Days 60 thru 62

(Dan’s comments are italicized)

We didn’t know what to expect from Kafue. The National Park is the oldest and largest in Zambia, and the second largest in Africa. It’s about the size of Wales (just bigger than New Jersey). But it’s a bit strange in that people live (villages and schools) in the park, alongside the wild animals!? Also, a major road runs the breadth of it around the centre of the park. So we thought we’d explore ‘North Wales’ one day, ‘Mid Wales’ the next day, and ‘South Wales’ on the last day.

Such folly!

Although my body was in severe pain from the shakes/high fever I was still experiencing, I left the motel with such hope in my heart.

We drove about 60 km along the road before turning north onto a dirt road that we thought would only last a short distance. To save money, we stayed at Mumbwa, which is 40 kms outside of the park gate. We spent the next NINE hours on unbelievably rutted, potholed, non-existent pathways. How bad was it?

Remember, we thought we were going to do the whole of North Wales in a day. On roads like this. 😂😂😂 But I was still feeling optimistic so decided to focus on the positives and ignore my screaming body.

We were so lucky to drive into a camp somewhere along the way and were invited in for tea. We lounged around for a while discussing how lazy hippo are as all they do is lounge around. 😵‍💫 This camp was named Mcbride’s Campsite and offered a full safari accommodation with meals and drinks.

But they’re sooo cute!

On our journey through the forests and fields we encountered the scourge of Africa, the dreaded tsetse fly! They relentlessly accosted our vehicle taking any opportunity to enter. They even congregated on our hood.

But oddly, as soon as we pulled into Mcbride’s, they all disappeared. The hosts of the site had no answers as to why this happens, but were grateful for this phenomenon.

Thankfully, they let me use the general bathroom at the camp…and it gave a whole new meaning to general…

There was also a bold little  Yellow-bellied Bulbul that greeted us.

Perhaps my favorite experience of the day was finding a herd of Maribou storks (which flew off as we drew near). These birds are huge, yet spend much of their day standing in trees (when you’d swear the branches wouldn’t be able to support their weight). This was a nice surprise to come across. There were about 9 or 10 congregating in a bog right next to the almost-a-road, and as soon as we stopped, they all took flight into the trees.

We got lost a few times, when even Google didn’t know where we were so we were relieved to finally find a dirt road that was an obvious path, so the last 86 kilometers were straightforward from that perspective but oh! was the road bad. My body HURT. And now we were racing to get back before dark so there was no finesse in dodging potholes or going gently over ruts. We didn’t make it before dark and by the time we got back (safely, I should add), I could barely crawl to the room. I’m not sure the road was meant to be driven on at 60 km/hr, but I managed it 😁

Of course, a good night’s sleep helped but my body yearned for a rest as every sinew, every tendon, every hair follicle hurt. So, the next morning, when Dan asked if we should stay at the motel for the day, my broken body screamed, “Yes, yes, YES!” I really wanted to stay home as well, which is why I asked. But I know how much Rhia likes to see animals, so I went along with it.

But from the depth of my pain, I heard my reply, “NO!”

Traitor mouth!!!! This, the title of this entry.

And so, we set off to explore the mid portion, intending to stay on real roads and only taking tiny portions of dirt roads. But, apparently, there’s some weird phenomenon; if you give a man the keys to a 4×4, he WILL explore! And I had invested in that African map that showed the long lost “wagon trails” into the unknown wilderness. We were lost for a while but it wasn’t anywhere near as bad as the previous day.

This portion was less wooded so we saw more and that helped greatly. Zambia truly is beautiful.

We’ve seen masses of baboons and monkeys but it’s my first time seeing a white baby.

Puku are definitely my favorite antelope; they’re so fluffy. I think I’m going to start referring to myself as fluffy from now on.

I have no shame in admitting that when we came across a posh safari lodge, we went in and said we were interested in a room. It’s not a lie; we are very interested! It is also not a lie that we had no intention of booking a room, either. They gave us tea/coffee and let us sit on their beautiful grounds for a while. It was heavenly and we saw some of my beloved elephants!!

But not everything has to be big (or fluffy) to be beautiful; there was an amazing dragonfly on a plant and a lovely bird sipping from the swimming pool.

Too soon, it was time to go. Luckily, the elephant bulls started showing up. For the first one, we were having a picnic lunch outside of the car when the sound of branches being broken was coming nearer and nearer. Not to irritate or frighten the elephant, we packed up and left. We’ve noticed that the animals here are a lot more skittish; Zambia used to have a huge problem with poaching so, sadly, the animals have learned not to trust people. The second kept a watchful eye on us but was fine.

The third, however, was a whole other story. We could tell he was stressing out so we gave him plenty of room. I just wanted a quick photo; but he was standing on the track we had to take (we were lost at this stage and were trying to get back to somewhere Google recognized! Once again, time had erased the road that had been 😢) We decided just to stay there quietly as he seemed to be on a path that wouldn’t pass close by to us. But as he got closer, he was obviously getting more and more stressed so I suggested Dan get the car into position to do a quick getaway if necessary. But we were stuck! Thank goodness for the 4×4. Dan maneuvered us into a flight position. The elephant was now close enough for us to see the stress gland juice flowing freely. Thankfully, he walked forward so there was a bush between us so we edged forward (we were facing the opposite direction) keeping the bush between us. UNTIL he stopped and whipped his head round to look at us. Needless to say, we reversed. I think Dan was a bit worried but, thankfully, we know elephant behavior. He had no interest in us per se; he just wanted to protect himself. My concern was the quality of the terrain. We were in a dried mudbog that had been trampled for years by elephants, so there were holes everywhere. We stayed there quietly until he had moved forward some more and then we high tailed it along the path away from him. The trumpet he gave as we ran was a little scary! I have to say, that trumpet sent a sharp spike of adrenaline through my veins, and I inadvertently stomped on the gas a little too much.

I can certainly see how understanding animal behavior is imperative to staying safe here!!

We arrived back tired and aching again so decided to move on the next day…on real roads. At least, that’s what Google says.

And Google was right…for all but about 40 kilometers. It was a beautiful drive, but my body has had enough. So, when we arrived at Itezhi Tezhi we booked two nights in a room with a balcony overlooking the lake and I have no intention of stepping out of this room for that whole time!!

In fact, Dan may be dragging me out of here kicking and screaming because I know the drive we have ahead of us! Nope! If Rhia wants to stay, I’m not going to argue. This stop is beautiful. I look forward to a day on the balcony, not driving and watching birds.

I think we’re in heaven!