The ferry has arrived. At right, here's how to carry your baby and tub while keeping your hands free!
The ferry has arrived. At right, here's how to carry your baby and tub while
keeping your hands free!
Finally the ferry scraped bottom on our side, and Tinus drove the vehicle onto it while we walked over and stepped up on the deck. A few other people got on to ride back, but ours was the only vehicle. Almost immediately the two-man "crew" started turning the crank on the other drum to winch us back the other way. That job couldn't have paid much, and boy did it NOT look exciting.
Main propulsion system. Pretty low maintenance.
Tied onto the side of the ferry was a real dugout canoe. I suppose that was the lifeboat! We saw several other dugouts during our stay along the Zambezi, usually in use.
Definitely a Coast Guard approved lifeboat! Remember, a similar ferry had sunk
here not long ago! Like the Titanic?
The Kafue River was obviously high and running fast, which should have prepared me for the size of the Zambezi, but didn't.
The ferry is in mid-river. We're looking down stream.
After our 20-minute crossing, we hopped back into Tinus' vehicle and continued down a dirt and gravel road through brush and trees. After about 15 minutes we saw a sign for Kiambi Safari Camp, and turned off the road to the right for the few hundred yards to the camp. We were to spend two nights here before proceeding down the Zambezi River by boat to another riverside camp.
We've arrived!
Our original itinerary called for one night at Kiambi Safari Camp, two nights at Kiubo River Lodge farther down the river, then one night at Kulefu Lodge, even farther down the river near a remote national park with excellent game viewing. Well, all that was planned long before the river flooded. We learned that the last of the three, near the game park, was completely under water! We would not be going there! That meant 2 nights at this first camp (Kiambi), then two nights at the second (Kiubo) before flying to Victoria Falls. Our biggest concern was the game drives that were supposed to have taken place from the flooded camp. There was no way to get to the park with a vehicle to do land game drives.
We were greeted at the camp by two dogs, Suzie and Capisce (unsure of the spelling, pronounced "Ca - PEESH"). The grounds were mowed and landscaped, with sprinklers running from time to time to keep things green and lush.
Our only shot of Tinus (left). Ian's face is covered by Tinus' arm. Les in the
foreground, with Susie (left) and Capisce.
The river is straight ahead. Behind Tinus is the open air lounge and bar with
thatched roof.
Walking into the main lawn area from the driveway, the first thing you would notice is the river directly ahead. The camp was built right on the river bank, about 10-15 feet above the level of the water, which was quite high at flood stage. There was a circular flagstone area in the lawn with chairs around the perimeter facing the center, where some small logs were stacked for a fire later in the evening. Off to the left was a kidney shaped in-ground swimming pool.
The camp dining area.
The focal point of the camp was a large, elevated rectangular deck with a thatch roof over it, situated right at the edge of the river bank overlooking the water. This was an open air lounge, with a bar along the long side opposite the river and sofas, love seats and stuffed or cushioned chairs scattered about with coffee tables in their midst. The deck was surrounded by a three foot high railing of 4 to 5 inch diameter poles. There were electric lights and ceiling fans mounted below the thatch. The effect was really very pleasant and comfortable.
Speaking of thatched roofs, Tinus told us that a properly constructed thatched roof would last up to 20 years! Contrast that with a composition shingle roof in the U.S. In my experience shingles begin to curl up and blow off in that time or less.
View from the lounge, looking up river (Southwest). What looks like the far
bank (left) is really an island. This river is BIG!
Les' COLD beer and other drinks were waiting for us at the bar while our bags were delivered to our tents. Typically, tea was served each day at 4:00 PM in the British tradition. Although we were a bit later than 4:00, they had waited tea for us. Tea is actually a mid-afternoon snack, consisting of your choice of beverage (tea, coffee, soft drink, or something from the bar) along with a freshly baked cake or cobbler and some "biscuits" (cookies to us).
We met our host, named Ian Salisbury, and a lady named Gretta Stichelmans. She was newly hired by Kiambi Safari Camps to be the hostess at the Kulefu camp down the river. Since it was currently under water, she was staying at this camp at present. After tea we arranged our things in our tents, cleaned up, and gathered back at the lounge area to discuss our schedule for the next day or so. This was an extremely well maintained camp with the most spacious tents we had yet stayed in. Built up on platforms elevated about 3 feet above the ground and separated by a good distance and some shrubbery, these tents were almost private . The platform created a wooden deck floor outside the front of the tent for a very pretty front porch effect, with what looked like polished hardwood floors on the inside.
Our VERY well-constructed tent.
Large, spacious interior with curtains, electric lights, hot & cold running
water, and (this is included
just for avid reader Tina Watson!) modern, Western porcelain plumbing fixtures!
As in flush toilets!
These camps seemed to be a place for visitors to kick back and relax, with typical activities involving the river in some way, such as canoeing down the river, fishing, or taking a sunset boat cruise. We told our hosts as politely as possible that our goal was somewhat different. We were in Africa to see the unique animals, geography and culture, not (preferably) to sit by a pool or watch a river all day. We were disappointed that the game drives from the third camp were not possible, but nothing could be done about that.
We decided that tomorrow we would try the canoe trip down river in the morning, followed by a visit to a local village in the afternoon. The following day we would transfer by boat to the next camp, called Kiubo (when the staff said the name quickly it almost sounded like "Cuba"). There some "water safaris" - game drives by boat along the river and up some tributaries - might be available.
I watched the river for a while, and was surprised by its size. We were on the North bank of a large river that flowed from West to East, eventually emptying into the Indian Ocean. Looking from the lounge deck back upstream (toward the West), we could see the mouth of the Kafue river where it joined the Zambezi. The Zambezi river was quite a bit larger than I had imagined, and was well over a quarter of a mile wide - perhaps as much as a half mile - right in front of our camp. It was the next day before I realized that what I thought was the far shoreline was in fact a long island in the middle of the river. At this flood stage it was really nearly a mile wide from Zambia to Zimbabwe! This was a BIG river!
The weather was noticeably hotter than it had been anywhere else on our trip. We were now only about 1500 feet above sea level, still within the tropics, although not as close to the equator as before, with high relative humidity. It felt a lot like Texas in the summertime. We wondered what sleeping would be like with no air conditioning, but we certainly didn't have any trouble. Once the sun was down it was fairly pleasant.
Speaking of sunsets, we were told that the sunsets along the river were usually particularly nice. We found a couple of good examples of that to photograph.
Looking west from the lounge at 7:00 PM.
Looking South from the same spot a few minutes later as the colors deepened.
Now back West again as the light fades. Can you hear the birds, frogs and crickets?
At Kiambi Safari Camps, dinner is announced by having one of the native staff members beat out what sounds like a message (or at least a rhythm) on a drum. It's unique and pretty effective. At this sound we gathered in the dining area for another simply wonderful multi-course gourmet meal. This first night we were the only guests in camp, but we were told that tomorrow a group from South Africa who was presently staying down river at the Kiubo Camp would be joining us.
After dinner we gathered around the campfire blazing on the stone patio in the middle of the lawn. Chairs had been arranged around and fairly close to the fire, as if for warmth. Even though the sun was well down, the temperature was probably still about 80, so additional heat was NOT needed. We moved our chairs back, then after a few minutes, moved them back farther! The fire was pleasant to look at, but a little breeze would have been preferable for comfort's sake.
Our little flash just couldn't overcome the dark. A circle of chairs surround
an evening "campfire."
A closer view of the fire, nearly full moon above.
Next: Installment 20. A Zambezi canoe safari, and a local village visit.