Blogs from South Luangwa, Zambia, Africa - page 5

Hey everybody (apologize for the delay in actually writing this update) Well, our trip started by switching drivers, we now had Ben who claimed to be the best driver in the world. The roads were a lot worse than in Malawi and it was a very bumpy ride. After several hours of driving in the sun, we were almost to South Luangwa where we would be camping with local hippos, elephants and baboons. On the way up to the campsite (about 2 hours of driving on a separate road), we came along 2 people who were trying to get a ride up to the National Park area...we had just 2 seats left in the truck so we voted to bring them along. I was pretty excited to see the big Canadian flags on their travel backpacks ... read more

Malawi to Vic Falls Well, this really was simply 2 days of travelling; numerous snack stops along the way were vital to keep my ever expanding gut happy and also to procure US$ to spend in Zimbabwe. The goal on day one was to travel through to Lilongwe, have lunch and source USD then continue through to Ma Marula Camp site in Luangwa, Northern Zambia. My impression of Malawi steadily deteriorated on our way to Lilongwe; I did not think this possible but the scale of nothingness other than mud villages was astounding; no farms; no roads; no industry; I never believed I would be so happy to see the border into Zambia! Ma Marulas campsite, like the Snakepark in Arusha, was run by South African’s. That evening was the first experience of the Southern African ... read more

T.I.A - This Is Africa A truck motto for when things go wrong or for some of the bizarre occurances that take place day to day. A simple shake of the head and someone saying T.I.A happens pretty much every day. Todays blog will be an example of when this was said a lot. We were up at 5am for a long drive to cross the border into Zambia. After a few hours of fairly unevenful driving we came across a police check point. These are common in Africa and we usually pass a least one or two an hour, mainly being waved right through or only having to slow down and say hi for a few seconds. This time however, that was not meant to be. The policeman demanded we pull over and asked our ... read more

Before I left on my trip I talked a lot about wanting to experience a National Geographic moment. Well, my night drive in the South Luangwa national park afforded me that opportunity. We drove most of the day - the very steamy day - to arrive at our campsite at South Luangwa. After a quick refreshing jump in the pool, we got dressed, covered ourselves in bug spray and got ready for our night drive through the park. The night drive at South Luangwa is supposed to be the best opportunity for viewing predators on the hunt. This was not to be for us. What we did see in my opinion makes up for it in a big way. As we entered the park saw that a whole bunch of Safari trucks were stopped by the ... read more

We're here at the swanky campground called Flatdogs in the South Luangwa National Park. The camp is remote but with all the comforts we need in a campsite: running water, sit down toilets, electricity and a bar. We even have internet (obviously because I'm here). To get here was grueling. We drove for two days solid, so we're now clear across Zambia on the Malawi border. The roads are poor in Zambia, the first day we drove about 400 km in 11 hours, the next day about 600 km in 10 hours. Everywhere we go kids wave at our truck as we pass, some like to wave at tourists, some yell for candy and some just have their hands out. It's often quite difficult to watch as we pass. This is Africa, stark contrasts. Our camp ... read more