah logo by sitting side by side but we were thrilled enough with the photos we did manage to capture and to witness them so close to our camp.

The cheetah’s timing was spectacular as it was just moments before Ruth, Olivia and Joe (Pinnon family and cheetah enthusiasts) were heading out of camp on their journey back to the UK.

Lodge construction begins

Build team at Pinnon safari lodge
Sunset between the restaurant roof poles

It felt like it took forever to get there but we finally received all the permission and paperwork required to begin constructing our dream lodge in January, we then had to wait until April for the rains to finish. Since then our fantastic build team have cracked on at an impressive pace and it’s been hard work trying to keep our followers up to date with progress. It’s all very exciting.

If you’d like to see more build updates as well as some of the beautiful wildlife that lives in our area please check out our facebook and instagram pages.

Sable Antelope

sable (FILEminimizer)
Sable antelope pictures in Kafue national park – Photo by Lyndon Pinches

Large and distinctive, the sable antelope are best known for their majestic horns

Kafue national park is widely thought to be home to more species of antelope than any other park south of the Congo basin. The Sable is one of twenty species found in the park.

Standing at 4.5ft at the shoulder the Sable’s horns can grow a huge 5.5ft long. It is a rotund, barrel-chested antelope with a short neck, long face, and dark mane. Both males and females boast impressive ringed horns that rise vertically and curve backward. When they arch their necks and stand with their heads held high and tails outstretched, they resemble horses. This flexed-neck position makes sables appear larger than they really are. The males maintain this position even when they gallop, as the arched neck is an important manifestation of dominance.

They prefer light woodland forest and can fall prey to many of Kafue national parks predators including lions, leopards, hyena, hunting dog and crocodile. Only 75,000 remain in the wild.

Recently in Zambia the Zambia Wildlife Authority (ZAWA) arrested 7 foreigners attempting to smuggle 12 antelope out of the country. Read more on the story here: Zambia convicts foreigners over smuggling of 12 Sable antelope