Blogs from South Luangwa, Zambia, Africa

Zambezi airlines doesn’t like me. I don’t know why, as far as I know I’ve never said anything crass to its sister or put my feet on its coffee table but it just doesn’t like me… Our flight from Dar to Lusaka was scheduled for 2pm on Wednesday, which would get us to Lusaka (Zambia) by 3pm-ish, where we would overnight before our noon flight to Mfuwe. I happened to check my e-mail and was informed that Zambezi had canceled our 2pm Wednesday flight and rescheduled it for 2am (Butt crack of) Thursday morning. This change of schedule meant that A) The hotel we booked in Lusaka was a loss, B) We would have to kill from 6pm (when we made it to Dar) to 2am somewhere around Dar and C) when we got to Lusaka, ... read more

New doc, Jen has arrived with husband Ed. Really great couple, and coincidently, they’ve done a season at Periche with the Himalayan Rescue Association (HRA), which is the same group Hazel will be working for in Manang next March. HRA have three bases, the third being Everest Base Camp. Jen will be doing Base Camp next year at the same time that we’ll be in Manang, so we’ll see her again at a final get-together (unfortunately Ed isn’t planning on staying the whole 3 months). Lots for Haz to handover. They get a call from Mfuwe Lodge and Ed and I join them. So while Haz and Jen are doing doctoring stuff, we just lounge around the lodge’s infinity pool and have a good chat. Ian comes over and we look and praise his photos. He ... read more

Hazel is doing some stock control of the drugs and equipment for the safari patients (separate gear to the clinic). She tries to take my blood to check if a sugar kit is still working - same pinprick as the malaria test kit, but instead of being stoic like all the patients at the clinic (particularly since I wasn’t very good at getting enough blood the first try), I run away. Carmine bee-eaters. Yesterday, Ian showed us his photos of the carmine bee-eater colony, taken with his new expensive camera and they are arresting. So Haz kindly asked Ian to take us out for a drive to the colony. It’s not the best light unfortunately, so we quickly put down the cameras and just enjoy the show and later have sundowners where Ian relates croc-eating human ... read more

Drinks night with couple Dave and Caroline with son DJ. All the staff are there - Cathy (cook), Jess and Ade (Flatdog directors), Paolo and Ed. Dave and Caroline are long term guests, and regulars to Flatdogs, so much so, they eat with the staff, get Palo and Ed gifts (they’re like adopted sons), and have people over to the tree house for dinner and drinks. They’ve mentioned funding the build of their own tree house since they come so regularly. After dinner, DJ and I go back to Jess and Ade’s for more drinks and conversation - they’re all such a good laugh. Jess and Ade have two sweet dogs, which they obviously spoilt rotten. ... read more

Yikes, what a difference humidity makes. It’s still around the same temperature as it’s been all week, but with the rains predicted any day now, the humidity is kicking in and it’s uncomfortable for me. Haz seems acclimatised. Spent the morning at the clinic shelving and recording the drugs and equipment that had been delivered earlier in the week from the Zambian health department and generally getting everything off the floor onto the shelves. The clinic is pretty well stocked in some areas - definitely have a surplus of condoms, surgical gloves, and 5ml syringes but Haz and the nurses (who are outstanding) still struggle as there’s not enough of some of the most used drugs; today she didn’t have the drugs to treat syphilis and bilharzia. ... read more

Spent the afternoon at the clinic doing malaria testing. Gulp. Not that good around blood initially. But get used to it. It’s easier to collect blood from babies, nice and coagulated, whereas adult blood just smears. I comment to Haz that I had to prick some of the adult patients a couple of times so to collect enough blood, and she wasn’t happy. But technique takes time to develop I say! Volleyball in the afternoon with Palo, Ed and Haz. I’m less dire. But we don’t have a reserve so I’m gasping most of the time... luckily we’re distracted by a couple of huge elephants on the opposite bank taking their leisurely time crossing. I would say they would have been about 200 meters away once they crossed. But they were hilarious to watch. The 2nd ... read more

Sunday 17 Oct 2010 Back to Flatdogs. Rest day. Monday 18 Oct 2010 At the clinic to do some charts which will show the top 10 diagnosis for the clinic. Tuesday 19 Oct 2010 Cannot recall what I did on this day -nothing of any consequence I imagine. ... read more

Lion bonanza starts. In our evening walking safari we see lions, rather Brian does and he’s exclaiming to me ‘they're just there..there.. can’t you see!?’. Well, in my defence, lions are sand coloured and they’re lying on sand! There’s four young males sitting leisurely in the middle of the river and later a cub and its mum emerge from a hidehold where they’ve dragged a recent kill. Since we’re walking, Brian and the scout are very careful not to encroach on the lion’s space, they pay particular attention to whether they’re flattening their ears or taking too much interest. But they don’t. It amazes me that eons of hunting have made lions fearful of humans so they don’t even express any interest; without guns we would be such easy pickings - walking ungainly and torturously slow ... read more