Africa Through Our Eyes

Well the fuel tank repair didn’t hold! By the time we had covered the few km’s from Gwabi back into Chirundu, the tank was leaking again. It seems that fiber glass doesn’t bond too well with polyprop or polyethylene or whatever the plastic is. The leak was worse under pressure so we headed for Lusaka without the petrol cap fitted. We  had been told to avoid Lusaka between 12 and 14H00. We arrived just after 12 on Friday afternoon.  Lusaka traffic is BAD but well mannered and quite civilised.

The Internet provided us with a starting point in search of the next solution. None of the Nissan branches will even look a a vehicle they have not sold. They are very friendly and helpful in making suggestions but will not touch the vehicle. After 4 or 5 different stops we were directed to Henry at Hensons Car Hire (and any thing else to do with cars). He was confident that he would be able to solve the problem. We checked into the City Lodge which was just round the corner from Henry and got the car to him at 8H30 on Saturday.  By 14H00 it was done. The tank is non-standard (the Sani is a South African variant of the old Nissan Patrol) so the second hand tank he had sourced would not fit. He found a company that manufactures tanks from the same material. They stripped the fiber glass and used the right goo to re-apply the patch. However….by the time we got back to the Hotel is was seeping again. Small spot but too much to ignore. Not wanting to endure another night is the City Lodge we moved to Pioneer Camp some 20km’s out of town,

We contacted Henry and arranged to get the vehicle back on Monday. It is now 17H12 on Monday. We are back at Pioneer and… so far so good! We will leave for South Luangwa NP tomorrow, stopping over at Luangwa Bridge for the night. We have been warned that the roads are not great so we need to take it slow. I am a lot more confident in the repair now (although the fuel level sensor seems to have become a casualty of the main times the tank has been remove. We therefore now have now fuel gauge.

So far, we have been very impressed with Zambia in general and the Zambian’s in particular – very friendly, very helpful, very cheerful. Lovely experience.  At the City Lodge they reserved a parking for us outside our room and removed the screws from the mosquito netting on the windows so that we could plug our vehicle in to the the power mains. Each time we drove in the security guard would rush forward and remove the no parking sign for us. One sad thing (to our minds anyway) is that shopping malls are springing up everywhere built by the Chinese (who are all of this place like a bad rash) and manned by South African brands – Shoprite, OK, Foschini, M&B, Mica……). Prices are horrendous. The Mugg and Bean menu shows prices that are identical to SA but in Kwatcha – 0.6 to R1.

Having had two mornings to ‘waste’ without transport we have walked Lusaka out of our system and are ready to move on.

Our last night at Mana pools was very quiet. We woke to a glorious sunrise, the sunrises here have been more spectacular than the sunsets with vivid reds and pinks glowing over the Zambezi River. Mana Pools is a magical place, so whilst we didn’t see all there was to see we didn’t feel cheated. It is so special just to experience bush like it!

Al coped with the drive out well, those 32kms of corrugations on the dirt road out are not easy. We found the Zimbabwean people warm and friendly and in our talking to them, we heard a recurring theme. All have suffered and continue to suffer under bad economic times, which is why South Africa beckons as the land of hope. Our game guide was explaining that he usually only gets paid 8 out of the 12 months’ salary due to him, as payments get later and later in the month until they skip one and so on. Having just experienced the stress ourselves of never knowing when Al was going to be paid, it gave us an appreciation of what life for them must be like.

Before we knew it we were in Chirundu at the Zambian border. We discovered that the petrol tank repair had not worked, so stopped to have a look in Chirundu. There was no place to help us there so across the border we went. The border post was not busy- but they did give us a runaround! They were not happy with the police clearance that we were given for the Sani, but eventually let us though. Then we had to find Zambian Kwacha- to pay certain things, but also needed US dollars for others. Having figured that out, certain officials went to lunch and we waited….
Once through the border there were a few things I needed to restock. In the one shop when I was getting milk there was a man there who commented on the price of the milk, “In Nairobi you would pay US$ 0.5 for that.” So I said, “But we’re not in Nairobi so have to pay the price we pay!” We laughed together over that.

Fortunately we had planned to stop over at Gwabi lodge 11kms from Chirundu. Arriving here we decided to stay in a chalet which has proved to be a very good decision.

Al asked the receptionist Merle where he could take the car to have a look at the petrol tank, she pointed the lodge’s workshop, and offered their help. The mechanic, a Zimbo by the name of Precious has been amazing. He and Al and Al have been working on and off now to try to plug the leak since we got here. Whilst to keep myself busy I’ve been in the pool! So we’ve had an extended stay here. Lovely view, great food and staff.

The fuel tank has been a saga and half with a small crack deep in a recess. That was repaired with a fiberglass patch last night. The tank was installed and refilled this morning only to find it was still leaking but was not clear where from. Tank drained again (90l) and removed. Several rounds of repair followed – we tried a compressed air pressure test but I think we may have overdone the pressure as it lifted the patch from the tank. We filled half the recess with resin type of putty. Then tank being in the sun expanded away from the ‘plug’ leaving a gap down the side of the recess. This we filled with plastic steel and a layer of prattley’s putty. The rest of the recess was then filled with resin mixed with fiberglass, topped with a few sheets of fiberglass for good measure. If that doesn’t work then I don’t know what is next! Neither does the mechanic!

We plan to head for Lusaka first thing tomorrow heading for South Luangwa. Here’s hoping!

 

One of the first sights that greeted us here was a column of Matebele ants on the move. They marched out of our campsite that first afternoon and have returned most afternoons around 3 o’clock. They march in, round up what they want and form up a column and leave. This evokes a few memories. One is of singing on a schools bus when going to and from a sports fixture, “the ants go marching one by one hoorah, hoorah etc…” I’m sure that many of you remember different versions of that song. The other is of my mother, who was a teacher who loved to tell us when we were little that the thunder during a thunder storm was caused by Matebele chief Mzilikazi roaring because a matebele ant had bitten his toe! Well the latter happened here as they bit Alan twice and he roared !!! They have a very painful bite. The ants can be almost a 1cm long with very large a prominent pincers in the front. They put them to good use!

One if the things that make your heart glad as a camper is when you arrive at a campsite and you see a donkey. The African donkey that is not a donkey but rather a wood fired geyser. That means that there will definitely be hot water for showers, and if not can be available in a very short time. I love these donkeys and Mana Pools campsite have them!

We were able to go on a guided game walk yesterday – 1 June in the morning with Charles. We spent around 90 mins tracking the lions that we have heard roaring every night whilst here. However they eluded us and we have yet to see them. It was a great experience despite our failure to find the lions. Charles told us that soon there would be no vegetation left- apparently the ants move in and eat everything. This is collaborated by the fact that we have never seen so many large anthills in one place. During this period before the rains, the animals are sustained by the Anna tree which loses its leaves in summer and turns green in winter. They produce long coiling pods which are very nutritious. Elephants, monkeys and baboons help to ensure that there are sufficient pods on the ground for the browsers. In the campsite for most of the day we have had the company of some starlings, we discovered that they are called Mavis Starlings- a fitting tribute to a Mavis we know!

We have had many nocturnal visitors. Last night at the camp fire a hippo simply appeared about 5m from us and strolled off into the bush behind us and we returned to our supper. A little while later there was a huge commotion behind us and two running hippos appeared out the bush frantic to get back into the water. We don’t know what spooked them but they didn’t come back after that. Then just as we were going to bed, a shape loomed at the water’s edge not far from the front of our tent and voila – there was a spotted hyena. The bush comes alive at night! Al saw the hyena again around 1am as there was another hullabaloo that woke him. All in all we have had the following animals through our camp site (that we know of) whilst we have been here – the obligatory monkeys and baboons, elephant, hippo, hyena, crocodile, 1.5m ligavaan (sp?) and warthog.
We have spent many hours here just listening to and watching the river life. A couple of different groups of hippo’s snorting and moving in and out the water, clumps a water hyacinth (an endemic water weed) floating past, a resident croc – must be 2.5m long spends his time floating down river and then coasting back up again, amazing bird life – dominated by three types of hornbills, that starlings and a good number of beautiful Fish Eagles.

 

Supper last night was savory mince and baked potatoes with chilled white wine. Lunch today consisted of incredibly delicious scones baked in the Cobb (a portable charcoal oven) with cheese marmite and jam. Left overs have just been enjoyed with the local Tanganda tea.

There’s lots of water in the park so no need for the animals to come down to the river. However we have seen some lovely game, and particularly enjoyed the changing beauty of the place. There’s lush woodlands followed by open plains, ponds covered in water lilies, and an abundance of birds.

Tomorrow we head north into Zambia and face the daunting border crossing again.

Norma Jean’s campsite had been lovely, beautiful spot and welcoming people. We headed north to Harare and were pleasantly surprised again how little we were harassed by the police. It seems that there has been a slight change of heart and they are more welcoming now! We had lunch at Chicken inn, a version of KFC that was delicious!!! The chips were another story but the chicken made up for it. As always the trip took longer than anticipated so we arrived late afternoon at Lake Chivero ( Mcllwaine) at the Kuimba Shiri campsite about 30 mins from Harare. It means singing birds and there is a bird garden there. The owner Gary Clifford does flying displays every afternoon at 3.30 with raptors who have been rehabilitated which we missed. However we got to see the birds. It incorporates the old Admirals cabin- a favorite childhood haunt for me and a first for Al. Tea at Admiral’s Cabin over weekends accompanied by game drives in the nearby game reserve were part of many weekends out for my family. It’s where I developed a deep love of the African bush. We spent many hours in picnic spots whilst my father brought out his water colours to paint the scene as we played.

One of the highlights of our stay at Kuimba Shiri was the hauntingly beautiful cry of the fish eagles that we heard particularly at dusk and the next morning. They are really magnificent birds and we got to see them close up in the bird garden.

We took our time leaving there the next morning so never made it to Chinhoyi Caves as we headed up North to Kariba. I’ve learned something each day and on this day we travelled on the “Robert Mugabe Highway” to Murombedzi just south of Chinhoyi as this is his home town- I never knew that. There are not many road signs in Zimbabwe so it’s not difficult to go the wrong way, however the locals are used to this. Whenever we hesitated someone on the road side would simply point us on the right direction. In fact in the one town they indicated we should do a u-turn without us even asking for help. Who needs maps with assistance like that!

After the turnoff to Kariba we were in a game corridor with no fences just reminders to be careful when you get out the car. The drive itself is one of great beauty, with the Masasa trees in all their color dotted around and gomos that just went on and on as we traversed the Zambezi Escarpment. Difficult to photograph but we tried! At our campsite, Lomagundi – we had hippos sauntering through the campsite at night, and elephant at the front gate in the morning as they were meandering looking for food. Lomagundi is basically a “boat club” so we used the ablutions at the poolside. I happily had a bath!! Scenes like this bring back echoes of my childhood. We went off to see the Dam Wall, got to walk on it and almost into Zambia. There’s evidence of upgrading as the Chinese are working on generators to increase electricity supply capacity. Many of the road signs were in Chinese. Lake Kariba is magnificent, again difficult to photograph as it is so big. When I was a child people always used to come to Kariba to stay at Caribbea Bay- well we had lunch there. Al had Kariba Sprats for lunch…. Small tiny fish that look like sardines. I gave that a miss.

We went on a sunset cruise on a small catamaran from one of the local hotels and spent two hours enjoying the beauty of the lake and chatting to Justin the captain about life here. Really lovely man. Dinner that night was had a Lomagundi’s pub where right in front of us a hippo calmly got out the water and walked past us- closer than usual as the locals at the bar were also surprised!

Next day Saturday we packed up and headed to Mana Pools- one of those iconic places of Zimbabwe famous for its amazing game and how close you get to it. 32km of badly corrugated road followed by 45km of less corrugated but ‘interesting’ road left Al quite tired. On arrival we discovered a small petrol leak from the main tank of the Sani. Our campsite looks over the Zambezi with Zambia on the other side. The river is full of hippos and crocs and we have been listening to their calls and noises ever since we got here. Last night they were strolling around the campsite in easy view. The lions were also busy roaring just behind us and this morning we found footprints in the sand! In between we heard the sound of unhappy Egyptian Geese. On taking a walk this morning we watched an elephant eating along a nearby river bank, as in Mana there are no game fences and you are free to walk around. On return to our camp site we found we had been over-run by monkeys who had found dustbin bag and collapsed our porch. We had to use the Caties! Hee hee we’re walking on the wild side!!!! We have 4 days here which we will make the most of. Our first road side repair was carried out this morning. Time will tell if the ‘Prattleys patch’ will work!

Now to just enjoy Mana Pools for the next few days

Crossing into Zimbabwe at Beit Bridge is not for the faint hearted so it was with some trepidation that we approached the border on what was a public holiday in Zimbabwe, Africa day. What a delight awaited us! It was one of those really quiet days and hardly anyone was there. We found the border officials pleasant and friendly and we were through in 90 minutes.

 

 

Once across we found a kiosk selling sim cards, the people running it were very helpful and happy to sort us out. Whilst the phone works we have still been unable to link with data. Travelling from there to Masvingo which borders on Lake Mutirikwi (Kyle) was again pleasant with no hassles at the police stops, we thought perhaps it had something to do with the public holiday. We stopped for tea/coffee and plate of chips at the iconic “Lion and Elephant” hotel at Bubye River and were transported back to a by-gone era.

Shortly after Bubye we started to see the granite gomos”  along the road mixed with Masasa trees and the odd bougainvillea. (Gomo is Shona for mountain). There is a vividness about the bougainvillea flowers and such beauty in the Masasa trees whose leaves are anything ranging from green, yellow, orange to a burnt red that is so synonymous with Zimbabwean bush. Last night we braaied using masasa wood which has a distinctive smell. All these are lovely reminders of our childhood spent here.

We have stayed for the last few days at a place called Norma Jean’s which has a beautiful view of Lake Mutirikwi and is a great place with wonderful ablutions and gardens. On arrival here we were told that the dam wall is only 6kms away and the best place to see the sunset, so after setting up camp we went to see it! The setting of the wall is quite magnificent, as it is between granite outcrops, and the compensation flow pipe causes spray that is felt on the wall. Quite fun! We have been the only people here and the evenings have been silent apart from the hollow sound of the cow bells nearby.

 

 

Today we spent the morning at Great Zimbabwe where we had a wonderful guide Alois who took us around for about 21/2 hours explaining the culture and history of the place. He was an interesting young man so we chatted about all sorts of other things as well. It helped when he discovered that Alan was also born in Gweru as he was. Having asked Al when he was born he said “My father is only 12 years older than you as he was born in 1947!” It was interesting to hear the history from a Zimbabwean, altogether a great experience.

Tomorrow we head up north again.

Yesterday was D day – Al was up early with last minute adjustments to the tie downs on the roof. We finished off the last of the packing and sat down with Daniel our younger son for breakfast together. Then around 10.30am we left! I surprised myself by being quite emotional as we said our goodbyes and cried until the other side of Pretoria. I don’t like goodbyes.

The trip was uneventful unless you count Al knocking his coffee over me at our first pit stop! Sights along the way.

Tolls tolls everywhere!! They had multiplied since we were last here. The last one was rather fun- known as Baobab Plaza, shortly afterwards we knew we were in Baobab country

We headed to Tshipise a place with hot springs just outside Musina. We had already decided to stay here two nights to give us a chance to catch our breath before crossing the border on Monday. Beit Bridge  border crossings are legendary and we’ve done our fair share already, so time in the hot pools at Tshipise chilling can only be a good thing! We had no booking so we just rocked up at reception and took potluck! Potluck is a very nice little two sleeper chalet.

We were wondering where all the people were as the campsite looked full from the road. We ambled down to the pool, and as we got closer heard quite a din…. to discover the pool was full of white haired people chatting in groups in the pool. All floating on pool noodles – Al and I felt quite young! The weekenders had obviously left and it was safe to come out!!!!

Al and I were reminiscing about the last time we were at Tshipise- about 30 years ago when we dropped a certain younger brother off at the border to hitchhike home on a Sunday in order to get to work first thing on Monday. He had left it to the last minute. We left Joburg  at 2 am in the morning, dropped him at the border and revived ourselves in the hot pools for an hour then set off home. Day visitors are no longer allowed….

Bietbridge tomorrow…..

Alan and I are seasoned campers, have had a vehicle kitted out for overland trips for years so how hard could it be to get ready for a 3/4 month overland trip……  Well there are a myriad of little things that turn out to be great time consumers. Small things like inoculations, chronic medication, anti malaria treatment, first aid kit,  medical insurance, added car insurance, temporary import permits for the car, police clearance to prove that we haven’t stolen the car that we’ve owned for 15 years and the list goes on. I think it all goes towards getting you ready for life in Africa, where no one except you seems to be in a hurry. Having said that we have already encountered kindness, laughter (police clearance queue) encouragement and helpfulness from unexpected places. God is good!

This reminds me of a trip we did in 2010 to Namibia through Caprivi, Victoria Falls and through Zimbabwe then home.  At a road block in Zimbabwe, having traveled over  six thousand kilometers  a Zimbawean  policemen asked us “What is the meaning of driving a car in such an unsanitary condition?” to which our traveling partner replied : “Well first there was the tar road, then the salt road, then the dirt road, then the shale road, the chalk road…” At which point we were waved on……

So here’s to being waved on!

Here’s a snapshot of this past week’s planned and unplanned activities. Hoping to leave on the 20th May was not to be as first there was the prop shaft , then the Sani’s suspension which revealed the perished petrol pipes which has to be replaced. Then the mechanics of the shower were not quite right and the shower bladder burst. Just as we thought we were in the clear the fridge stopped working so we have given up planning and will leave when we leave!