Zambia

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Arrived in Zambia and had one last soft landing as guests of Charlie’s and Margarete, Ann and Katherine who live just on the outskirts of Lusaka. Charlie is now in close competition with Ed for being the best ‘braaier’ ever. He braaied us a pork chop which was tender on the inside yet had crackling on the outside. Beat that!

Charlie and family took us to some friends of theirs who are involved in a conservation programme  breeding lions. We managed to get very close and for the first time ever, I heard a lion roar from a few metres away. It is awesome and you can feel the air vibrate. Managed to get some lovely shoots.

We then took a eight hour drive to a camp in Kafue  National Park, the largest game park in Zambia. Immediately as we got out of the car we were attacked by tsetsie flies. To our English friends, this is one of the worst plagues in Africa, the bite is very painful and they will not leave you alone. 

To make matters worse (or better as it turned out later) we were turned away at the gates since the camp no longer caters for campers with tents but instead has lodges for rent. We now faced our first proper predicament, drive back to the main gate (a two hour trip on dirt road) or camp in the wild. Well of course we camped in the wild; we found a nice little spot near a water hole and after a few moments of trepidation on the girls’ side, we relaxed. The tsetsie flies were a nuisance once again and we decided to make a concoction of all the things people have told us would deter them. Ian had bought an industrial size spay can and we were soon covered with a mixture of Tabbard and Dettol mixed with water. We stank!

The night was cold (temperatures range from frost at night to 35 degrees in the day) and we heard hippo grazing and making those lovely hippo noises right next to us. Very special.  Glad to have made the decision to go for a rooftop tent though.

Bush camping in Kafue

The next day we moved onto another camp (South Kafue)  and have been here since. Heather, Ian and Don have now gone for an early morning game spotting ride with a game ranger.  I stayed behind to have a lie in, make breakfast and do some writing. Unfortunately no internet here so will have to post this when we next have wifi.  We intend to stay in Zambia for another 10 days or so, there are some wetlands in the north which are meant to be stunning and then we will head for Malawi. 

a typical 'road' in South Kafue

View from our 'bedroom'

Last day in Mokore

Biggest Baobab tree in Zimbabwe

This is our last day on Mokore and we are all sad to leave. If any of you have watched the movie 'Out of Africa' this is what this place is like, a little sanctuary in a vast piece of wilderness. The only thing missing is Robert Redford washing my hair, oh well....

Having Al as our very own private game guide has been great! We have also learned how Biltong is made and have had a taste of Kudu, Impala and Bushbug (sorry Mel!!!)

We are spending our last day like most people spent their Sundays, going for a walk (with a rifle!) and finding a big Baobab tree,  Don playing with his new toys, the dogs having a rest, me on the internet, all pretty much like we would have done at home.

The truck has had it's final check up and is now totally self-sufficient, we are carrying 160 litres of fuel and 85 litres of beer, (sorry I meant drinking water) in our extra tanks, 6 bottles of red wine (yes I know, not nearly enough!). One last shopping stop for beers and fresh meat and vegetables tomorrow to stock up our fridge/freezer and then into the hills on Tuesday morning.

The single most valuable item on this trip for me so far has been our laptop, it has been great  being able to keep in touch with family and friends although from now on it will get harder. 

And finally, the photograph I know you have all been waiting for..... our toilet!

All you need to do is dig a hole and let nature do the rest. We have got a self-inflatable cubicle for those slightly more public places

                                               ....oh and drop your pants of course...

Mokore

Arrived in Zimbabwe a few of days ago where we are staying with Al & Joy who live on a little 'homestead' called Mokore, surrounded by hundreds of acres of wildlife. Magic! This is our last 'family stop' before heading into the hills for real so last chance to test all our equipment, recharge our batteries, dye our hair (or not?!).

 Al & Joy are expecting twins in four weeks and needless to say they can't wait.

Al taking us for a game viewing ride

Al and Joy's little house

our even 'littler' house

the view from the hunting lodges

Al works as a game ranger here and the whole area is what is called a 'conservancy' which is a multi-owned unfenced area of wildlife where commercial hunting is permitted and the proceeds are used for furthering conservation. This is also a black rhino sanctuary and contains the highest population of black rhino in Zimbabwe with approximately a hundred rhinos. Sadly, this  also attracts poachers and dealing with them is one of the more unpleasant tasks of Al's jobs.

This morning we had a tip off to see a family of wild dogs with 11 pups and we had the most amazing  sighting of the mother getting all 11 pups out of the den to feed them. We were able to watch the whole spectacle from about 30 metres away with four adult females circling the little group and us.

We have finally decided on a route; from here we will head into Zambia, then Malawi, Tanzania then Kenya and from there to Ethiopia. Our Ethiopian visa's run out at the end of October so by then we will be heading back south again but are planning to take a slightly different route, as yet to be decided.

And finally....

...we are off!

Planning to leave for Zimbabwe at the crack of dawn after spending 3 exhausting days doing our final shopping. How do you shop for a six months trip not knowing what you can get up ahead? Clothes are the easy bit, you don't need much. In fact we have reduced what we brought with us by half and left the rest with family. Car spares and general repair items are more tricky. You hear of people being held up for weeks waiting for a spare part for their car. Anyhow, it took a lot of planning and thinking and we hope we have it right. We will soon find out.

This would have been our UK camping weekend if we were at home so will be thinking of you guys this weekend. And here is a picture from one of those camping trips just to remind you that the sun does shine in the UK sometimes. And HAPPY BIRTHDAY Ben!