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Published: July 16th 2010
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“Let your memories be your travel bag.”Alexander Solzenhitsyn(he was the Russian writer sent to the Gulag by none other than Stalin….not sure about the treasures in his travel bag?).
There are many great rivers on this planet and Africa has it’s fair share of these…think no further than the mighty Nile.But,right here on our doorstep is the Zambezi River,which must get at least a top ten ranking.Having done a bit of research here are some key statistics….it is the 4th largest river on the African continent.It’s source is in Zambia and it then flows westward slicing through a corner of Angola before turning east.It then plays out a very important geographical role as it creates borders for Namibia,Zambia,Zimbabwe and Mozambique where it’s force is finally spent as it disgorges into the Indian Ocean.Now the Brits,being the great colonial power in Africa in the 1800’s,must have thanked their lucky stars when they discovered the Zambezi.After all there was no need to spend time and money trying to figure out what should define some of their African colonies of the time…..Bechuanaland,Nyasaland,Rhodesia etc.,This mighty river provided their solution.The other interesting statistic is that along it’s 2700km journey to the sea it has an estimated
30 million people living within it’s basin with roughly a third of that number living directly from it’s bounteous quantities of fish.Talking of which……whilst standing on the bank after a fishing outing,Bruce Birkett and I engaged in conversation with a scientist working for the Namibian Wildlife Authority(he has strong links to Rhodes University).He had collected a large sample of small baitfish and was busy placing them in tiny containers for DNA testing.On being questioned he mentioned that there are in the region of 90 different species of fish in the middle Zambezi section.That’s an impressive number and provides some idea of the importance of the Zambezi ecosystem which supports huge quantities of inverterbrates,reptiles and birds.
Island View Lodge is “home” up until 24th July and,despite having been here 5-6 times,it is impossible to tire of the place.The Lodge and rustic cottages are located right on the edge of the Zambezi looking onto Kalimbeze Island which splits the Zambezi for about two km’s.It is,quite simply,an idyllic setting and the day starts with pied kingfishers raucously calling in the early morning chill.Thereafter,is a cacophony of sound as the Heuglin’s robins,swamp boubou’s and others all go about acknowledging the new dawn.A slight mist
on the mirror smooth water creates an illusion of tranquility…..beneath that surface the harsh reality of survival for many of the smaller fish in the food chain continues.Early morning the temperature kicks off at about 5-6 deg C but by mid morning it is a very pleasant 26 deg C.The bird life along the banks is prolific with huge numbers of herons,bitterns,egrets and others all gorging themselves on small baitfish being flushed back into the main river as the flood plains recede.
This is a serious “chill out” location where one can while away the hours doing as little as possible and for good measure the beauty of the river is there every time you happen to gaze up.Megan Birkett and Sue spend hours playing a card game called “Spite and malice” and never seem to tire…..some intense competition.When carded out they simply default to reading…..lots of books to plough through over the next few weeks.
One of the primary reasons for this and all the other visits to the Zambezi is,of course,in pursuit of the mighty tiger fish.Much has been written about tigers but by way of a quick summary…..they are without doubt the most ferocious predatory fish found
in any fresh water river system.Not an easy fish to hook and land due their very strong and hard jaws which are lined with an impressive set of jagged teeth.An intriguing part of their tactical armory is their tendency to go aerial when hooked….this is an effective ploy they use to throw the hook.At the time of writing we have been here since Monday 12th July and fishing outings total seven(generally we go out early morning until mid day and then late afternoon/evening).I have caught a number of fish just under a kg but only two decent fish…both 2kg.Not unsurprisingly a decent fish was lost estimated at 3-4 kg but at this stage the big guys have eluded us(we would expect to catch a few big fish in the 5-7kg range).Watch this space….yes,desperation creeping in but we have to stay with the program.
The evenings are something special with the best sunsets you will see anywhere as sundowners slip down parched throats reflecting on another day in paradise.Somehow sitting around a glowing fire under an African night sky puts one at peace with the World.Looking into those flames evokes different thoughts for each one of us but we do remind
each other indirectly how lucky and privileged we are to experience the majestic charms of the Zambezi River which shimmers in the soft moonlight close by.
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anonymous
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wow, sounds awesome !!