,
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!
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.
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| Bush camping in Kafue |
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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.
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| a typical 'road' in South Kafue |
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| View from our 'bedroom' |
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