Zambia and Zimbabwe

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23 December 2015
We left Malawi (The Warm Heart of Africa) yesterday to enter Zambia ( The Real Africa). Our fellow Canadian, New Zealand and Australian travellers were once again annoyed that the Irish got away without splashing out $50 for a visa. We on the other had were very smug, not only did we save money the visa stickers would have wasted a whole page on our passport which has an ever increasing number of stamps.
We have spent two nights at Croc Valley campsite which had a massive orange river right beside it. We were surprised by how much noise the many hippos that lived there made all day and especially all night. It was quite an experience. I was a little apprehensive when Chris told us it wasn't unusual for hippos to graze by the tents during the night. Hippos don't eat meat but they have killed quite a lot of humans who get between them and the river when they feel threatened. We were also welcomed by several families of monkeys who would try and steal our food from the truck at every opportunity. We were warned that they loved to poo and pee on the tents from the tree branches above which we avoided.
We spent the second day chilling and swimming in the pool and the night watching the sunset and the distant lightning storm from the campsite veranda sipping a cool Zambian beer. Note. Kenyan beer is still my favorite so far.
I somehow managed to pull a muscle in my neck while drying my hair after my shower. It was so sore. I had the worst might sleep ever.


Just wanted to back track for a minute. I went on three amazing village walks with local guides. Please see below.

Mto Wa Mbu, Tanzania:
We left camp with Jodi, Wendy and myself along with a local man and a student. They took us for a walk along the community rice paddy fields. The locals all work together to sow and gather the crops. There isn't enough rain throughout the year so they have constructed a irrigation system with lots of locks and channels to supply the free water source to any field that requires it. They just need to ask the village chief in advance. We continued to walk through the village and seen how the houses are constructed with mud and wood. We also stopped in an amazing wood workshop where four men were busy making animals, people and beautiful artistic carved masterpieces out of different woods.
Later we walked through a freshly ploughed field which Jodi got stuck in an lost both her shoes to my amusement. She had to walk to the next house bear foot where the guide washed her shoes and gave her a foot massage under a cold tap. She was a little embarrassed. We saw lots of different banana trees; red ones, yellow ones and small ones which they cooked and made banana beer with. Banana trees only yield one bunch of bananas in its life. Once ripe the tree is cut down and a new tree sprouts. we got to try some banana beer which was very watery and had all sorts floating in it.
We finished the walk with a yummy local meal with 12 pots full of different food. They even had Irish Potatoes which is actually a thing here.

Stone Town, Zanzibar
A man with a very strange accent collected us from the hotel. He was a local man but he was taught English by a teacher from south London. He would constantly switch between his local accent and a cockney accent depending on who taught him the word. He was very aware of English saying like raining cats and dogs, (or in his words foxes and horses if it's very heavy rain) kor blimey, etc. He was very amusing. As we walked round the narrow Arab influenced streets which was more like Morocco than Tanzania he showed us the many wooden carved frames which surrounded the large doors to the various houses. If there where fish on it they where fish mongers, if they had flowers they sold spices and if they had chains they sold people. Zanzibar was the hub of the slavery trade when the Arabs ruled the area. We were later shown the chambers where slaves where chained for weeks. They were given very little food and water to see how long they would last. If they lasted a few weeks they would be classed as strong and would be sold at a higher price. Also if they survived lashings they would also fetch a higher rate. The conditions they were kept in were disgusting. Further on was the place they held the slave market. When William Wilberforce fought slavery from the UK, Doctor David Livingstone fought for it in Africa. David was Scottish and loved Africa very much. Unfortunately he died a month before slavery was outlawed in Zanzibar. The English missionaries made sure slavery couldn't return by building a church on the slave market; replacing evil with good. When David died his African friends carried his body all the way back to London. Before setting off they removed his heart and buried it in Africa per David’s wishes.
We also visited the markets which was full of meat, fish and spices and the palace of the sultan who used to rule Zanzibar.

Kande Beach, Malawi,
Me and some of the girls went for a walk round a traditional Malawi village. Jodi hurt her ankle the previous day so didn't partake. As soon as we left the campsite enclosure we were mobbed by about 20 men all wanting to talk to us. I knew they would eventually try and sell us something but I wasn't expecting for them to walk the whole route with us. Eventually I let my guard down and talked casually to them which was good cause they told me a lot about the village and the country. We first stopped at the guide’s house which took 15 years for his grandfather to finish. They make their own bricks, which a male child learns to do at the age of 6, from the clay in the steams and they pay a builder to construct the house which takes about a fortnight. The other fourteen years is down to the high price of corrugated steel for the roof which they need to save for. They used to use a type of grass but it is quite scarce now.
We visited a water pump which provides fresh water to the village. The Canadians installed hundreds in the country for free to save the people from drinking dirty water.
We continued by joining locals making flour by pummelling a white starchy plant into powder. This was a woman's job but took an awful lot of effort to keep smashing the chalk like cubes. Once complete they could make bread and ugali which is a rice like dish.
We continued to the school where the headmaster, Francis, explained to us about education in Malawi. The school had 8 classes with about 100 pupils in each; the class rooms were not very big. The kids would start at 6am by cleaning the toilets and playground and finish at 9pm, which is a very long day. But they are so grateful for the education. All the kids wear uniforms which stops bullying surrounding cclothing but not all families can pay the $12 required. Most families rely on donations for clothes and exercise books which they go through one a fortnight. Even though it was a Sunday there were so many kids around. They would rush up to us wave and high-five us and then hold our hands as we walked. It was so heart warning.
We next went to the village Roman Catholic church. The music was so beautiful and the prayers were followed by the amazing voices of the choir. It was a super experience. The whole service was in the local language but we partook as much as we could, mainly by dancing and clapping. Everyone was so welcoming and shook our hand when it was time to do The Peace.
Our next stop was a maternity hospital which was really small and run down. There were two ladies there. One had given birth to a beautiful daughter 27 hours previous and the other was close to giving birth. It was so sad to find that the water pump had been broken for over a year so they had to carry water to the hospital and the steriliser was also broken meaning surgery tools could not be cleaned fully. The bed covers we raggedy and the place lacked so much funding. It was such a shame.

We finished the walk by returning to the camp site. Not before visiting the shops of the men who had followed us from at the start. I first learned how to play the local board game. Once they let me win they asked if I wanted to buy it. They also tried to sell me paintings and small carving. I hadn't much money left so they reluctantly sold me a bracelet. They had told me previously they were saving for college. You only get your primary education free in many African countries. You then have to work and save to go to secondary school, college and university. They would complete one semester, come home and save until then had enough money to do another semester and so on. So schooling could take an awful long time if you can't find the money.

24 December 2015

Yesterday we had quite a long drive. Our bums are very numb. We drove into Zambia’s fastest growing city, Lusaka. It was very odd as it looked like many city centres back home or anywhere else in Europe. We stopped at a supermarket to pick up some Christmas food and drink and it was so Christmasy, with decorations everywhere. Zambia is one of Africa's richer countries. Most people have cars and there are lots of companies, corporate businesses and large commercial farms. I'm not sure why they call them selves ‘The real Africa’. Malawi is so poor in contrast with walking and bicycles the only real mode of transport. Everyone seems much happier and content there and nearly every kid waves as we drive past, even without the money so maybe Malawi should be called the warm heart of real Africa!?
We spent last night at the Eureka Campsite. We were startled when we thought something large had managed to get into our tent. I turned the flashlight onto the roof expecting a massive bug, but there was nothing. I then realised zebras were munching grass a meter from our door. They're so sneaky!
This morning we woke up early at 03:10 as we had to get to the Zimbabwe boarder early to avoid the large busses and the Christmas eve rush. We packed out stuff away and opened the doors to find a horse sized dog and his little doggy friend. We tried to put our stuff away but the bus was locked up. We went back but no one else was awake. As we put our tents away we had to zip the panels up. I did this quite loudly to try and wake the others up, but to no avail. I went to the bathroom and came back and only the cook was there starting to make breakfast. I couldn't believe no one else had started putting their tents away. It still didn't occur to us that we may have made a mistake. We had actually misheard the instructions the previous night about breakfast time and we had got up an hours earlier than required. The other campers had heard our attempts to wake them and they weren't so impressed. We laughed about it over breakfast though.

We have passed into Zimbabwe, this time the Irish had to pay visa fees. More than the ozzys and kiwis but less than the Canadian. We now have our Frist visa sticker in our passports.

We wish our family and friends an amazing Christmas. We have had a brilliant time so far and are loving every minute. It is very weird spending Christmas in a warm climate. It just isn't the same. Miss you all loads. Jodi and Robert. Xx

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