Last mornings are filled with sweet sadness. Soon it would be time to leave the Luangwa Valley in Zambia: to look back on a glorious trip and wonder if I will come back next year, as planned, and indeed, if I will ever come back.

We headed for the river: always to the river, to the wonderful, glorious, mad, slithering, snaking Luangwa River: vast beaches of sand and just enough water to keep life going until the blessed rains finally arrive.

Every river vista seemed to be the perfect farewell moment, an image to treasure forever – look, I really am sorry about this, you’ll have to excuse me, I always get this way on the last day. But there were three elephants drinking, and I was in no mood to take a bracing view of them.

I scanned the river for further delights: a black-winged stilt, as improbably long-legged as Cyd Chrisse, and a grey heron, same species as the ones in my back garden. There was a small pod of hippos crammed together in the deepest pool they could find, which really wasn’t all that deep. A few crocs lay along the shore: half-a-dozen of them. How is that crocs always managed to keep so still? Until they don’t of course.

Sweet Luangwa, run softly till I end my song… And there on the next bend stood two young male giraffes. They were involved in what they clearly thought was mortal combat. It went like this: you hold still while I gently tap your neck with my head, and then I’ll do the holding still while you do the tapping. It was all in slow motion: a formal exchange of light undamaging blows.

When they get to be grownup giraffes this sort of thing will be a serious test of strength and dominance: but right now they were just boys messing about. You could almost hear them giggling. There was never going to be a winner.

We turned round and headed back: first few yards in the general direction of home. Sweet Luangwa run softly, for I sing not loud or long…

 

 

• I was co-leading a trip with wildlifeworldwide.com

Next trip www.wildlifeworldwide.com/group-tours/walking-safari-in-heart-of-zambia