7 August Wednesday

With a 6.00am start we set out with our new fellow passengers, unfortunately this is a full truck with 18 passengers two guides and a driver. The truck is smaller than our last and poorly designed so that our baggage is lose in the back of the passenger area and piled high above the seats so it will be dangerous in an emergency stop. It will take some time for us to settle into new ways of the crew and passengers. We were spoilt with our last crew, a larger truck and only 11 travellers. Our new guide outlined his expectations and at first we were a little resistant but then realised that with this many people we all need to muck in and do our bit, however we also paid to have an extra assistant to cover many of the jobs he wanted help with so we will see how things pan out.

This morning it was on the road to Lusaka and the road was rough and not a very comfortable drive and with the vegetation becoming sub tropical scrub close to the road so that there was not much to see other than small villages, that are basic mud hut towns with thatched roofs. The shops are made of concrete blocks that are moulded by hand on the side of the road. People mostly sit on the dirt that is around the village and also forms the floor of the house. Shops line the main road selling allsorts of stuff and offering allsorts of services. We stopped at Lusaka for rations as this would be the last place that we could buy provisions that we need.

8 August Thursday

On Leaving Lusaka the road though sealed was very rough and at each little village they have unmarked speed humps that at 20cm high and not very wide. The driver attempts to slow the vehicle to a crawl but it still causes the truck leap up and down with a spine tingling crash. Then there are dirt sections of road that are no better than off road tracks that throw the truck from side to side up and down. We are fortunate that we chose this time of the year to travel because there is no way we would get through if the road was wet. Then there is the rutted section this creates a harsh vibration through the whole truck as the truck wheels bounce over the ruts.

We were told that the sealed section was done because a political candidate promised it if he got into parliament. Later he was voted out so the road-works were stopped, how our lap top has kept going is amazing

It was dark when we arrived at Chipata where our camp was and some 13 hours of travel it was clearly wearing the travellers and the distance covered was with little to see other than the villages and they were all much the same.

After a quick meal we went to the camp bar and enjoyed a whiskey and coke on the rocks. Our accommodation had dropped off to little rooms in converted stables but they had a bed and toilet and shower. We were very please to have chosen an accommodated tour as the toilets in the camps are not clean and we have hot water showers were the camps are often cold and shared facilities. Not much fun for the ladies.

Our cabin windows did not have glass but had screens to stop the mosquitoes however we were in for a very uncomfortable sleep due to smoke from the fires. The cause of the fires are, the locals burning off the undergrowth that keeps the land clear under the trees and prevents major forest fire. However it makes the landscape black and barren and the smoke darkens the sky and was affecting our breathing; we now understand why the tour staff wanted to know if anyone had asthma as that night it was difficult to sleep.

9 August Friday

Today we left early again as it was a long drive on rough roads and we are heading to South Luangwa National Park, hard travelling very long days and basic accommodation, but tolerable I reckon, getting up at 5 o’clock in the morning had me stonkered for a while but have got into the swing of it now. We are near the border with Malawi our camp is a Wild Life camp on the banks of the Luangwa River. However the road has got worse and we are bouncing from one side of the road to another and the pounding is taking a toll on the truck 40 kilometres from our destination there was a bang and we stopped.

The rear right side tyres were flat one had been damaged earlier and must have gone down and then the other exploded. We were in a dirt track that looked like a river bed. Our driver and main guide said he had only 3 punctures in the years he had been doing trips.

Initially he thought the outside tyre of the duel wheel truck was flat only but after attempting to roll the truck up onto a rock with the inside wheel he found both were flat.

Tony and the driver took the outside wheel off but in trying to get the inside wheel off the stud holding the wheel broke off. So Tony suggested that we continue with one inflated tyre on the outside of the duals, so we crawled along for the next 40 kilometres over very rough boulders and roads until we made it to the camp.

The camp is on the banks of the river and it is an awesome sight, our tent is on the bank and we can see a large area with crocodiles, elephants and hippos along side the river. Monkeys and baboons are everywhere with giraffes and birds. This area has the largest population of hippos in the world and a leopard for every kilometre. The view is wide covering the sweep of a large river bend with a wide river flat below bank. The sun set was great but effected badly by smoke from fires.

That afternoon we went on a tour of a factory where the made printed material for bedding covers and bags, all hand done and very nice.

Then we went to a traditional village where we were given an insight into the tribe’s culture including food tasting and then a dance show that we were to participate in. It was very humbling to meet these wonderful people. Rhondda really got into the dancing and Tony made a feeble attempt but we all laughed.

It was interesting seeing how far people walk carrying loads on their heads as they can’t afford cars or transport.

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Another whiskey at the bar dinner at eight then to bed after some entertainment from our group. One girl left that day she looked about 20 years old and decided she had enough, apparently her parents had paid for her to go on this trip but she felt it was not for her. She was a strange girl from Holland who did not mix well with people and did not consider others. Our leader made her sign a paper saying she had left on her own will, he tried to make her see sense but to no avail, she is going to find it tough on her own out there.

Our wonderful first guide Benjamin said once we had told him of this trip that we would get to hate sandwiches and get to love some people and hate others. Well for us it was good she went as she would open the sliding window full on her half and stick her head out the window. It reminded us of the telly add where the dog has its head out the window and the breeze was flapping its lips. In this case she had hair down to her bottom but the wind from her window caused the hair to blow into Rhondda’s face and it meant that we could not open our half of the window. We did not know how she would get on as there is little or no public transport here.

10 August Saturday

We declined to go on a walk today preferring to enjoy some time in this park, do some washing and have some time out. Unfortunately we missed out seeing a leopard the walkers saw but we had an elephant walk right past Karen’s tent so we stalked it taking pictures as it fed on trees.

We enjoyed the view from our tent of hippo’s elephants and giraffes near the river.

That afternoon at 4pm we went on a game drive and saw lots of animals but as we have seen everything other than cats we told the driver to look for cats and not worry about the other stuff.

However the giraffes here are different in that their colours are vivid and in this picture you can see a dark male and a light female couple. The older they get the darker their coats are.

As it turned out we were driving and searching for cats for sometime. We saw a hyena that we had not seen before, ugly chap.

It was not until dark that we did a search with a spot light that we saw about 15 to 20 lions with cubs stalking some deer. However due to the number of tourist vehicles watching the action it spooked the deer and they began to run. The lions closed in for the kill but could only catch a smaller deer and not a large feed so this caused the lions to all get into the deer by pushing and shoving in a big melee with the cubs leaping over the lions to get a bite of the deer. It was a fierce episode to watch as the lions tore the deer apart.

Miss National Geographic Karen got the pictures of the night a cub stalking and this lion with the kill.

After watching the kill we carried on searching for a leopard but to no avail and then it was back to the camp at 9pm for a feed and bed.

11 August Sunday

Another early start as we have a border crossing into Malawi which was carried out in the usual African way, taking time.

We picked up provisions in a Malawi town and then went to an animal sanctuary where was saw a pathetic display of animals. Then onto camp and dinner, our hut is comfortable and spacious but cold. The best was a porcupine.

Apparently Malawi is one of the 5 poorest countries in the world but it looked much better than Zimbabwe. The people are renown to be the nicest people you can meet at that is what we have found. We went to a local market and purchased some oranges, talked to a young man with a bike with a seat on the back these are the villages taxis they are everywhere, cars are few and far between on the road but the truck is slow as there are so many goats pigs and people, saw several oxen and carts today taking the goods to market, cotton is still being picked at the moment, lot s of potatoes and kumara and tomatoes being in season here.

Transport is a major problem so a whole tribal group can travel on the back of a light truck all smiling and welcoming.

12^th August

Firstly we had to purchase supplies from the local market.

The road was as usual rough but we did not expect this Bailey bridge that had been washed away and rebuilt using the same parts by the locals. It had a significant bend and lean to the left so Nikko’s said for us to walk over the bridge and he would the drive the truck over as he did not trust it and thought it was better to reduce the load.

We are at Kande Beach on Lake Malawi it is amazing blue water with little waves a huge lake, in 1859 David Livingstone reached here it must have been a paradise then, it has a nasty snail Bilharzia in the water that has bred because of over fishing it attaches itself to you and gets under your skin, makes its way to your liver and kills you in 13 years, the guide said you should get a test for it 6 months after you get home and if you have it get 3 days antibiotics and it is gone, our Dr. said do not go into the fresh water, I have just read an article about it and it seems wise not to risk it.

Tony and Karen have got canoes and are paddling out to the island then this afternoon we will go out on the catamaran that is just outside our door.

The canoe trip turned out to be a mission as Tony’s had a slow leak that was not apparent until the boat started filling with water so after reaching the island in the lake they had to make a quick return to shore.

That afternoon they decided to take a hobby-cat (small sailing catamaran) for a sail as there was another couple keen to sail in another boat with them however the Americas cup it was not as there was a certain skill factor missing and much to their chagrin the swimmers in the group beat them to the island by a considerable margin. At one point on their return they were becalmed. Still it passed a relaxing afternoon away.

That night it was a quiet drink and early to bed.

The majority of schools seem to be still Church schools and the children are on holiday for 2 months at present, we found out from them as they were selling food to us when we stopped at the market. They all look healthy and happy kids no starving people around here, no old people they die young and aids and malaria is a big killer

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Our guide seems a much unbiased South African and when I asked him about the elections in Zimbabwe and if they were rigged he seemed to be under the impression that Mugabe still has a huge following with his tribe and the uneducated villagers still vote for him as they see him as liberating them from the British.

The present head of the Malawi state is a woman she got the position when her father died and has tried to get rid of some of the corruption, sold all the expensive cars, she is not very popular with her colouges, also it is not done to have a woman in power so he said she will go and it is a pity as she is on the right track to getting something positive done for the future for the people of the country instead of a few getting rich,

13 August

Kande beach and early morning we find the fishing boats have arrived on the beach to share out their catch, that they have caught over night. It’s an interesting way they catch the fish by shining a bright light the fish jump to the light an fall back into the net below the small fish and caught in their thousands.

Rhondda and Karen decided to buy some stuff from the locals and this caused quiet a commotion.