2011 – Lusaka to Mvuu Camp, Lower Zambezi – Zambia

It was a cold night camping and not much warmer when we got up in the morning. After breakfast we headed into Lusaka and morning traffic, in Lusaka it’s all day traffic. We filled up with diesel and headed south. The road was tarred but had some serious potholes, this combined with trucks made driving difficult. There were also mountain passes, which although beautiful, added to the difficult driving conditions.

Just before Chirundu we turned off onto a dirt road, which we had been warned was difficult and would take us around 2 ½ hours to do 65km. Much to our surprise, the roads had been newly graded and we had a very pleasant trip through. At the Kafue River we had to catch a pontoon, fortunately it was working and we a very easy crossing, costing us US$28.

We arrived at Mvuu Camp just on lunch time. It is a stunning camp, in the middle of the African bush, on the banks of the Zambezi River. We have our own ablution area, a stone structure, shoulder height, with no roof. Our welcome committee was a troop of cheeky monkeys.

Shortly after setting up camp and exploring the deck/bar/boma area, we heard the familiar sound of breaking branches and there was a herd of ellie. We followed them down to the river to watch them drink and on the same bank was a hippo grazing. Back at camp Ga was making lunch, with huge difficulty as the monkey were proving an almighty nuisance. Just as he was putting the finishing touches to his own gourmet sandwich, a monkey swooped out the tree and stole half of it. He was furious and spent the next half hour trying to shoot the thieving little monsters with a cattie.

Our lunch proved a lot more peaceful and we sat and watched another herd of ellie, with the tiniest baby we have seen browsing on the trees right next to us. Then the baboons arrived, something agitated them and there was a huge commotion and rustling of trees.

We spent a lazy afternoon on the deck, overlooking the river, playing games and watching the game along the river banks.

We made a big ‘atmosfire ’ in the evening, for our braai and to keep us warm. There is no electricity in the camp site and it was wonderful to see the stars peeking through the branches above. The best was having a nice hot shower and looking up to star filled sky. We all went to bed listening to the sounds of the wild and rather embarrassingly, some fellow campers clearly enjoying their evening.

Pontoon over Kafue River

Ellie and Hippo

Lunch guests

Zambezi River

‘Atmosfire’

Day 88: 11/07/2011 – Bridge Camp to Lusaka – Zambia

We decided to break our journey down to Lower Zambezi with a night in Lusaka. With a fairly easy and short trip along tarred roads, we were in no rush. This being said we also had no desire to hang around a crappy camp site, so we decided to treat ourselves to a breakfast in the restaurant. This was another experience, the owners must be the most miserable couple we have come across, they don’t have a civil word to say to each other. As we were the only people there, this made us feel somewhat uncomfortable. The real issue came when we heard the husband shouting and swearing at the kitchen staff, I thought Robs, who is always so sensitive to the plight of others, especially the underdog, was going to walk in and tell the guy off. She got rather verbal and we had to calm her down. A pity about the atmosphere, because the food and the view were rather nice.

While packing up, Gareth found a whip scorpion in the basin I was about to brush my teeth in, so while the girls packed up the tent, he rescued it and put it back in the bush. Robs was so happy about him saving ‘one of God’s creatures’, Kirst would rather have had the help packing up.

After strapping up our trailer, we were on our way. I thought Gray might try and get the trailer fixed in Lusaka but he thinks we will need a whole new top and it’s not possible to weld sheet metal – how am I supposed to know that.

We had a pleasant and uneventful trip into Lusaka. The scenery along the way was beautiful; the miombo forests are in full autumn colours. We stayed at Pioneer Camp, about 17km before the main town. It is a pleasant camp site and we set up camp quickly as the girls had heard from us that there were shopping centres in Lusaka. Ga was in two minds about joining us – he hates shopping with a passion but loves to visit museums and such like when in a ‘new’ town. I assured him this was purely a shopping trip, so he elected to stay in camp and play with the 2 jack russels there, he is missing his beloved jack russel, Spud, at home and watch DVD’s on a laptop ( unfortunately there was a power outage).

On the way into town, we had about 5km of bumpy roads to negotiate and along the way we heard a clunk – we had lost a shock absorber mounting bolt, I’m surprised we haven’t lost a whole lot more. So Gray dropped us off at Manda Hill Shopping Centre and for the next hour or two, the girls shopped up a storm, not sure where all the stuff will go but they were soooo excited.

Gray picked us up, having sourced the bolts, that now needed to be fitted. The fitment centre was opposite the other shopping centre in town, so after running the gauntlet of crossing the main road we went for milkshakes – the first the girls have had since leaving S.A.

We decided to have a late lunch at Mikes Kitchen, the waitress must have thought the girls had never seen a menu before, they were so excited about findings fancy steak toppings and sauces and ice cream deserts.

We returned with a take-away for Ga to a very chilly evening, possibly the coldest on the trip so far. We spent some time in the open living area at the camp site, around some coal burning heaters.

The ……. camp site at Bridge Camp

The restaurant – bar area at Bridge Camp

Day 87: 10/07/2011 – South Luangwa to Bridge Camp – Zambia

I was woken up at 3:30am with an ellie crashing through the bush near our tent, it then went off and sniffed around our table, knocking over a few dishes. Just as I was settling down, I heard a stomping sound and immediately knew it was a hippo, it’s amazing how quickly one tunes into the sounds of nature. It clearly fancies the area around the girl’s tent as a dumping ground and the helicopter sound was as loud as ever. Over the next ½ hour we were visited by more ellie and another, less than constipated, hippo. I eventually got to sleep, to be woken up by baboons at 6:00 but we wanted an early start, so it was time to get up anyway.

We were packed and ready to leave at 7:00, the kids are getting pretty good at dismantling tents. We set off on the dreaded road ahead and for the next 3 hours we rattled around on that most horrendous road. You can’t occupy yourself in any way as it’s too bumpy to read or write. Eventually, we arrived at Chipata and headed off to Shoprite to stock up.

While we were unpacking the groceries, Gray noticed that the top of the trailer, the section holding up our bedroom had torn loose in places. Clearly the African roads are taking their toll on our car and trailer; we have left parts all over the continent. This is definitely a concern and we stopped along the road to ratchet strap the tent down, in case it flew off along the way.

The road from Chipata to bridge Camp was about 300km of tarred road, littered with potholes but certainly a whole lot better than the 120km we had endured earlier. After a long day on the road we crossed a huge modern bridge, over the Luangwa River and arrived at Bridge Camp around 3:30.

There is nowhere else to stay along the route and we had been warned not to expect much. The camp site is a dust bowl and pretty crummy but there are hot showers, which were very welcome after our dusty trip and trailer repairs. There is, however, a pretty decent bar and dining area, with a pool, overlooking the Luangwa River. It was very windy and a little chilly, so swimming was not an option. However, a couple of Mosi’s and G & T’s were definitely an option and helped relax our aching bodies.

Strapping the tent to the trailer

Bridge over Luangwa River

Day 86: 9/07/2011 – Track and Trail River Camp, South Luangwa – Zambia

We decided to stay for an extra day at Track and Trail. We would like to have gone into the park again but for US$165, we decided that we were seeing the animals anyway, either in our camp site or on the river banks. The morning was spent chilling on the loungers watching the river and doing some ‘house work’.

After spending our first night being the only happy campers, Dee and Derren, a Canadian couple arrived. Every couple of years they hire a 4×4 in South Africa and tour around a section of Africa for a few weeks. They are a great couple and so easy to chat to, we really have met some amazing people on our travels.

As sun set last night another lager of campers and caravaners arrived and set up camp next to us. These 3 Afrikaans families, 2 now living in Canada, were very pleasant and all pitched in to help set up. A good lesson for us not to tar everybody with the same brush.

After lunch I decided to do some admin, so we set up the lap top, attached it to the new external screen and external hard drive and lastly to the cell phone – this was all done under a little thatch gazebo, that has a power point. It has become quite a mission to get e-mails and blogging sorted. Dee and Derren came across for a chat and we swopped notes on travel destinations. While we were chatting a snake dropped out of the thatch and slithered under my chair, I lifted my legs, thinking it would pass by but it decided to wind its way up my chair, I levitated. This was more wildlife than I wanted for the day. The kids sensing a commotion asked what was happening, on being told there was a snake, Ga and Robs ran across to inspect and Kirst headed up the ladder into our tent. Shortly after chasing the snake into the bush, I found a little, white tree frog on the table, he was really cute.

In the afternoon we went on a drive into an area, outside the park, that had been recommended to us. It was a stunning dive through Mopani Forests and eventually we came to a spring, with an island in the centre. On the grassy island was the most amazing scene – around 200 crowned cranes, all gathered together. This is probably one of those once in a life time sightings.

From there we went to Wildlife Camp, also on the banks of the river, for a sun downer. On our return to Track and Trail, we headed off to the restaurant for hamburgers. After our Amarula nightcap, we headed off to bed – it was 9:30, a late night.

Crowned cranes

Sunset at Wilderness Camp

Day 85: 8/07/2011 – Track and Trail River Camp, South Luangwa – Zambia

Gray and I were woken up at 1:30 by what sounded like a helicopter landing outside. We opened our fly sheet and shone our torch out and there was a hippo taking a dump right outside the girl’s tent – it uses its tail to spray the dung around and hence the almighty noise. He then grazed around the kids tents for another ½ hour before wandering off. Gray and I struggled to get back to sleep after that, probably because we had already had 5 hours of sleep.

We woke up early and headed off into the park for a game drive. The bush in the park is awesome and the kids saw puku for the first time. We also saw loads of general game, ellies and hippo before returning to camp for lunch and a rest from the midday heat.

We returned to the park for a long afternoon drive. We saw a huge herd of buffalo, loads more ellie and amazing dams, filled with hippo. Gray and I had told the kids about the tsetse flies we had encountered in Kafue and wondered if we would have the same problems with the little pests here. Gray obviously over embellished his stories as while driving through one of the forested areas, 3 tsetse flew in through the window and all hell broke loose. I happened to be sitting in the back, sandwiched between 2 hysterical girls, who were convinced that a sting would kill them. I killed one with my flip flop and the girls the armed themselves, kirsty killing one on Gray’s shoulder, I think the slap caused more pain that a tsetse would have. It really is a wonderful park; even kirst commented on how much she enjoyed it.

We returned from our drive and had a braai under the trees. After dinner we decided that we needed a ‘late’ night, so we headed off the bar for a night cap. Amarula on ice – another kak day in Africa.

Swopping sun glasses

Puku

Hippo wallowing in water lillies

One of the kids

The girls in Khaki

Lilac breasted roller eating a frog

Day 84: 7/07/2011 – Track and Trail River Camp, South Luangwa – Zambia

During the night we heard lions, hyenas, hippos and Panda snoring but it sure beat the hell out of donkeys from the night before. In the morning we found hippo spoor outside the girl’s tent. While drinking our early morning cup of coffee, a breeding herd of ellie, including a really tiny one, calmly walked through the camp. They were so relaxed and we felt in no way threatened, we even moved a little closer to get some pictures.

Today was washing day and the rule is each camper for themselves. Kirst informed us she had packed enough clothes to see her through to the end of her trip, Robs felt too lazy but the surprise of the day goes to Gareth – off he headed to the basins and proceeded to separate his whites from his coloureds before hand washing them. I guess fending for himself for the last 7 months has done some good. Gray, the commando king, was first done, having no underwear/delicates to sort out.

After washing, we headed off to the pool, which is built on a raised pool deck, overlooking the Luangwa River; Ga was sitting on one of the chairs below reading. I heard a noise and looked down and there about 5m from him was the herd of ellies ambling past, stopping to break off the odd branch from one of the trees. Ga, who is also usually fairly tense around elephants (because over the years Gray has had this need to get as close as possible to every ellie he sees and some have not been this tame), was totally at ease, he now fancies himself as the next elephant whisperer.

A few hours later we set off for a walk and there was the herd again, they are clearly resident in our camp. We followed them into the camp next door, sending an unsuspecting camper heading for cover. Unfortunately, he left the zip of his tent open and within seconds the matriarch of the herd had cleared out his whole stash of food. They spent the next ½ hour wandering around before heading off into the bush.

Our plan for the afternoon was to go into the park and then again the next morning – on the 24 hour permit system. So all kitted out in Khaki (well Robs and Kirst were dressed for the occasion) we arrived at the gate to pay our US$165, to be informed that as from 1 July, they had changed the system and now the entry permits were only valid for one day i.e. from 6am to 6pm. We decided to return tomorrow.

Since we were out and the girls were dressed for the occasion, we got nosy and visited other camps and lodges in the area. We then headed into Mfuwe to buy coldrinks at the local stall and beers at the shabeen. Robs and Kirst fall in love with all the little local children and any child from the age of 9 months to 3 years is in danger of being kidnapped or adopted.

After a relaxing day, Ga made spaghetti bolognaise for dinner, he is clearly used to having deck scrubs around and must have used every utensil in our camp box. We again had a visit from an elephant and the baboons tried their best to raid our food boxes and car. We were all in bed by 7:30 and managed an hour of reading before passing out.

Ellies at breakfast

Ellie near the tent

Waltzing through the camp

Gareth cooking dinner

Day 83: 6/07/2011 – Chipata to South Luangwa, Zambia

We were woken up at 3am by the donkey braying in the camp site and again at 5:00 with the overlanders packing up and their trucks revving at 6:00 – to get the hell out of the place. We were close behind, after ‘all 5 of’ us took down tents and packed up, while the tannies next door fed their men breakfast and packed up simultaneously.

We then travelled 110km from Chipata to Mfuwe, a little town just before the gates of South Luangwa. The first 30 odd kilometres were on tarred road and then, OMG we were back on potholed sand roads. They are obviously in the early stages of forging a new road through and frequently we had to detour through little towns and back on the rutted road. It took us around 3 hours and we arrived to find numerous sign posts going in all directions, advertising accommodation. We had done some research and asked around and decided to try ‘Track and Trail River Camp’ as our first port/camp of call. Once we had looked over the camp site, we were going no further. Being connoisseurs of camp sites, after 3 months on the road, this had all we look for in a camp site.

After setting up camp on the green lawns, under the shade of a huge Jackalberry tree, we went exploring. The camp is on the banks of the Luangwa River, filled with hippo and fish eagles, in the trees. Along the river front are chairs, loungers and a pool. There is a stunning bar, dining area and boma, certainly an impressive place for overseas guests to stay. There are no fences and we are surrounded by bush; we watched golden baboons get up to all sorts of antics and then we had bush buck wandering across the lawns.

We all felt so chilled and relaxed here in the bush and spent the afternoon reading in the camp and around the pool. The girls went missing for a while and I found them in the bathroom applying face masks, they then waltzed around for the next ½ hour looking like ghosts, I am seriously concerned that Kirst is being a bad influence on Robs.

With the sun setting so early, around 6:00, we had an early braai. While we were doing dinner preparations, which are not as simple as they were pre-Gareth, we heard a rustling in the trees nearby, shone our torches and there was an elephant browsing in the bush. Kirst and Robs decided they were safer in the car, bush wise as Robs is, she has a fear of ellie, caused by Gray’s gung-ho attitude to these massive creatures. Needless to say, the ellie walked within 2m of the car, he was so relaxed that the girls soon rejoined us around the fire and watched him move on his way.

Our camp at Track and Trail

Drinks overlooking Luangwa River

Day 82: 5/07/2011 – Salima, Malawi to Chipata, Zambia

With a long day ahead we had breakfast at the ‘restaurant’ at Cool Runnings. The wind had blown throughout the night and the waves were pretty big, apparently they can get up to 10 or 12 feet high and are good for surfing, with no current.

We had chatted to Sam about our fuel crisis and she put the word out, in the hopes of us buying some diesel on the black market – this would have cost us about R27 a litre. She also hoped that the garages in town might get some during the night, as she also desperately needed fuel for her car and tractor. If they did, they would phone her and she would wake us up to follow her into town to fill up. By 9:00 the next morning there was no phone call and no black market diesel, so we decided to leave Malawi and head to the closest border post in Zambia.

Along the main route to Lilongwe we passed all these little kids on their way to school, walking along the main road. Our 3 kids are totally fascinated by this and commented on the world of difference from their own experience, of being fetched and carried all over in ‘mom’s 4×4’.

The other fascination is people standing on the side of the road with whole braaied mice skewered through sticks – Gray nicknamed them rat-o-saties. Gareth was keen for us to stop so he could try one; he is a bottomless pit and will eat anything.

We arrived in Lilongwe only to discover that not one, of their many fuel stations, had any petrol or diesel. Cars and trucks just line up outside fuel stations and park there in the hope fuel will arrive. I guess when your vehicle is empty, there is not much else you can do. They are also talking about power cuts from 4am to 10pm each day, starting in August. This is all a big worry.

Lilongwe is a modern city centre and we had a choice of shopping at Shoprite or Spar for groceries. We when headed off to Game, to buy a screen for my laptop. There are many South African branded shops and restaurants around town.

With 160km to go from Lilongwe to the border, we were back in reserve. Being eternal optimists, we concentrated on the scenery instead of the fuel gauge, which was changing from green to the reds, oranges and yellows of autumn.

We made it to the border post at Machinji and it was again a very painless crossing – much easier than our first entry into Zambia, at the cockroach infested caravans at Katima Malilo. They accepted all our papers confirming we had paid road tax etc. from our first entry. Fortunately, they never checked that Gray and I had not been stamped out after our first visit because – well, there was no office at the obscure border post in the middle of nowhere when we crossed into Northern Malawi.

Our first port of call was the garage in Chipata, where we filled up. We had travelled from Songwe to Chipata, with a fully laden car and trailer, along mountain passes and not filled up once in Malawi.

Our destination for the night was Mama Rula’s in Chipata. The sign outside says ‘for overnight stay only!!’ – a completely unnecessary statement, as no one in their right minds would stay there for more than a night. It is a forgettable place for overlanders and clearly our favourites, the Free State Caravaners/Campers who have now decided to venture up north. In the camp site next to us we were entranced, this lager of Free State Voortrekkers arrived; the wives set up and chairs and tables and made coffee for the men. They then dusted down the 4×4’s with those ostrich feather type feather dusters and then they set up the tents and repacked the cars. By now it was beer time, for the men, who continued to sit on their fat arses while the women cooked. Needless to say, Gray was impressed and decided this is how things should run in our camp – yeh right.

Scenery around Chipata

Happy Campers

Day 81: 4/07/2011 – Chintheche to Salima, Malawi

After 3 days in one spot, it took us a while to pack up camp and we were on the road by 9:30. We travelled through Dwanga and Nkhotakota on our way to Salima, stopping at every garage, in each town along the way – not one had any diesel. The last hour of the trip we were travelling with the little red petrol tank flashing at us. We still have 40L in jerry cans but word is, there is no fuel further down south. Our plan is therefore to head into Lilongwe, there is no guarantee of fuel there either, and then head into Zambia, where we are assured of getting fuel. We are a little concerned that we won’t make it.

Our destination for today was ‘Cool Runnings’, just off the main road of Salima. It is a small, grassy camp site with a few basic rooms, a bit like camping in someone’s back garden. To the front of the house / reception area is a picket fence and then the beach.

This beach, down south, is so totally different to what we have experienced on Lake Malawi so far. Firstly, the wind came up this morning and the water is the roughest we have seen it on the lake but it is still clear and blue. To the left of Cool Runnings and a couple of kilometres off shore is a small island, Lizard Island, so called because it is inhabited by huge lizards. If we were spending more time here we would definitely take a boat trip to the island. The most dramatic difference is that the beaches are so populated; to the left were hundreds of fishing boats and fisherman, returning from a day on the lake. To the right hundreds of people were washing clothes, bathing and pulling in fishing nets and children were playing and giggling on the beach.

We turned right and headed up the beach, the only mzungus to be seen. As we wound our way around washed clothes and fishing nets, there was a smell of Life Buoy as we passed people soaping themselves, this was better than the areas, where there was the smell of people not having washed themselves. We stopped to watch some fishermen hauling in their nets, they asked Gareth to give them a hand, after 10 minutes, he thought he was having a heart attack and these guys do this for 2 hours. Eventually, after 8 guys hauling in piles and piles of rope the net came ashore, with a very disappointing catch of small fish and huge, heavy logs.

We headed back to the camp, stopping along the way to buy a few bracelets from the locals for the girls and to add to Rob’s collection. Gray and Ga then headed off for some boy bonding at the bar and the girls and I watched the sun set on Lizzard Island.

My last dinner in Malawi – had to be chambo with G & Ts, it was delicious. After dinner, Sam, the camp owner came for a chat, a very long chat, wow she can talk but it was so interesting to find out about how the locals live and survive on the lake. Sam is a 60’s hippie type, with smiley face logos everywhere J, but she is involved in numerous community projects in the area. She is clearly passionate about the people in Salima and is local nurse, soccer club manager, organises tractors for ploughing, has built a library, a nursery school and numerous other ‘Cool Projects”, that are all self sustaining.

Cool Runnings Camp Site

Lizard Island

Busy Salima Beach

The fisherman

Day 80: 3/07/2011 – Chintheche, Malawi

When you go to bed early, you get up early. We had breakfast overlooking the lake and then Robs went off for a long swim, while the rest of us watched, lazily.

It is amazing how much food gets consumed with grown up kids around. Gray and I were eventually throwing away a small carton of long life milk and now we go through a carton for breakfast. Not only milk was being consumed at a rapid rate but at breakfast we realised we were out of sugar, so this meant a trip into Chintheche town. Kirst heard the word “shop” and she was off to the showers for a hair wash, leg shave, in fact a total make over, before putting on a cute little number, that a few years ago, would have been illegal in Muslim Malawi. Her friends will be pleased to hear she hasn’t gone totally ‘Camel Kid’ on us and still has her standards, even in rural Malawi.

We drove down the main street of Chintheche, all 1km of it, past all sorts of stalls and found a small ‘People’s Superette’. Besides sugar, we stocked up on cold drinks, chips and tonics for our Malawian Gin. Ten minutes later we were on our way back to camp, it had taken Kirst longer to titivate, than the drive and shop put together. She is going to kill me for this.

Back ‘home’ we spent the morning swimming and chilling in the sun. Later on we drifted back to our camp area for lunch – left over hamburgers made into jaffles by Chef Gareth. The girls (including myself) played board games till the early sunset. We went to the restaurant for dinner, where the girls (excluding myself) had the biggest chunks of steak around and the boys and I had chambo.

We managed to get to bed a little later – around 8:00.

Kirst’s shopping expedition

Chintheche Beach