Very Much Delicious: Part 14

Part 14 of my diaries from 1996 about my trip to Malawi and Zambia. And, by the way, the title of these posts was explained in Part 5.

* 

Africa just kept defeating us. All our carefully laid plans constantly fell apart. We were up and ready on time but the Land Rover had yet another puncture. It was six O'clock before we set off and a string of further problems with the new wheel delayed us further. We stopped at a garage and ate a breakfast of cheese sandwiches and boiled eggs and watched a group of children playing 'whips and tops' with a corn cob and a piece of string while Geoff organised some repairs to the wheels. Running an hour and a half late already we arrived in Lilongwe. 
    Our bad luck continued unabated. The coffee shop that he had told us about had a large notice on the door saying that it would re-open on the 3rd January. After an hour of looking around we found a back street coffee shop and sat down to order. They had run out of coffee. By the time they had sent someone down to the shops and bought some, a freshly laundered and shaved Geoff was back and we had no time left to drink it.
    We were now on our way to Zambia and this close to the capital the roads were of a good quality so that we could make up some of the lost time. It seemed only a short time later that we approached the first of the two border posts which are separated by a bizarre half mile of what is technically still Malawi but which even the residents need a pass to enter or leave. Everyone had expected difficulties at the border and we had built a delay into our schedule to allow for them. In the event we were astonished at the speed and ease of our processing. We were through and moving again, passports stamped, in under five minutes. The Zambian border control at the other end of the half a mile limbo was equally brisk so that before we knew it we were in Zambia with almost all of our lost time made up.
It was now early afternoon and we were all hungry. Just over the border there was a petrol station with a snack bar where we bought hot pies and a kind of doughy bread with mince on top passing itself off as a 'pizza'. The quality was indifferent but we were hungry and it was hot and no-one was complaining.
    When we moved on it was onto a sandy road with an uneven surface that bounced and bruised us as Geoff made up the remaining time and even managed to pull ahead of schedule. The countryside here was very different from Malawi. Zambia has never had the slash and burn approach to ecology that the Malawian administration has so that first impressions of it are of a country that is much greener. Another difference is apparent on closer examination. Much of Malawi is forested with exotic imported plantations, Japanese Pine for example. The Zambian forests are almost entirely composed of indigenous hardwoods.
We were on the road for several more hours so that once again it was late afternoon when we arrived at our accommodation at the Wildlife Centre which is just outside the South Luanda National Park. This consisted of a group of sturdy bamboo chalets and a separate dining area. There was more to it than that of course. The camp is actually quite large and at the other end of it, separated from us by a camping area, were more chalets and a restaurant and bar. However the north section of it is self contained and we had it to ourselves. We quickly sorted ourselves out, leaving our bags without unpacking in our eagerness to get our first look at what had been promised would be the best game viewing in Southern Africa. In a matter of minutes we were on top of the Land Rover and approaching the main gate.
    Inside we stopped on the wide concrete bridge that spans the river and looked at the panorama that was spread out around us. In the distance the hippo were still laughing at that dirty joke, their booming voices echoing along the river. Fishermen poled fragile looking boats along it. Hundreds of starlings swifts and swallows swooped and dived in their aerial ballet. On the far side of the bridge the trees thickened quickly into a green wall. We drove over and immediately saw our first animal. It was Bambi. Standing at the side of the path completely unafraid and staring up at us with wide innocent eyes. We drove on, catching a glimpse of a family of warthogs as they scampered away from us with their tails comically pointing straight up like the antenna on a radio controlled car. It was beginning to get dark but we saw all of the usual antelope species again. For the thousandth time Geoff told David that they were not deer and could not be deer because there are no deer in Africa.
    "OK," David agreed, also for the thousandth time "Antelope they are."
At a bend in the road, less than ten feet away from us, there was an elephant - a young adult scraping itself against a tree as if it was trying to get rid of an itch. Or perhaps trying to get rid of the tree. We drove down to the river, past one of the enormous termite mounds that were still with us even now we were in Zambia. As the sun started to set we parked and stretched our legs and drank bottles of beer. Across the water the hippo were beginning their nocturnal perambulations. In the air two brightly coloured kingfisher flashed down repeatedly skimming the surface of the water. When it became too dark to remain we piled into the Land Rover and headed for home. It had been a short excursion after a long day but it was at least a taster of what was to come.