CURRENT ENTRY: Malawi to Zim

We had heard about a cool little campsite on the river near the town of Iringa, so the following morning we trundled off to check it out.  Being suitably up to our standards, and best of all, due to its altitude nice and cool we pitch camp and chilled out for the afternoon.  We were back on the road the following morning with a view to getting nice and close to the Malawian border.  Despite getting done for speeding by some sneaky copper, we made good time so decided to get through the border that evening.  Being rather late, we stopped and camped in the border town of Karunga, which has to be said doesn’t have much going for it.  As a result we were up good and early and headed south for 100 km’s or so, to a very agreeable spot on the beach of Lake Malawi.

We only had a drive of about 12 km’s to our next port of call of Mushroom Farm, but it did take well over an hour due to a very steep, winding and bumpy road.  However it was well worth it as the views from Mushroom Farm were unbelievable once the clouds cleared.  That afternoon we checked out the colonial town of Livingstonia and the water falls.  From Mushroom Farm, we wanted to head to Nyika National Park, which as the bird flew was only about 30 km's away.  However, with this being Africa, there was no direct road and the quickest route was about 180 km of bad dirt roads.  Heavy overnight rain made the first 30 or so km's very slippery and not much fun, and in total it took 7 hours to reach our camp.  Our effort was rewarded with having the whole National Park to ourselves – not one other tourist in the whole 3,000 sq km!  This, along with the absolutely stunning scenery made for an amazing couple of days.  The park is made of a plateau at about 1,800m above see level, and the landscape is remarkably similar to that in Scotland – although admittedly the people were a less rough around the edges.  It was amazingly good value compared to many of the other National Parks in Southern and East Africa.  In fact we could spend 10 days camping at Nyika for the same price we could have one night camping in the Serengeti – and at Nyika you get the added bonus of a little chap called Jackson, who collects wood for you and gets your camp fire going before you get up in the morning! 

After a couple of days exploring the park in the car and on foot (well mostly in the car) we headed back toward the lake to the check out Malawi’s version of the Caribbean, Nkhata Bay.  Well it is a touch fanciful to call it the Caribbean, but it did have one thing in common – lots of stoned Rasta’s.  With our “when in Rome” attitude towards travelling it would have been foolish to turn down the opportunity to chill out with the locals in the backpacker’s place we found.  The boss was away, so everyone pilled in for a good party.  From Nkhata Bay we headed south along the lake to Kande Beach, which has a bit of a reputation for a party stop over for all the overland trucks.  Well this proved to be correct as later that afternoon we were joined by six overland trucks.  These overland trucks produce some strange social dynamics, as they rarely will mix or socialise with anyone other than people from their group, so in this crammed bar there were about seven different groups of people – one from each truck and the rest!  That night we bumped into a couple of people we had met earlier in Malawi.  A German guy who was driving from Germany to Cape Town on a 50cc, 30 year old scooter, for which he couldn’t get spare parts for as the manufacturer went out of business when the Berlin Wall came down.  Surprisingly, he was actually pretty normal!   And a Canadian who had finally decided riding a bicycle from Cairo to Cape Town in three months was stupid idea and had pulled out of the rally in Malawi.  The next morning was spent recuperating from a couple too many, before we hired a little catamaran to try our arm at sailing that afternoon – I don’t think we will be going into training for the London Olympics.  Our plan of having a quiet night and watching a DVD was thwarted when Daisy, who we had met up with in Watamu in Kenya, randomly walked in with her boyfriend Roger.  The end result was just about been able to remember being the last at the bar. 

Feeling a little sorry for ourselves we headed off the next morning in torrential rain to Lilongwe.  One of the bridges along the main road had been washed away by heavy rain a couple if weeks previously, so we had to take a minor road, that with all the rain was very slippy and slow going.  We had set aside the following day for getting up to speed and sorting out money and visas for Zimbabwe.  A quick visit to the Zim embassy confirmed that we could get our visa at the border and that we needed US dollars, as the Zim dollar had been scraped at the end of 2008.  This didn’t prove that easy as the banks claimed they didn’t have any US$, but after a lot of persuasion it proved to be crap, they just wanted to hold onto their dollars as their currency was so weak!

From Lilongwe we headed for our final stop on Lake Malawi at Senga Bay, where we had stayed five years previously.  We had planned on staying at the same place we had stayed at then, but on our way in we spotted a sign advertising a place called Cool Runnings which had DStv (equivalent to Sky).  Being a Friday night with a whole weekend of sport including England’s final game in the West Indies and the Grand Prix, it was decided that this might be a good option.  It proved to be so, and as the name suggests it was a very laid back and relaxed place.  So after two very leisurely days of watching a lot of sport and doing not a lot else, we headed for the Zambian border, with a quick pit stop in Lilongwe for fuel and cash.

Last time we crossed the Malawi / Zambia border at Chipata, 5 years ago, we fell hook, line and sinker for the oldest scam in the local black market money changer’s book – the one where you hand over the money first, they swipe it, pass it to their mate, Malawi’s answer to Linford Christie, who then disappears off down the road and into the bushes! A little older and a little wiser we managed to pass through this time round with our wallets in tact, although the Zambian Government still charges British Nationals $15 dollars more to enter the country than any other foreign national!

We made it to Dean’s Hill Camp, on the other side of the border, just in time for beer o’clock, so we watched the sun go down over the hills around Chipata with our host ‘Dean’, a very affable English chap, and our first Mosi’s (Zambian beer).  Next day after a supermarket sweep in Chipata we did battle with another one of Africa’s more shocking ‘roads’, up to the South Luangwa National Park. Once at the Park, the rattling and rumbling of the drive up was soon forgotten as we pitched our tent up in a tree overlooking the hippo’s and the croc’ bathing in the river in front of us. The next four days were very happily spent cruising round the park watching the Lions, the Ellies and the rest of the wildlife going about their business. However on our last morning in the Park it was more likely that the wildlife was watching us, as after taking one of RW’s infamous short-cuts (if it wasn’t difficult, it wouldn’t be called a ‘short-cut’, it would just be ‘the way’!) RK managed to get Barry comprehensively stuck in the mud! It didn’t take long for our cunning plan, extract Barry from the bog by strapping our winch round a nearby tree, to go to pot when our winch jammed half way through the carefully planned operation! Now even more comprehensively stuck than when we began we made an executive decision to switch to plan B, have a fag and wait for another car to come along! Two hours later, after much digging, pushing and pulling by the 6 workers from a nearby lodge we were footloose once more and made a hasty retreat back to camp for a beer and a wash down. The remainder of the day was spent in the relative safety of the camp where we gave Barry his 3^rd and hopefully final service of the trip. However RK was caught short later that afternoon when returning to the car without his specs he failed to notice the great big bull Elephant ‘hiding’ behind the rear bumper and had to make a quick dash to the safety of ze Germans camping nearby.

The thought of an 11 hour drive to Lusaka was too much for us, so with time not being an issue due to the Easter bank holiday we decided to spread the drive over two days with an over night stop half way.  We had three nights in Lusaka, where the main aim was to stock up on enough US$ for our three weeks in Zim.  We enjoyed the luxuries of city living with trips to the cinema, bars and restaurants, in between trips to the local burex de change to clear them out of dollars (no one seems to be too happy about selling dollars in Africa).  We also had the mission to try to find a new tyre, as we had found a huge gash out of one of them while in South Luangwa which consigned it to the scrap heap.  Having schlepped around all of Lusaka’s tyre places we couldn’t find any new tyres of the correct size, so had to settle for an old one off the scrap pile which would just about do as a spare until we can find a new one.  With a safe stuffed with dollars we headed south from Lusaka to a place on the Zambezi about 10 km’s from the border at Chirundu.  Our two reasons for stopping in at Breezers was to try our luck at a spot of Tiger fishing and to get the latest on Zim from the owner who was a Zimbo.  With the intention of a mornings fishing before hopping over the border we were up at 6 am and ready to do battle with some monster fish.  However our boat skipper decided to not turn up till lunch time as he was ‘ill’ – lazy bastard.  Not wanting to miss our chance of a bit of fishing, we decided to spend an extra night and head out on the river that afternoon.  We were joined by an Aussie backpacker who also fancied chancing his arm – well he was right to, as with in 15 minutes he was doing battle royal with a feisty Tiger fish.  Unfortunately that was all the action we got, but it wasn’t a bad place to watch the sunset from with a beer and some on looking hippo and jumbo.

The following morning we headed into Zimbabwe with a huge curiosity, which hasn’t been matched since entering Rwanda, as to what the country would be like considering all the well published problems.  I think its fair to say that if you had no idea what has been going on in Zimbabwe over the last 10 years, you would not quickly guess by travelling through the country.  However, I think six months ago it would have been very different, as at that stage the Zim Dollar was still in use (a loaf of bread was only about 30 trillion Z$!) and there was very little food in the shops and no fuel at the pumps.  Since dropping their currency in favour for either the US$ or Rand, food is back in the shops as is fuel at the pumps – in fact there was no fuel at the Zambian side of the border, but plenty on the Zim side when we crossed.

Our first stop in Zimbabwe was Mana Pools National Park, which really is a stunning place.  We paid the extra four dollars each to take a ‘special’ campsite, which basically means you have a spot on the river by your self, rather than the communal campsites.  Well it was four dollars well spent as we pitched camp under a huge tree on the river bank with elephants and hippos frolicking around in the water in front.  We had two very leisurely days spend cruising around the park, with the odd dvd and book to fill the lulls in game viewing.  On the second day we were joined for lunch by a very friendly ele, who appeared unannounced about 20 yards from us as we were chomping our steaks (the joys of having a fridge in the car).  He casually tucked into his less appealing lunch from the tree that was sheltering our camp, not giving a hoot about us.  Having polished off our steaks we then had the camera out for a bit of posing with the elephant.  It was all going swimmingly until we started trying to do a kung-fu kick pose, at which point our friend had had enough and gave an almighty trumpet and a mock charge.  Neither of us hung around to establish if it was a mock or the real deal.

From Mana Pools we headed back up along the Zambezi to Kariba, which is a huge lake created by a monster dam which supplies (or doesn’t) most of Zim with its power.  What used to be a hot spot for tourists, now more resembles a ghost town.  Coming as a tourist to Zim, the tourism industry is one thing that you quickly realise has hugely hit by the problems.  However it does look like there is some light at the end of the tunnel as countries, including France and US, have started lifting their travel bans.  There really isn’t any reason for tourists not to come to Zimbabwe on safety concerns, if thats the case you probably shouldn’t go to Africa.  And if its on moral grounds due to their feelings about the Mugabe regime, then its not really fair to the people of Zimbabwe as so many of them rely (or relied) on tourism for their income.

From Kariba we headed south towards Harare, with a quick stop to check out the chinhoyi caves en route.  We were very kindly put up for two nights in Harare by Shelagh Bradbury,  who fed and watered us like kings.  Our day in town was spent with a quick check around for a new tyre and then a round of golf at the very pleasant Borrowdale Brook where Shelagh lived.  Fully rested up after a most enjoyable couple of nights at Shelagh’s place we pushed on south to Great Zimbabwe, an ancient city which had an entire district for the King to house his wives, all 230 of them!!  Having got our dose of culture it was time to make our way back into the bush as we continued further down south to the Save Valley Conservancy and the Gonarezhou National Park to catch up with David Peddie from the Sindisa Foundation and get the low down on how things were progressing with the elephant tracking project they are initiating.

Arriving at Senuko Lodge in the Save Valley Conservancy was like having all our Christmases come at once, as we were shown to our luxurious five star accommodation, set on a kopje overlooking a water pan with the entire Conservancy stretching out to the horizon. Having settled in we set out for a brief tour of the Conservancy before returning to the first of many incredible meals whipped up by the Senuko chef and a chance to catch up with Clive Stockhill, who’s responsible for setting up the Conservancy, and David.  Thanks to the generous support from our many donors, Sindisa have successfully managed to initiate the elephant tracking survey which is now also being supported by the Conservancy and Frankfurt Zoological Society.  The first capture is scheduled to take place on the 13^th of June and is being tied in with a stop off by the legendary African explorer, Kingsley Holgate, as part of his latest African adventure in support of Trans Frontier Conservation Areas (TFCA’s), of which Gonarezhou is one. We are hoping to make our way back up to Zimbabwe later in June to get involved with one of the next captures.                                                                       

The next few days were spent exploring the Conservancy with Clive and David and checking out the site for the proposed Leadwood Institute, which is another ongoing initiative that Sindisa are trying to help get off the ground. Come the weekend though we joined Clive’s son Glen and his wife Judy for an evening session on the beers with their mates Andre and Kath and ended up getting stuck into a  bit of an Anglo / Antipidean darts marathon, the outcome of which left our British pride somewhat dented!  Unperturbed we were up early the next morning and returned to the scene of the crime where the victory celebrations of the night before had clearly taken their toll on the local team!  A little later than planned Glen took us off to the range to zero the rifles, with the hope of going out to hunt an impala.  Having seen impala at every turn on previous drives, it now appeared there weren’t any in the entire conservancy – they had probably heard about ‘dead eyed dick’ on the range.  With the heat building we headed back to the lodge for spot of lunch and a rest before heading off for an afternoon game drive with a slight twist – we had a pump action shot gun with us on the back of the safari vehicle!  The idea was to try to shoot a few doves or franklin, however they also did a good job of evading us and when RW finally got a couple of shots he showed mercy on the poor little things.

After a very enjoyable five days of being spoilt at Senuko we got back on the road and headed down to Chilo Lodge on the Save River.  Chilo is a lodge that Clive set up about 15 years ago in a stunning location above the river opposite the Gonarezhou NP.  Unfortunately, with the total decline of tourism the lodge had to be shut at the end of 2008, but many of the staff remain on site to ensure its upkeep and maintenance with a view to tourism hopefully taking off again.  That afternoon, along with the guide from the lodge, we punted across the river and picked up the safari vehicle parked in the bushes on the opposite side of the river and went for a very pleasant drive around the National Park.  It is a pretty stunning place that really feels like the mythical African bush, made all the more special with the knowledge that we were again the only tourists in the park!

We were grudgingly up at the crack of dawn the following morning and leaving our luxury lodges behind and heading east towards Buluwayo and the Matobo National Park.  To our surprise the roads in Zimbabwe are on the whole very good, and I think its fair to say the best we have seen since Egypt (possibly with the exception of Tanzania).  Having said that, I don’t believe they have been worked on for many years, but are relying on the good infrastructure laid down by the colonials.  As a result, the rather long drive to Bulawayo was very easy and after a six hour drive we arrived in time for a rather nice lunch in a very eccentric Italian restaurant.  After a quick whip around the local supermarket for a few supplies we then headed of on the short drive to the Matobo National Park.

Again with the whole National Park to ourselves, we enjoyed two nights camping in a very pleasant spot next to a lake – although there were the most annoying little flies in the world that were incredibly persistent about trying to crawl into your ears (hence the photo of RW with a tea towel draped over his head while trying to write this dam diary!).  Our day in the park was spent checking out the ancient rock paintings, World’s View where Cecil Rhodes is buried and generally the cool terrain.  From Matopas we headed north towards Hwange National Park, with a quick stop in Bulawayo for supplies.  We had three nights in Hwange starting in Main Camp and working our way north through the park camping en route.  With it being the end of the rainy season here, the grass was still long and green and there was plenty of water around, so it wasn’t ideal game viewing conditions, but it was still a pretty cool spot to spend three days.  On our second night we camped at a water hole, which had a hide from where we could chill out and watch the wildlife.  It was actually fairly quiet on the game front until it got dark when hundreds of elephants started plodding in for a drink.  However the peaceful evening was broken by a spectacular thunder storm which made things a little soggy in our tent.  Unfortunately things didn’t get any better for either of us that night as we were hit by a nasty bit of ‘Dehli Belly’.  Believe us when we say that getting a dodgy tummy while camping next to a water hole in the middle of a national park with no loo facilities is not much fun.  Regular visits had to be made to the bushes which is rather disconcerting when all you can see in your rather pathetic torch light is hundreds of eyes watching you – thankfully I don’t think any of the eyes belonged to lions. 

Feeling a little sorry for ourselves the following morning we headed towards Robin’s Camp, and with the weather still being rather grim we opted to take a little banda for the night.  Our enthusiasm for game viewing had slightly gone, so we spent the afternoon tucked up in bed watching DVD’s!  Feeling relatively normal again the following day we headed off on the shortish drive to Victoria Falls, however the heavy over night rain made the 70 km’s of dirt road very slippy and slow going.  With Barry looking suitably dirty we pulled into Vic Falls where we pick up our new team member, Eddie Higham, who will be joining us for a month or so – provided she can last that long with our terrific banter.     

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