Heading Home

Yesterday was also a long travel day. We had a short final walk with Champion and Bono, had our final breakfast, which had to hold us all day. Then packed, took pictures of the staff, handed out tips to everyone, and we packed off in the truck for our trip back.

Along the way to the Park Gate to check out, there was an elephant on the road, eating branched from a tree. They don't seem to be able to see us when we are in a vehicle, so we got quite close, and watched him for about twenty minutes.

After that was a bone-jarring, noisy long trip to the Zimbabwe border. About seventy kilometers, and no faster than about twenty at any time. And we had truck trouble: the trailer hitch broke and we had to stop and repair it; and we blew a tire and had to replace it with one which would have been thrown out in North America. So we got to Chirundu about two hours later than planned. Our driver, Trust, was to take us across the border where we would be met by someone from Zambia who would take us to Lusaka. But the Zimbabwean border guard at first wouldn't let us pass. We had to go get something from another person, then try again (and this time succeed). So we crossed the Zambesi River on a bridge we had canoed under two weeks earlier. And went through the re-entry stuff to Zambia, and were met by the appointed person in a comfortable and quiet van. That felt good.

It seems that in Africa, you have to have a lot of faith that things will work out, and they always seem to. The Zambian driver had waited at the border over two hours for us, having faith that we would show. And we had to have faith that there would be someone there to meet us, and he was.

After the trip back to Lusaka, they let me off at the Juls Guest House and,a after a bit of akin around, my room and my bag were found, and I was safely ensconced. Faith again.

That bed looked pretty good.

I benefitted from one aspect of African incompetence. My "24 hour" Internet connection from almost three weeks previously was still working, so I was able to phone Darlene.

Then I got busy organizing for today, and lost sight of time. I was late arriving at the appointed supper place with Charlie and Daphne, and was scolded for it. And the restaurant they wanted to go to was closed, so we had to go to another one in the plaza which was not as good.

But the night ended with hugs and handshakes. And we left as friends after a wonderful trip on the Zambesi!

This morning, I was up early as usual, had a real shower and was all set to go by six. By about six-thirty, I met the same driver, Martin, who had picked me up at the airport, and he drove me back to the airport. He told me he would like to go back to his family farm, but cannot afford it right now. He is living in a three-room house (kitchen, sitting area, and bedroom - the bathroom is outside) and pays $125/month for that, plus water. He has a wife and three children, and relatives who sleep in the sitting room. Such is life in the relatively prosperous city of Lusaka.

Getting through security and customs at the airport was easier than coming in, and after looking at a few of the shops in the airport, I border the plane to the UK.

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Location:Lusaka

Camp Vine, August 5

Today was a big day: we saw a pride of lions, pretty close; also saw some wild painted dogs.

We were not as early as we had hoped in getting going, and we had to drive to a place where we started to walk, so that we didn't end with too much for our weak North American bodies.

I continue to be amazed at how well these guys can see things in the bush. What to us look like little specks of dirt or perhaps a log, they can pick out as wild boar, elephants, or in today's case, lions. Bono was able to see a brown speck in the grass, and knew this was a lion. We worked our way downwind, and were able to get within about two hundred metres of a magnificent male lion, along with two females.

We stood on a termite mound to see them, and they came out from under their tree for us, before trotting away.

We then met the car, and were on our way to a lunch spot when they saw some wild dogs under a bush. Turns out to have been a pack of them, and we stopped and got some very good pictures of them.

Later, after lunch, we saw another pack lying under a bush along with several vultures, as if they were all friends.

So I think I can safely go home now.

On our way back to the camp, we spotted an occupied aardvark den (the aardvark was out at the time, and there was no hyena in it either), and also stopped to admire a Blue Pansy Butterfly, along with the skeletal remains of a tortoise.

So a productive day all told. We are now back in camp, there are elephants grazing about three hundred metres away, and life is good. But it is hot, so I will go and have a scotch by the river.


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Location:Camp Vine

Camp Vine, Day 3

Well, we had been asking to see a leopard, so I guess we shouldn't have been surprised. Last night, about two in the morning, there was a very loud sound from a leopard just behind the camp. It came several times, over about ten minutes, then seemed to move off. I was glad we have a toilet attached to our tents, 'cause I wasn't going outside at all.

Some lion sounds, as well as the hippos as usual. I finally was able to get back to sleep after the excitement of the calls. We were woken again at five- thirty, and got onto the trail shortly after six. We walked a long time, when Bono said: "there!", and there was a leopard in a low branch above the ground. They are very shy, so it jumped down immediately, with a growl. I saw it's body and tail, Charlie saw the paws. We looked for it among the low bushes for a while, the gave up and walked back home. Overall, we were gone about three hours, and came back in rapidly heating up sunlight, to get some breakfast, and now to lie down.

It's strange to think that this trip is almost over. I think I was a bit scared at first, quite unsure of what I would find here, and nervous that I would not like it at all. And I did not handle myself well at the airport in Lusaka: forgot to do things, didn't have the right money with me, and so on. And Lusaka is what you'd guess a third world city would be like, with too many people all scratching out a living, many by trying to seek things to you while you drive slowly down the busy streets. Even the downtown is a bit bleak and makes you nervous in it's busy-ness and disrepair. And the trip to Kariba reinforces your concerns with the stops for police checks, the border guards who seem to be on the take, and lots of things happening in a language you don't understand.

But the time in Zimbabwe (which I thought might be the scariest, what with Mugabe and all) has turned out to be quite wonderful. The canoe trip was hard at times, scary at times, but got us into the rhythm of the country. And the folks we have been with all this time (Bono, Champion, previously Scumbuzo, now Take, Sebastien, Nelson) have all been delightful, and open about their concerns and hopes for the country they live in. Their obvious determination to make this place work, and not give up on it, is remarkable and heartening. We have learned so much from them, and it is not all about the plants and animals of this National Park (as amazing and exciting as that has been). I would come back to Zimbabwe, and would do this again, or something like it. And I will come back to Africa, now with the knowledge I have garnered from this trip.

This afternoon, after our now-usual nap and lunch, we walked a ways into the bush, and then were met by the car to bring us back. On this encounter, we met a sole male elephant, who came towards us in a mock charge.

I got some pictures, and it was kind of frightening at the time. As we were driving back, there were also elephants by the road, who came quite close. As well, the impalas, baboons, a few kudus, some verbet monkeys, and a number of storks and hornbills.

All in all, a good day.
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Location:Zambesi River

Camp Zambesi, Day 2

We had an early wakeup again today, about 5:30. Got breakfast, did our quick face wash, and we were off about 7:00. A slower walk today, partly because Daphne was with us, and partly because Charlie was not feeling well. Bono had the brilliant idea of lending me his shoes, which are called rafters, to try and see if I could walk any better. When I had woken, my heel was still sore. So I took along the other shoes, but wore Bono's. And they were great. We walked about ten km this morning, and my foot actually felt better at the end of it than the beginning.

Much of what we saw today was a sort of repeat of yesterday. We had hoped to see a lion, and went looking for one. But no success there. We saw many animals from a distance, but nothing too close. I think Bono was worried about our ability to run if we needed to, and he was right. However, it was still a great walk, and I was glad to have done it.

By noon, it was very hot, so we stopped for a packed lunch (packed, that is, by the staff, and brought to us by car). Lunch consisted of a green salad, a bean salad, and a chicken pie. They even had cold beer! Now, this is camping as it should be.

We did a small walk back to the camp, saw some elephants, and some elands, and then we had our showers and settled in to the evening by the water. And, oh yes, we got our laundry back as well, all neatly folded.

Supper was a butternut squash soup, followed by fish (local bream) and chips, with a green salad and mixed wonderful veggies, then a desert.

And all this done over a wood fire. I don't know how he does it, but the cook, Nelson, is terrific. The servers are Take (short for Take More), and Sebastien, with Papa Mike as the supervisor. We had a long discussion about politics, and the role of the religion and the influx of Muslims. Very interesting.

So a good day.


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Location:Zambesi River

Camp Vine, Day 2

We had decided last night to try and get up and out early to see the early animals. We actually succeeded, with some help from our Camp VIne friends, in getting up, having our coffee/tea and toast and getting away by six. A new record.

We were walking from the camp, and we had high hopes because there was a lot of activity around the camp last night. There had been elephants, lions, hippos, hyenas, and likely a honey badger in the area. So there was clear disappointment when we had seen nothing in our fist hour. Even then, the rising sun was wonderful to see, so we were not upset.

And the second hour was much better. We got a closer view of wart hogs than we had had so far; also saw five hyenas in a few groups, as well as the usual impalas and water bucks. So we felt pretty lucky. And then on the way home we ran into a group of Cape Buffaloes, and I think got some good pictures.

The two hour walk promised turned into three hours, and we got home to a wonderful hot breakfast prepared by the staff. The rest of the morning was lazy, reading, and sleeping. We were woken with the announcement that lunch was ready. They had prepared kapenta, a small fish about the size of a guppy, caught in nets, and fried with peppers and onions and tomatoes. It was to be eaten with sadza and with our fingers. And I tried it this time the traditional way. There was also some spaghetti and two nice salads. Boy, this camping is tough.

A shorter walk this afternoon, not too much seen. But it is very hot, so we are all looking forward to having a shower. I really like the outdoor shower.

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Location:Camp Vine, Zambesi River

Camp Zambesi

Our first day at the camp and it was great! After a fitful sleep and many dreams (the result of too much wine last night), I got up at the prescribed 5:30, and headed for the shower. The shower stall is a canvas enclosure, about five feet tall, with a bag of warmed water overhead, and a shower head to let the water out onto me. As I showered, itself a wonderful experience, I was able to look over the wall of the shower stall and watch the sun rise through the trees. It was incredible!

And this place has laundry as well, and they will even iron the clothes if you wish. So I put all my dirty clothes out, and by the time I got back to camp, the were washed and on a large bush, drying in the sun.

Unfortunately, Daphne got what Charlie had had, and was very indisposed. She remained in bed, while the rest of us had breakfast and prepared to go for our morning walk. Bono and Champion led the way, and Bono had acquired a rifle for everyone's protection. We spent a fair time looking at the droppings of various animals - impalas, elephants, wart hogs, buffalo, zebras, water bucks, and so on. Even saw some scat from a lion. We were in an area where there was likely a lion, so we took it quite slowly and carefully.

We decided that it was better not to provoke whatever was in one group of bushes we passed (we had heard something large move), so went around it and kept going.

After a bit, we came across a hippo sleeping. He was a fair ways above the water, sleeping on his side, and we were able to get quite close to him. We got some pictures before he opened his eyes, raised his head, and spotted us.

He was on his feet and facing us, looking like he was about to charge. We backed off, and he went the other way to the water. Whew!

Then on and across some very interesting terrain. Some of it was like typical savannah, some of it muddy flats, dried and deeply fissured,

some of it was sandy riverbed, some of it was more like a forest. Very unusual for an Ontario boy. We saw lots of impalas, some water bucks, a few wart hogs, and some zebras. And then we saw some elephants. There was a family of them, with a mother, a cub, and some other mothers in the vicinity.

And there was a lone, young, male. He seemed to be disoriented a bit, came over towards us and looked a bit like he was going to charge towards us. Bono told us to back away slowly to a nearby tree, and we didn't need to be told twice. He stayed forward, and yelled at the elephant to scare it. It worked, and he turned away, but it took a while for our hearts to slow down.

We also came across a Snake Eagle which was on the ground, alive, but clearly dying. We thought perhaps it had been bitten by the snakes it was trying to catch.

We walked a long ways after this, going altogether about eighteen km. Then stopped for lunch. My foot was hurting by this time, so I decided not to walk the afternoon. I came back in the car with Daphne (who recovered enough to join us for lunch, although not for walking at all), stopping along the way to see water bucks, kudus, baboons, impalas, zebras, and so on. Also stopped to look at the skull of an elephant who died two years ago in an outbreak of anthrax they had here.

Then back to camp, I sat by the water and read while the sun went down. Chatted with the guides when they got back, had a wonderful supper complete with Mopone worms, sadza, beef stew, and cooked veggies, and have come to bed. I understand that this is a bad area for hyenas, so we are careful to bring all our things into the tents.

Tomorrow we will see if any of us can walk with Bono: Charlie went to bed early feeling unwell; Daphne is just recovering from her gastro; and my foot is now sore from today. So it may be a very lazy day tomorrow.
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Location:Mana Pools

Off the Zambesi, August 2

Today would be characterized by travel. We had only about five km to go to the take out point at Kanyemba, and half of that was through a back channel. Our breakfast was fast and was local sausages (yum), along with toast and coffee, and beans. Then we were off, among the native Morning Glory and Scrambled Egg plant, until we got to open water.

I forgot to mention that last night after supper, Scu had told us a story of the River Goddess, complete with a carving of the story made from local mahogany. I was mightily impressed and we talked at length about myth and its uses. Through the night, the wind had come up, so I mentioned to Scu that the goddess had some tricks still for us. As we talked about it, he said that he would like to give me the carving. After some protest, I agreed to take it, and was very pleased.

Champion and I had a long talk about politics, and the state of Zimbabwe and Africa, while we were traveling to our designation. So I did not paddle a lot (can't paddle and talk at the same time). Champion did most of the paddling, and we reached the take-out point in lots of time. Got the truck which was waiting, packed and we set off about 9.

The trip over to Mana Pools was very long and somewhat interesting. We at first, near Kanyemba, passed several small villages with their round houses and kitchens, their raised granaries and chicken coops, and then a lot of not very much. There were some wonderful baobab trees, some of which must be several thousand years old.

And then we stopped for lunch. A small town site, with a school, three stores (a pub, and two grocery stores), along with some stalls which were selling clothes bought in Harare. We bought a cold drink, they fixed the truck, and we were off again.

Once we got to the Park, we were to switch vehicles and had to say goodbye to Scu. We had a different staff for the shore camp, apparently.

Overall, it took ten hours to get to where we are tonight. This is a mobile camp, and "camp" is really a misnomer. We are in walled tents with beds, and rigs on the floor. There is a shower, and toilet stall, and a full kitchen. We had supper by candlelight, sitting at a table, with wine glasses and all. It's quite surreal!

On the way in here, we stopped for several minutes to watch a mother and baby (about three month old) elephant grazing in the grass beside the road. Also saw some warthogs, wild dogs, impalas, and zebras. And that's all In the first hour. This will be fun.

Tomorrow we walk about twenty km overall. Hope my foot holds out.


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Location:Camp Zambesi

On the Zambesi, August 1

Today was characterized by wind, and lots of it. While yesterday had been relatively quiet, today made up for it. We have had wind on most of the days, always in our faces, and often quite strong. But this morning took the cake, with winds of over forty, and gusts probably up to sixty. With the river being as wide as it sometimes is (at times over three kms) there were waves to contend with. I got wet and my stuff got wet from the spill coming over the bow of the canoe. And in spite of the current being about seven km/hr with us, having the wind against us meant that at times we were working hard and getting almost nowhere. I was a wet, miserable, and just plain grumpy.

We had had a short breakfast at the Ranger Station, then took off, and paddled over seventeen km before stopping for a short break. Then back in the canoe, paddled again for over ten km, and stopped for lunch and a siesta.

About three, we took off again, and paddled until almost dark. Total of over forty-seven km today.

One very pretty area is a bunch of cliffs called the red cliffs, named, as you would expect, for the colour of the rock face.

We also passed through another area which is called a gorge, but is nothing like the gorges we have at home. It is narrow, but the hills on the sides are not steep or rocky, and the water is faster, but not bad.

Right now, I am sitting on a mattress pad at the side of my wet tent and being glad we have stopped for the night.


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