Part of what will make this road trip so memorable is the people we have met en-route.
Lovely & eccentric characters that we have crossed paths with whilst travelling through Zambia include:
- The young French couple who are cycling down the African Continent. She was a psychiatrist and he was a physio therapist. The idea was she would take care of their minds and he would take care of their bodies 😊. Cycling the length of Africa is next level. The amount of water you need to carry alone is a challenge that makes you quite reliant on people around you. You’re a lot more vulnerable on the roads, the temperatures are bonkers, and the hills at times are no joke. In a nutshell – these guys are rock stars! We got chatting to them at Bridge camp, the half way point between South Luangwa and Lusaka. As we said our goodbyes the following morning, temperatures were already reaching over 40 degrees, and she casually announced that she hates cycling. My heart broke for her. I asked if she always hated cycling or had she simply peddled too many kilometers. She admitted she always hated it but was doing it for her other half. Hearing this, we turned to him and said ‘she must really love you’. The sheepish facial expression made us think he had heard that before! I suggested perhaps she make a list with everything she wants to do in life after this trip 😊.
- The Nairobi based, third culture kid- now journalist who was disheartened with the way of the world. I was intrigued as to where life had taken her on her journalistic journey. She talked about being interested in environmental journalism and had been writing about climate change for the last 15 years. Facts, facts, facts, sources, sources, sources, check, check, check, had been drilled into her all through her career – so the idea that some Charlie on a soap box can roll out a Tik Tok video, spouting off a whole load of nonsense, that is then absorbed as fact by tons of people, has gotten her so down that she has left journalism and is now in consulting. Her examples where fascinating, frustrating, and just made you stop and think about what direction the world is moving in.
- The eccentric lodge owner who told us 101 stories about previous visitors to his camp. He had a thing about South Africans rocking up in his campsite and stealing his loo paper, to the point that when a group descended on him to watch the final of the Super 15 Rugby – he turned it off half way and claimed the subscription wasn’t paid on time. That will teach them to steel his toilet paper 😊! He was unapologetically himself and if you didn’t like it, you were very free to leave.
- The young Dutch couple who ended up buying the camp they got engaged at
- Standing next to a brother & sister who went to the same university I did. We were only 2 years apart. Their parents knew all sorts of people who belong to the Dutch Farming community in Arusha. Shows it’s a small world and you should never say anything bad about anyone else as you might be standing next to their cousin, next door neighbor, or first love.
- The Samoan brothers we watched the England – Somoa Rugby match with. Two big friendly giants who could put away beers like I had never seen before. They were such a joy to watch the rugby with!
- The young designer couple from Belgium. She designed wedding dresses, he – yachts. They taught us all sorts of French swear words as their Hilux was having some electrical issues. When the alarm went off at all random moments of the day – all we could hear was ‘AIE PUTAIN!!’ or ‘MERDE’ !! We thought we take some stress out of their day and invited them (along with young Dutch couple) for a Thai green curry in Kafue one night – which was a big success.
- The Italian biologist/graphic designer/lodge owner who took us for a game drive to show us his neck of the woods – considering he didn’t know us from Adam, he treated us like long lost friends – we were even offered a pasta carbonara made from scratch – delicious! Such a character, made us feel very welcome.
Lastly, it has become apparent that we are part of an unofficial but very exclusive club – the Land Rover club 😊. When we find ourselves in a place, on our way, and in the hazy distance of the heat haze you can make out the silhouette of a landy plodding towards you, you start to feel a buzz. We are not the only ones one the road not physically able to make it over 100km/hr! There is someone else out there driving with all windows down as the airco never worked! There is another colored car on the road as opposed to all the white Toyota rental bakkies! And in the wee seconds that you pass each other you form a bond – lights flash, horns beep and your chuffed to come across another member of your tribe! I have seen this type of behavior before only with Rastafarians – who give each other the nod of approval when passing by in the street. We are the rastas of the road it seems….?