Zambia

When we were planning to travel to Africa, we really didn’t have a clear idea of where we wanted to go and what we wanted to see. Africa is a large continent. We had in mind that we wanted to visit South Africa and Morocco, but also wanted to see something in between to experience “the real Africa” (South Africa is quite a bit more developed than other areas of Africa, and Morocco is quite different with its Arabic and European influences). We had originally thought that we would check out Tanzania and possibly do some volunteering. We looked into the volunteer options, and we didn’t get a good feeling from the agencies. They seemed to be a bit scammy. I did some digging around on one of them and it appeared to be fraudulent, and the other more reputable firm charged large administrative fees and they were pretty aggressive on the marketing/sales pitch (we would receive many follow-up emails from them after our initial contact). I reached out to Jen Singer, a family friend of ours living in Zambia, and she said that we were welcome to come visit her and Phil in Lusaka. So off to Zambia we went! Jen and Phil were incredible hosts and were a huge help in arranging all the planning, hotels, money transfers, transportation, etc. Thanks again guys!!

Lusaka

We arrived at the airport after quite a turbulent flight from Johannesburg. We made it through the airport in record time and were picked up by Phil to head back to their compound on the outskirts of Lusaka in Lalayi. Phil and Jen live in a compound with four identical houses, one occupied by Jen and Phil, the other by Phil’s brother Owen and wife Ilka, and the other two were vacant. We stayed in one of the vacant houses during our time in Lusaka which worked out perfectly. Upon arrival we received a warm welcome from the entire Singer/Green crew, including Jenny’s parents, Peter and Cathy, who were visiting at the same time as us. After having been on our own since New Year’s, it was nice reconnecting with familiar faces.

The next morning we all got up early to head to Phil’s family farm about two hours south of Lusaka. The farm is a large dairy operation along with crops of maize (corn) and soybean. We met up with Phil’s brothers Dave (and wife Vee) and Arthur. After coffee and cake at Dave and Vee’s place, we set off for a farm tour. We spent about an hour or so driving around checking out the property and we learned quite a bit about the operation (which is huge!). I got overwhelmed just looking at all the equipment and land and the work required to manage it all.

During morning coffee, Dave asked us if anyone wanted to go for a ride in the two seater plane. Peter and I looked at each other with some hesitation before Peter eventually volunteered to go for it. I of course had to follow suit otherwise I would have never heard the end of it from Peter and Phil. We each took turns flying with Dave in the tiniest plane you could imagine. It was a little bit scary at first, but it rode extremely smoothly and, after a tour checking out the whole property form the air, Dave made a beautiful landing in the field air strip. Afterwards we all sat for a very nice farm style lunch generously prepared by Vee.

Next, we parted ways with the Singer/Green group to continue further south to Choma for the night on our way to Victoria Falls. Phil had suggested we stay the night there instead of driving to Vic Falls in one go which was a good idea since we arrived in Choma at nightfall. It took us a few tries with the hotel staff to get our room since they only seemed to have a room that would accommodate three people (this is the same thing we experience in SE Asia). Fortunately, there was restaurant on site so we didn’t have to do any more searching after we got settled in. We (I) had completely forgotten that it was Valentine’s Day. The restaurant was full of locals dressed to the nines to celebrate the event (we were very underdressed for the occasion). We were right beside a dining room with about 20 people in it which appeared to be some sort of engagement party. A guy got up to the mic and said some words and then got down on one knee to slip a ring on his girlfriend’s finger much to the delight of everyone there (lots of hooting and hollering).

Vic Falls

We made our way to Livingstone in the morning, about a two-hour drive south of Choma. We booked a two-night stay at Bush Buck Lodge which was about a 30-minute drive from Livingstone. Our host told us to grab supplies in town since there was nothing near the lodge. She also recommended a café (Kubu) for lunch which was really nice spot (we would return the following day as well!). After lunch we went to the grocery store. Our host had suggested for us to go to the “Shop Rite”, a popular chain. We popped “Shop Rite” into google and drove there. It was in a bit of a sketchy area, but we parked and made our way into the store. The store was very crowded and hectic and did not have a lot of offerings. There were lots of flies everywhere and it was not very clean. We started to make our way up the aisle and had a couple of items in the cart when suddenly Mel throws her hands in the air in a huff and says, “I am outta here!”. We left the cart in the aisle and quickly followed her back to the car. (Mel very seldom gets angry at these sorts of things so I am finding the whole thing slightly amusing, but not showing it of course 😊). We get in the car and start to drive to the lodge with no plan to pick up supplies. As we are about to turn onto the road leading to the lodge, the kids point out another “Shop Rite” in a nicer area. We decide to check it out and, lo and behold, this of course was what our host had been referring to all along. Nice, large, clean, and well-stocked supermarket. Phew. Mel’s mood improved instantly.

We arrived at the lodge and were very happy with our accommodation. It was nice cottage with a kitchen in a traditional building with a thatched roof. The property was located along the edge of Zambezi river, several kilometres up from Victoria Falls. There was a pool and a little covered sitting area near the river where we would later enjoy some wine while taking in the view of the river. Very relaxing!

The following morning, we made our way to check out the world-famous Victoria Falls. The falls are located right at the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe (similar set up to Niagara on Canada/US border). It is said that the viewing is generally better on the Zimbabwean side, so we had planned to first check out the Zambian side and then make our way across the bridge to the other side. The Zambian side falls have three primary viewing spots: 1) the Knife Edge Bridge, 2) the Eastern Cataract, and 3) the Boiling Pot. We started with the Knife Edge Bridge. We had been warned that we would get wet, and we got wet. Absolutely soaked! Thankfully we were well prepared and had rented the rain gear at the start. As the water flows over the falls and slams down below, it thrusts a wall of water upwards such that it looks like it is raining upwards (not a gentle mist). As we walked across the Knife Point Bridge that connects to an island, it felt like we were in a monsoon. It was incredible to experience the raw force of the falls. We next went to the viewing spot along the side/top of the falls. This area was completely dry and had better viewing of the falls. As we were there taking in the views we chatted with a solo traveler from Slovakia who had lived in San Pedro de Atacama near Meli’s home city in Chile. We had a good chat and got some good travel advice and recommendations for travelling to Slovakia which we will likely do when we get to Europe. As we were chatting away, the sun came out and we completely dried off.

We went to the final spot, the Boiling Pot, which was at the bottom of the falls. It was a bit of a steep and slippery walk down the path and there was a great view of the Victoria Bridge from below (where they do the bungee jumping). The force of the water from the falls was incredibly strong and created huge circular currents. On our way back up the path we encountered several baboons, which was a bit unnerving, given our history with primates, but they didn’t pose any problems for us.

We returned our raingear in the parking lot, and on the request of the vendor, were asked to please visit the marketplace. We had no intention of buying anything, but thought it would be the right thing to do to at least go and check it out. There were dozens of vendors in booths and only the four of us. We felt really badly that there were no other tourists there. Being low season and post COVID, the tourism industry was very quiet. The vendors were a little bit pushy, but it didn’t bother us, and we ended up picking up a few nick knacks before making our way back to Kubu for lunch. We spoke with a few people about visiting the Zimbabwean side, and given the time of year with high water and heavy flow, the viewing is actually better on the Zambian side since there is so much heavy mist coming up from below (as we had experience on the Knife Bridge). This made us feel better/less bad about not making the trip across the bridge.

Lower Zambezi

The drive back to Lusaka from Vic Falls was about eight hours, but it went very smoothly and didn’t feel as long since we were used to doing long drives. We arrived back in Lusaka and reunited with the Singer/Green crew and headed out for a really nice dinner at the Cricket Club. There were several kids there and our boys joined them for an endless game of soccer (we ended up packing their food in take away containers to eat at home since they were having so much fun!).

The following day we would embark on an adventure to Lower Zambezi National Park. Phil and his friend Igno had been debating for several days/weeks whether or not the trip was doable. The idea was to take the escarpment route, which is an off-road adventure through really rough road and through a river. Given the large amount of rain in the previous weeks, Phil and Igno had called the trip off until the night before they saw that someone had posted on Instagram that they had made it through the river. The obvious concern was that the large amounts of rain would made the river unpassable and thereby requiring driving the normal route (boring!). The decision had been made that we would go ahead with the trip. That night, there was an absolutely torrential downpour and lightning storm. I asked Phil if that type of storm was normal and he said it was likely the most lightning he had experienced in as long as he could remember. It was a total light show. In the morning we met with Phil to reassess the trip. It was very likely that the river would be unpassable, especially with that night’s large rainfall. We decided to give it a go anyways. Worst case scenario is we would have to turn back.

We meet up with Igno and his two boys, De Wet and Erdrich (13,11), before setting out. Jen stayed back with her little ones, Finn and Oliver, (2, 6 months), and Cathy. So, this would be a boys’ adventure (plus Mel). The plan was for us to all spend the night in the Lower Zambezi, with Phil, Peter, Igno, De Wet, and Erdrich returning back in one 4x4 and leaving us with the other. Igno was extremely experienced in 4x4 adventures, and his Toyota Landcruiser was fully kitted out. We were in good hands.

We travelled along some of the roughest gravel roads I had ever been on. There were huge ruts and washed-out areas. At one point we crossed a small gorge that had been filled in to make a bridge. There was a steep drop off one side and water on the uphill side of it, almost spilling over the road. Being in the mining business, I have some knowledge on tailings dam collapses. This little bridge, likely fully saturated and holding up a small body of water did not provide much comfort as we drove across it. As we were driving over it, we could see that water started to flow over it. Nonetheless, we made it! The next obstacle was the river. This had been everybody’s main concern. We got out of the 4x4’s and Igno sent his kids out to wade through the river to check the depth which was well past their waists. Igno turns around with a huge smile on his face – and exclaims “this is excellent – we can do this!”. Peter and I look at each other and smile nervously. We get into the 4x4’s, unbuckle the seat belts, and roll down the windows and end up making it across the river without any problems. The water at the deepest point was at the top of the wheel well, at least three feet deep (these 4x4’s had very high clearances).

We continue on our journey and make some stops along the way to check out the incredible views of the valley below. We were very happy to have chosen the non-boring route! Along the way Igno abruptly stops in the road and jumps out. We all piled out to see what he was looking at. In an old stream bed, there were huge chunks of petrified wood. I had never seen petrified wood in nature before and was totally blown away. It was everywhere. They even used it as fill in the construction of a small bridge. Clearly the locals had no idea that it was petrified wood or at least didn’t fully appreciate the rarity of it.

We drove along the valley bottom, happy to have made it through the escarpment pass successfully. As we approached our accommodations at Wild Tracks Lodge, we encountered more difficult road. We passed along dirt roads with deep puddles and muddy ruts. There was no way any non-4x4 vehicle could pass through. At one point, the ruts were so deep that we actually hit the bottom plates of the 4x4 which is hard to do.

Our stay at the lodge was incredible. It had a very cottagey feel to it and it was right on the edge of the Lower Zambezi. The service was incredible. We brought all our own food but they have an on site chef and help staff that do the cooking and cleaning. We could get used to this. That night Phil and Igno prepared a delicious Braai (BBQ) with every meat possible. Truly a feast. The staff had prepared a nice bonfire to enjoy afterwards, but as we ate, it started to rain heavily, so we spent the rest of the evening under the outdoor cover of the main lodge.

The next morning, we went “Baobab Climbing”. Like rock climbing, but up a huge Baobab tree. This was definitely a unique experience! We had a great time climbing. It was extremely difficult since some of the natural holds in the tree were wet, and since the bark is smooth, it was a bit slippery.

After climbing, the crew left back to Lusaka and we would spend the next couple of days on our own. We spent much of the time relaxing and getting caught up on some reading. The four of us did a two-hour sunset boat tour on the Zambezi. We saw lots of wildlife including crocodiles and hippopotami. At the end, we pulled the boat up to a sandbar in the middle of the Zambezi and the boys played soccer while Mel and I enjoyed some wine. Drinking wine and playing soccer on a sandbar, literally on the border of Zambia and Zimbabwe, and surrounded by crocodiles and hippos – only in Zambia!

We made our way back to Lusaka and spent the next couple of day with a bit more (much needed) downtime to get caught up on some trip planning and other work. The boys had some play dates set up with Jessie (Owen and Ilka’s son) and the following day with De Wet and Erdrich. This was fantastic for the kids who have seen very few kids for most of our trip.

We had no idea what to expect with our trip to Zambia but ended up having such an incredible time. It was really nice to spend time with the Singer/Greens and to feel at home and so nice for the boys to make fast friends. Thanks Jen and Phil for all your help in organizing such a memorable adventure!