The last outpost of Zambia before Namibia's "Capriri Strip" begins, this little village lives of the fact that they are the gateway to Namibia. The hotel was alright, but the weather was rather grey. The advertised hippos were neither visible nore audible. We played cards and drank beer. The friendly hotel owner of Dutch descend cooked a wonderful meal for us and a Zambian business man who has spent Christmas in this place alone away from his family because he was waiting for spare parts for a gas station which has been broken for 3 months. He was really kind and we had a good chat with him.
I was desperate because I was out of cigarettes. I found a young doctor at the bar and hired him to drive to the center for me and buy me some cigarettes, He did so and I paid him with a prolonged conversation about Africa, Europe and the differences.
The Dutch owner constantly complained that the real boss around this place is his Zambian wife. "you better do what she says!".
The next day we were off to Namibia. Basically we went to the other side of the Zambezi river.
Showing posts with label Zambia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Zambia. Show all posts
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Livingston
Home of the mighty Victoria Falls, Livingston is a major tourist place throughout Africa. The falls can be viewed from Zam or Zim, but even though the falls are better seen from the Zimba
bwean side, we settled with the Zambian side. Visa cost are out of control in Zim and you have to
buy a new one for Zam if you come back.
Anyway, the falls were beautiful anyway, even though there is not much water during December. We spent Christmas at the falls and went to a fantastic Indian restaurant in the evening.
The backpackers was OK, providing some good meals, cerveza, pool, ping pong and some other convenient stuff. Just to splash a bit we went to a 4-5 star hotel and drank a beer. The pool was bigger, the place nicer and the staff politer - but it missed character.
bwean side, we settled with the Zambian side. Visa cost are out of control in Zim and you have to
buy a new one for Zam if you come back.Anyway, the falls were beautiful anyway, even though there is not much water during December. We spent Christmas at the falls and went to a fantastic Indian restaurant in the evening.
The backpackers was OK, providing some good meals, cerveza, pool, ping pong and some other convenient stuff. Just to splash a bit we went to a 4-5 star hotel and drank a beer. The pool was bigger, the place nicer and the staff politer - but it missed character.
Lower Zambezi
The Zambezi River comes all the way from Angola to the Indian Ocean in Mozambique. We visited it at the Zim-Zam border and set up our tent at the shore with the hippos in sight
. Actually Christian and Carla (C+C) rented a tent which was more a house with toilet, shower, two double beds and a roof on top of the tent. I set up my weekender just next to 
it - the servants quarter.
We stared out at the nature a lot, occasionally went to the pool, drank all day, talked about the last two years and played Janisch. Joking about the Afrikaans tourists with their apparent lack of culture and a river safari rounded it up for us. Elephants and hippos outside the water were the major attractions.
Good times
. Actually Christian and Carla (C+C) rented a tent which was more a house with toilet, shower, two double beds and a roof on top of the tent. I set up my weekender just next to 
it - the servants quarter.We stared out at the nature a lot, occasionally went to the pool, drank all day, talked about the last two years and played Janisch. Joking about the Afrikaans tourists with their apparent lack of culture and a river safari rounded it up for us. Elephants and hippos outside the water were the major attractions.
Good times
Lusaka
After an eight hour bus journey I arrived in Lusaka, the capitol of Zambia. There is Cairo street where all the high rises are and the businesses. West of the ce
nter the townships start. East are the "smart" white neighbor hoods and two shopping malls. White people are almost never walking. They use their Toyota Hillux to get from their mansion to the shopping mall and back. Most of them are South African, but there are also British and other random settlers around. I had to wait for my brother and his girlfriend for 10 days. So I updated my blog, bought some necessary gear and spent most of the time in the hostel. It had a pool and a bar which suited me very well. After playing chess, reading books, cooking and sleeping in the tent for 10 days Christian and Carla finally arrived. I never saw Carla before since I have left Switzerland before she met Christian. So we got to know us in Lusaka, which is not the best setting. I took them for a walk around with a visit at the National History Museum and told them what I knew about street wisdom in Africa.
Eventually I was happy to leave Lusaka, because it is a rather messy place with little to see.
nter the townships start. East are the "smart" white neighbor hoods and two shopping malls. White people are almost never walking. They use their Toyota Hillux to get from their mansion to the shopping mall and back. Most of them are South African, but there are also British and other random settlers around. I had to wait for my brother and his girlfriend for 10 days. So I updated my blog, bought some necessary gear and spent most of the time in the hostel. It had a pool and a bar which suited me very well. After playing chess, reading books, cooking and sleeping in the tent for 10 days Christian and Carla finally arrived. I never saw Carla before since I have left Switzerland before she met Christian. So we got to know us in Lusaka, which is not the best setting. I took them for a walk around with a visit at the National History Museum and told them what I knew about street wisdom in Africa.Eventually I was happy to leave Lusaka, because it is a rather messy place with little to see.
Saturday, December 11, 2010
South Luwanga NP
After the long ride from Chipata we arrived late and I didn't make it to the Flat dogs Camp. So I slept in Mfuwe town (road with shops on the si
de). The next morning I got supplies and left for the hostel that sounded so good in the LP. It turned out to be very cool. Backpackers are allowed to camp in the canopies of the trees, overlooking the grass with all it´s wildlife. Baboons and smaller monkeys are roaming the area and peacefully eat what they can get or fight each other in a noisy spectacle. A couple of giant lizards are also around.
From the riverside you can look out at the hippos that are there in great numbers and making bass sounds all they long. In the evenin
g time they come out of the water to eat the grass below the tent. So you can actually see these massive animals moving around. They are vegetarians and aggressive, but if they are afraid of something they run to the water. Because of their size and power they can run people over while running and kill them.
Elephants are also dangerous and people die regularly in this area, because the elephants have decided that the villages are part of their food gathering circles
. The houses are usually just huts and if the elephants smell food they will use their power to get to the source of the taste and in the process killing the residents.
In the morning antelopes eat grass at the shore. I once saw a buffalo and apparently the river is littered with crocs, but I never actually saw one.
A few days in a row their was a huge massacre of insects. They were flying around the lights the whole evening until most of them died. The grounds were full of millions and millions of dead insects. This happens only once a year and I was lucky to wittiness it. Locals love this time because they collect the dead insects and
eat them with Nshima, yummy.
I stayed there for a week and cooked my own stuff in the kitchen, which was surrounded by monkeys. I read a couple books and mostly stare
d out to the hippos. People that come here are either equipped with their own wheels or fly in. The lucrative lodges are owned mostly by South Africans and prices for game drives into the park are expensive. So I actually never went into the park and the title of this blog could be considered misleading. But there was so much game in the lodge and in the river, that it didn't make sense to pay for it.
The rainy season showed it´s ugly side and my stuff and myself got completely wet. I actually had to evacuate my tent and sleep in the toilet because it was getting messy. My tent is only suitable for summer and is actually called "The Weekender". I bought some plastic in the village to cover my tent.
I general I had a really nice time there and enjoyed the wildlife a lot. On my way back to Chipata I hitched and the guy had to replace two tires in 6 hours.
de). The next morning I got supplies and left for the hostel that sounded so good in the LP. It turned out to be very cool. Backpackers are allowed to camp in the canopies of the trees, overlooking the grass with all it´s wildlife. Baboons and smaller monkeys are roaming the area and peacefully eat what they can get or fight each other in a noisy spectacle. A couple of giant lizards are also around.From the riverside you can look out at the hippos that are there in great numbers and making bass sounds all they long. In the evenin
g time they come out of the water to eat the grass below the tent. So you can actually see these massive animals moving around. They are vegetarians and aggressive, but if they are afraid of something they run to the water. Because of their size and power they can run people over while running and kill them.Elephants are also dangerous and people die regularly in this area, because the elephants have decided that the villages are part of their food gathering circles
. The houses are usually just huts and if the elephants smell food they will use their power to get to the source of the taste and in the process killing the residents.In the morning antelopes eat grass at the shore. I once saw a buffalo and apparently the river is littered with crocs, but I never actually saw one.
A few days in a row their was a huge massacre of insects. They were flying around the lights the whole evening until most of them died. The grounds were full of millions and millions of dead insects. This happens only once a year and I was lucky to wittiness it. Locals love this time because they collect the dead insects and
eat them with Nshima, yummy.I stayed there for a week and cooked my own stuff in the kitchen, which was surrounded by monkeys. I read a couple books and mostly stare
d out to the hippos. People that come here are either equipped with their own wheels or fly in. The lucrative lodges are owned mostly by South Africans and prices for game drives into the park are expensive. So I actually never went into the park and the title of this blog could be considered misleading. But there was so much game in the lodge and in the river, that it didn't make sense to pay for it.The rainy season showed it´s ugly side and my stuff and myself got completely wet. I actually had to evacuate my tent and sleep in the toilet because it was getting messy. My tent is only suitable for summer and is actually called "The Weekender". I bought some plastic in the village to cover my tent.
I general I had a really nice time there and enjoyed the wildlife a lot. On my way back to Chipata I hitched and the guy had to replace two tires in 6 hours.
Chipata
Chipata is the first town that pops up if you cross over from Malawi. Rather undeveloped with the exception of South African supermarkets and international banks Chipata is cruising into the 21st century.
The banks only accept Visa, which made it necessary for my mother to send some money via Western Union. This whole process took virtually a day, which can feel endless in the dullness of the country side.
I slept at the bus station which was always bustling and each guy that walked into the bus station and slightly looked like he´s there to take a bus was virtually attacked by about 15 competing bus company employees. It was funny to watch because they were mocking each other, yelling and fighting. Each passenger was completely upset after finally siting down in the coach.
There are some volunteers in this region, mostly from the Peace Chor. They sometimes come down from their villages to enjoy the cosmopolitan groove of Chipata. Otherwise there is not much happening.
I wanted to go to South Luangwa National Park which is only possible by minibus. And of course they only leave if they are full. So the drunk guy in charge of getting the bus full was telling me the night before to be there "8 o´clock sharp".
Because I am Swiss I showed up 7.30. Of course there was nobody around and I had to wait 7 hours until the minibus started to move. The road up to Mfuwe is bad and took for ever. I was squeezed in the back of the minibus between well fed Lady's with my backpack on my lap and pot holes shaking the whole circus.
The villages on the road side are very small and very African. People live in poverty and are struggling to survive. "Economical suicide" is a big topic in this area.
The banks only accept Visa, which made it necessary for my mother to send some money via Western Union. This whole process took virtually a day, which can feel endless in the dullness of the country side.
I slept at the bus station which was always bustling and each guy that walked into the bus station and slightly looked like he´s there to take a bus was virtually attacked by about 15 competing bus company employees. It was funny to watch because they were mocking each other, yelling and fighting. Each passenger was completely upset after finally siting down in the coach.
There are some volunteers in this region, mostly from the Peace Chor. They sometimes come down from their villages to enjoy the cosmopolitan groove of Chipata. Otherwise there is not much happening.
I wanted to go to South Luangwa National Park which is only possible by minibus. And of course they only leave if they are full. So the drunk guy in charge of getting the bus full was telling me the night before to be there "8 o´clock sharp".
Because I am Swiss I showed up 7.30. Of course there was nobody around and I had to wait 7 hours until the minibus started to move. The road up to Mfuwe is bad and took for ever. I was squeezed in the back of the minibus between well fed Lady's with my backpack on my lap and pot holes shaking the whole circus.The villages on the road side are very small and very African. People live in poverty and are struggling to survive. "Economical suicide" is a big topic in this area.
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