rough guides, jumpers and outer mongolia

It finally feels like you're REALLY in Africa when you arrive in a country beginning with Z (I've been thinking for days now, but still can't think of a Z country not on this continent)... So we're in Zambia - and I'm feeling smug. Queen of the animal spotting sweepstakes, if not the backgammon.

In order to get out of Malawi and see some serious wildlife on the way we joined a safari heading to South Luangwa National Park in the east of Zambia. Having been told that the place was like the Garden of Eden and that it was packed with animals we felt that we were in for a treat.

You might think that 15hrs driving around dirt roads in an open topped jeep could be quite tiring and possibly dull as well, but in fact it has been one of the most fantastic things we've done - and the time flew by. Nothing quite compares with sleeping in walk-in safari tents with all mod cons on the shore of a croc infested river - except maybe rounding the first bend on our first safari drive at dawn to discover and EXTREMELY startled hippo standing on the side of the trail. From that point on we were hooked - Pete was so excited that the dreaded (at least by me) texan accent made its first appearance on the continent.

And so the animal spotting contest began. To amuse us (well, himself mostly) Pete kept a running tally of who saw what (counting things - related to accounting I presume). He shot into the lead with the first giraffe and zebras. I was stuck with some bobbins impalas (that Martin, our guide, said were too far away to count), while the poor Dutch family who were also on safari with us had to make do with nothing. By the end of the first day's 2 drives (at dawn and sunset) Pete was still in the lead with warthogs, hyenas and elephants; while I seemed to be specialising in 8 kinds of antelopes and 1 stork. It wasn't until we sat down to dinner around the picnic table that I came into my own...

'Uh, isn't that an elephant over there by our tent' said I. 'Oh shit' said everyone else. The tusks were illuminated by the moonlight as it sauntered towards us - taking a sharp right turn to eat from the garbage bin 2m away. We spent the next 20 minutes in a panicky huddle with all the camp staff clustered on, around and under the picnic table, until some clever outdoorsman drove the Landrover at it and scared it away.

My next (and possibly best) spot came the next morning as we woke up in the dark at 5:15 for the next days drive. Having spent all night petrified of leaving our tent you can imagine the sprint for the loo. Pete darted out of the tent, just as I noticed sleepily 'I think there might be another elephant over there.' Before my horrified eyes the elephant rounded the bend between the tents and started munching a tree right in the centre of the path to the loo.

'Uh, Pete, I think you'd better stay in there. The elephant is RIGHT by our tent' I shouted across the camp. Pete being MrAtOneWithNature thought it would be good idea to brazen it out... exit the toilet and RUN right past the elephant's trunk. The elephant thought different and did a petrifying trumpet and charge. Pete spent the next 5 minutes locked in the loo and Dumbo eventually wandered off - but I still think my lifesaving animal spot beats a hundred zebras any day.

My final, and for the trainspotters most crucial spot, came on our last drive when at 200m I snagged a very rare and tough to see leopard.

Now if only I could do so well with the backgammon - having initiated operation Unassailable Lead (4 games in front) while on Safari, I then lost a heartbreaking 4 sets in a row while in the armpit that is the town of Chipata where we had to spend a night on our way to Lusaka... so we are neck and neck.