Zambia 3rd week

Thursday 5th April

We got up at 7am and left our bush camp stopping at 8am for breakfast along the way. It was after 10am before we reached the tar road leading up to Mpika. The Karg’s and us went ahead to Mpika as we had to get to the immigration office to sort out our passports as we had discovered that we had only been given 7 days in Zambia while the others all had 30 days – us 4 were illegal immigrants at this stage. Mike from Mutinondo had written a letter on our behalf to the immigration office in Mpika explaining that we had never been asked how many days we required. Apparently this is a common problem at the border posts with people only being given 7 days. Anyway, as we drove into Mpika, Dave and I got a puncture, so Neville and Lorraine carried on and we joined them at the office 20 minutes later. Well, what an ordeal! Basically, they insisted that we each pay fines of around R3 500! We just said that we did not have the money and after much talking and Lorraine even mustering up some tears!! they finally agreed to amend our passports. So 2 hours later we could start fixing our puncture, going to the bank, internet café, grocery shopping etc. All 5 vehicles finally left Mpika at around 4 o’clock and headed N towards Shiwa N’gandu and Kapishya hot springs. We arrived at Kapishya at about 5.30pm and set up camp. After dinner we all went and lolled in the totally unspoilt hot spring. It was a real treat at the end of an exhausting day.

Friday 6th April

After breakfast and Dave doing the routine maintenance on Garfield, we set off 20kms back to visit Shiwa House which overlooks Shiwa N’gandu Lake. The name Shiwa means lake and N’gandu means royal crocodiles. Shiwa House was built in 1924 by Stewart Gore-Browne with financial assistance from his Aunt Ethel in England and the house was a model of a country house in England called Brooklands. All the crockery,books etc from England were transported 70 miles on foot from Ndola to the Luapula River then a 10 day canoe trip through Bangweulu Swamps and then another 70 mile hike on foot! To see the house which is now administered by his grandson, David, is quite a sight. By 1925 Gore-Browne was employing 1 800 local people and had workshops, a school and a hospital as well as the magnificent manor house.
After our tour of Shiwa House we went back to Kapishya hot spring and had a swim in the cool river running through the camp site before relaxing. After lunch there was a massive downpour of rain and we decided that the best place to
be would be in the hot spring. So we spent the best part of the afternoon submerged in the warm water with an umbrella over our heads to protect us from the icy rain drops!

Saturday 7th April

We woke up early and went for our final soak in the spring. Then we bade Anne-Rose and George goodbye as they were heading back to South Africa. The 4 remaining vehicles set off N towards Kasama which we reached at 12 o’clock and as it sports a Shoprite, we all did a bit of shopping. We left at 1 pm on a very pot holed road towards Mpulungu and by 4.30pm we had found Nkupi Lodge and were all set up and going for a swim in Lake Tanganyika which was over the road. The camp site was quite pleasant but the location was not great so we all decided to just spend 1 night and to move around the bay in the morning, to another resort called Isanga Bay Lodge. We did, however, meet another couple from Tanzania who run a hotel at the base of Kilamanjaro, and she gave us a lot of info and invited us to camp at her hotel, so that was great.

Sunday 8th April

We left at 8.30am and headed back through Mpulungu and Mbala and then back down to the lake. Well, a 20km road down to Isanga Bay took us over 3 hours! It was unanimously voted to be the worst road yet. Anyway we arrived safe and sound only to find out that we are the first vehicles to have made it through for a few months – everyone else comes over by boat! We are going to stay here 3 or 4 nights and then we will have to tackle the road up out of here. This afternoon we have snorkeled all around the bay and it was very pleasant as we saw hundreds of small, colourful fish. Lake Tanganyika is the deepest of the Rift Valley Lakes with a maximum depth of about 1 450 metres but the water is pleasantly warm between 24 and 28 degrees Celsius. There is a beautiful sandy beach here with coconut palms and swimming is quite safe in this area.
Today Rayanne flew back to Cape Town – I am thinking of you my Babsie and hope you had a good flight and that you have a wonderful second term at UCT.

Monday & Tuesday 9th & 10th April

We just relaxed and chilled out by Lake Tanganyika – swimming, snorkeling, reading and sleeping. Of course there are also house hold chores such as laundry and cooking meals but otherwise it has been a complete relaxation. Brian and Willie have had no success with fishing so we resorted to buying some Nile Perch from the locals. We had this for dinner on Tuesday night and it was really delicious. Nile perch can reach up to 80kg but ours were not this big. It is the most devine eating fish and we hope that they are successful at catching them in Lake Victoria when we get there.
My tapestry is coming on well although it is quite hard making up my own pattern – however it is really starting to take shape.
After dinner on Tuesday night the heavens opened and we were all chased to bed prematurely.

Wednesday 11th April

It rained continuously all night and we woke up to rain so we decided to pack up and attempt the road out. By the time the rubber duck was packed and everyone had packed up camp it was 10.30am and the rain had stopped. We left, all feeling a bit apprehensive about our upward journey! However, it was not nearly as bad as expected and by 12.30 we were on the way to Kalambo Falls. These are the second highest falls in Africa and have a single drop of 221m off the edge of the plateau. Now, at the end of March they are very spectacular as they are full but the downside is that marabou storks breed in the cliffs, but that is in the dry season. So, we will definitely have to go back again another time to see the storks. After lunch, we set off back to Mbala where we visited the Moto Moto Museum which is a very comprehensive museum with lots of info about the Bemba tribe. A lot of the stuff in the museum has been collected from above the Kalambo Falls as this is a very well preserved archeological site. We stayed at the New Grasshopper Inn in Mbala, although after inspecting the rooms, we opted to sleep in our own beds so we still put up our roof top tents. We did, however, go to their restaurant for chicken and chips which was very enjoyable.

Thursday 12th April

We left at 7.30am and headed for Tunduma where we had to clear Zambian customs because at Chitipa, where we were actually entering Malawi, there is no customs on the Zambian side. We reached Chitipa at 4 pm and after entering Malawi, traveled for 1 hour, before setting up a bush camp.

Zanbia has all in all been a wonderful experience- the people are so friendly and we have not felt threatened at all. The one bush camp we made was right next to a village and just after we had set up, a man came to introduce himself as our neighbour and to welcome us! This has been the general attitude of all the people we have met and I would highly recommend Zambia to anyone.

Our costs so far in Zambia are
Insurance for 6 months R681
Comesa yellow card R290
Ferry Kazungula R140
Border fees R372
Car repairs R707
Gifts R175
Accomodation R2541
Sight seeing R966
Groceries R1528
Beer R607
Park entry fees R315
Plug adaptor R50
Internet café R51
Petrol R7048