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Published: September 22nd 2010
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First up an apology, we have travelled many miles and for many weeks and not kept up to date with our blog. We feel it is best to update in chunks, and seeing as we have found a bar on the River Nile next to Lake Victoria with good internet access, this seems like the perfect opportunity to fill you all in with the first catch up instalment. So here we go.....
We spent 3 nights in Livingstone, a great place for those who want to part with some US$’s and get involved in some extreme activities. We thought it better to watch rather than throw ourselves off the bridge in front of Victoria Falls and as a result we had a very welcome break from truck life and relaxed. The falls themselves are spectacular, throwing up countless rainbows in the thick mist. As much as you want to stay dry, it just isn’t possible! It is not entirely true that we left all the extreme activities to the others in the group in Livingstone. On the first night it was deemed important that we all bonded on a booze cruise along the Zambezi. A fine setting to sample some of the local cocktails, which seemed to hit home pretty well judging by the efforts on the dance-floor later that evening...
Livingstone was left with a twang of sadness in the air however, as it was at this point where the beard had to go. Not before some filthy fun was had beforehand, going from full beard to lumberjack goatee, and then onto a rather disgusting handlebar mo. Pictures will be forthcoming.
Our next destination was South Luangwa via a stop-over in Lusaka, a little known game reserve in Zambia. As a result of its remote location, access was only possible for half of the year, and the “road” we used to get there left a little to be desired in Tristan the truck. It was all worthwhile when we arrived at the campsite as we were able to pitch our tents on the Luangwa River, sharing the banks with hippos and crocs on our side, and elephants and impala on the other. Not quite so friendly were the monkeys that ran a mock throughout the campsite. They had no fear of humans and tried to take any unattended food or bags from the bin that might contain scraps. When we had gone on our first game drive they managed to get into our “locked” truck and ate all the food and crapped everywhere. Not a nice clean up.
This drive gave us our first sighting of lions which was pretty special. They didn’t think much of us and just sat around in the setting sunshine not bothered by humans or game trucks. The night before some leopards had been spotted close by in the park, so we were very keen to see them ourselves. As dusk turned to night we were driving with the aid of a spot light looking around for the reflections of their eyes. We were a little unsure why we kept driving past all sorts of animals without stopping to look. It turned out that our guide had heard on the CB radio of a leopard up a tree so we went straight for it. Very soon we were parked next to the tree with about 5 other trucks. It really is a dead give-away for where the good animals are hiding, you just need to look for the other trucks!
Up in the tree was a leopard tearing through a freshly killed impala.
It was completely unflustered by the presence of trucks, spot lights and
thousands of flashbulbs. Luckily for us, in the grass on the other side of the tree was another leopard who had already had its fair share of impala
and was trying to sleep it off. We all felt incredibly privileged to
have seen such magnificent animals at such close quarters. Seeing them was definitely the highlight of the trip up to this point.
A long drive took us away from South Luangwa back along the bumpy road
and towards the border with Malawi. After 14 hours we were at Kande beach resort on Lake Malawi. Thankfully it was a gated resort because word had got out that a truck load of gullible tourists had turned up and everything was for sale at a very “special” price?! The following morning saw us taking a guided village walk through the local community. Stopping at the hospital you are truly amazed at how much work is done on such meagre resources. There was one medical practitioner who was just out of uni and a couple of nurses - but no doctor. On average they see 380 people a day mostly with malaria and other weakening diseases. Further into the village we were taken to a local primary school. Primary education is free for all in Malawi however not all kids go. It is often easier for the kids to beg tourists for pens, food and money than to go to school. A shame really, as secondary education is only available to those who can pay the school fees of about $150 and have achieved more than 90% in their primary school exams. So to take advantage of the free start would appear to be vital to a child’s development.
Megan went horse riding the following day through the local area. Whilst out, the group came across a local mob gathering on a house. About 300 locals were out on a witch hunt, and had located him that day. They were taking things into their own hands and were intent on burning down the accused’s house. Not a good idea to stick around to watch the local justice system in action so they finished off the trek with a bareback swim in the lake. It was obvious for all to see that both the horses and riders enjoyed cooling off.
We headed north along the lake seeing some stunning changes in scenery. Unfortunately the journey wasn't without incident. While stopping in town to grab supplies the truck had a little run in with another car. A local lady thought it would be a good idea to cut inside us as we turned left. The crowd that gathered around us got bigger and bigger and it seemed to take an age for the police to turn up. Eventually we had to go to the local nick to give statements and have a local dignitary decide who was at fault. After a couple of hours deliberating the judgement fell in our favour. A surprise to all of us but pleasant all the same.
The further we made it north and the higher up we got the more our surroundings changed. Moving into Tanzania it is a lot more lush and the tea plantations spread as far as the eye can see. We drove long and hard to get to Dar es Salaam but when there we enjoyed plenty of time in the Friday rush hour traffic. A truly chaotic city, and one where people walk amongst the stationary traffic seeing what they can take off your car or truck. So we were all on guard for light fingered locals wielding wrenches.
Dar was our gateway to Zanzibar where we spent 3 days. The first was on a tour of Stonetown where we were shown how the slaving industry made the island into one of the most important trade centres in the world. This was followed by a tour of the local food markets and a spice farm where we were shown how all of the fresh spices were grown. A great day of exploring Zanzibar was topped off at a beach resort at the North end of the island which we enjoyed with it seems like half of Italy on their holidays!
The next stop on our journey is the Serengeti National Park, but you will have to wait for that, hopefully the second instalment won’t be too far away.
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sammy.
non-member comment
so far so good
So pleased you had a good time at The Falls,what a site at this time of year before they start to dry up.When we left Sabrian in Mozambique she and Alice Gibson went to Malawi and the Lake but went local class which they found a little off putting but survived.they ten went onto Tanzania nand Kenya and now home safely. It is interesting between us we have done some of the same things albeit in a different order and time. Renewal season starting!!! all the best.