We are not city people, but there was something about Lusaka that agreed with us. For sure you had the chaos that you find in all African cities, but Lusaka offered a type of organized chaos with a very friendly undertone. We have been stopped a number of times by police, but as yet, have to be asked (directly or indirectly) for a bribe. Compared to what we are used to, the police are so friendly here, that I am almost tempted to offer them a high five when they wish us ‘a safe and pleasant’ journey.
When Andromeda spits her dummy out and we need a push start – we never have to ask people for help, help just arrives from all corners, and always smiling!
The International community that we met, had a similar friendly vibe to it. Staying with an old buddy of Colin from Mombasa days, we were invited to an art exhibition one night, where local artists/photographers had donated a picture or two, to be auctioned off, and all the proceeds were going to a local school. The photograph that received the most bids that night (including one from us 😊) was a baboon sitting on a rail track, deep in thought. It tickled everyone’s sense of humor. As the two random weirdos at the party – we got chatting to all sorts of folks, from all walks of life, and felt very welcome. The gang that evening was easy-going, genuine, non-judgmental, had interesting life stories, and above all, an excellent sense of humor. The thought ‘I could live here’ did cross my mind.
After three nights in the capital, it was time to get back to the bush. Kafue National Park is a huge, relatively unknown park, that has been taken over by Africa Parks, who are doing their best to put this gem on the map. As it turns out, a buddy that used to be in my little brother’s class in high school, recently bought a camp here. There is nothing more powerful than local knowledge, and with the help of Quintin & Tessa our 5-day plan was in place – we would spend three nights with them at Kasabushi and two nights in the South, at hippo bay camp, on the shores of the lake.
Kafue is fabulous! Highlights for us included spending a whole morning with a female leopard who was completely bomb proof. She was so inquisitive that she came to check us out at one point – amazing! We also saw the Sable antelope, a new species for the list which was very exciting. The Sable is a majestical antelope with its dark hide and huge horns! Unfortunately, we (the royal we!) didn’t get the photo. I would say it was because Col was faffing with the camera, and Col would tell you it was because my drive approach towards it, was all wrong – whoever was at fault, the result is you are going to have to google ‘Sable Antelope’ to see what it looks like 😊.
We enjoyed a boat safari up the river which is a new safari experience for us. We saw plenty of crocs, and hippos, and had a sundowner at one of the islands which was fab. We also went on a game drive with a local guide along the lake, where the birdlife was booming. There are tsetse flies here but they can all quite easily be avoided if you game drive the early mornings and late afternoons.
We are still not 100% sure why Andromeda won’t start every now and then. It has happened twice, in the last week, that she left us in a wee pickle. The first time was when we turned off whilst among a breeding herd of buffalo about 100 strong. Thankfully they were mellow, and although they kept their eyes on us, no one got stroppy. The second time was whilst we were figuring out what was in a bush on a termite mound. Turns out it was a pride of lions. We hadn’t seen any cars all day which was fab, and had the simbas to ourselves. When it was time to move on, the famous ‘heart sinking click noise’, made it clear Andromeda wasn’t ready to go just yet. We were not on a slope, so a jump start wasn’t an option. I was on the side furthest away from the lions, and got out to give her my 3-inch nudge – but that failed. This is when the only other car in the park, rocked up to find us parked in the middle of the road with no offer to move. We used our best sign language to try to communicate that were not trying to being anti-social gits – but we couldn’t move – and motioned for them to drive around us. Once next to us, the car window was rolled down and we told them about the lions, and could they maybe give us a push with their car, to get us on our way. Lions?! The binos, cameras, and excitement, all came into action, with us still awkwardly in the way…. Once the excitement settled and we asked again if they wouldn’t mind giving us a push – their reply was: Why? They were so thrilled about the idea of the big cats, that everything else we had said, fell on deaf ears. We told them again about our not starting issue. AAAHHH ZOOOO!!! You have a problem?! They were more than happy to oblige, gave us a push with the front of their very expensive rental car, only for me to screw up the jump start, but thankfully it was enough for Andromeda to fire up again. So, we left our German friends to enjoy the sighting by themselves and made a firm note to not turn off the engine till we got to camp.
We could easily spend longer here. I feel we will definitely be back in Zambia, we often find ourselves thinking: ‘I wish we had longer here’, or ‘we should have visited there.’
I feel confident it won’t be long till we return.
Next stop: Livingston
Makes me smile to read about your happy time!❤️