One of the attractions of Zambia is the relative absence of other tourists here. Unfortunately, that also translates to a dearth of direct flights, requiring an overnight layover in the capital city of Lusaka. We had little time to explore the city, and were content with staying in for dinner at the hotel. Upon arriving at Jeki, we immediately noticed the change in the terrain, with its tall forests and river channels. We noticed more waterbucks than bushbucks, more irritable elephants, and many more insects. Fortunately, our high-end chalet at the Anabezi camp had plenty of “Doom” and “Peaceful Sleep” bug spray to complement our over-sized mosquito net. The outdoor private dipping pool was too cold for our use, but the temperature didn’t bother the baboons drinking from it. Annoyingly, the camp did not accept credit cards or personal checks. We had to waste valuable animal-watching time to coordinate a bank transfer from home using their shoddy WiFi connection at the gift shop. We did get frequent visits from a pachyderm we dubbed “LT” for Left Tusk, who thought nothing of snacking on the camp’s winterthorn saplings only 10 feet from us. Most unique to the Lower Zambezi experience were the water activities. We began Saturday morning with a river cruise where we could feel the constant stare of hippos mimicking navy SEALs. In the afternoon, we took a canoe trip with our guide Patrick, whom we later learned is the survivor of the sole Zambian hippo attack on his canoe earlier this year. At night, Melody awoke to the sound of a leopard growling, but could only see LT scratching his back on our deck. We sought to locate the leopard the next day, but instead encountered a massive herd of several hundred glowering buffalo. That did not deter us from following three young male lions stalking a pair of elderly buffalo, but they were chased off by the irritable bovines. On the way back, we witnessed two honey badgers battling a civet for a bee hive, demonstrating that even after a week-long safari, the drama never becomes dreary. We returned to the air strip on Monday morning, ready for the last stop of our trip.