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May 26th - 28th, A walk on the wild side, the arrival of d'Artagnan, and plenty of alcohol!
We had decided whilst travelling back to Lusaka from Kitwe that the following day we would visit a game resort located near to the airport named Chaminuka. Furthermore we had managed to commandeer another vehicle to use at our pleasure when we returned. This vehicle came in the form of Lorraine, the partner to Basil, with whom we had had drinks with at the Kalahari bar the previous week. Her mother had a green Toyota Corolla (surprise surprise they are everywhere!) which was never used, and for good reason the windscreen had two severe cracks in, a slow puncture on the back right tire, a dodgy gear box, two broken window handles, two doors which didn't open from the outside, and one which was tricky to lock! What a ride, although there is no way the car would be allowed on the road in England, in Africa this car was just a little below standard but we loved it!
So onwards to Chaminuka, a little further from the airport than the three of us and our fuel tank initially anticipated but we arrived in grand style with Silver flying past the entrance and slamming on the brakes and skidding to a halt conjuring up a cloud of dust. If our car failed to turn heads next to the smart tourist rentals the entrance definitely did. The place itself was very impressive, smartly manicured lawns, neatly designed buildings catering to almost all tourist needs, and of course a bar with a view ;). It cost us 350,000 kwacha for an all inclusive stay for the day with the option to sleep at no extra cost which we passed up.
The main complex was on top of a hill; with the bar located at the tallest point up a wooden staircase decorated either side by typical African figurines. Once ordering our all inclusive drinks we found a balcony with a view of the pool, lawns, and one of the manmade lakes. We decided to take part in a game drive, boat ride, and a bit of fishing. The game drive was first and we ascended onto a safari vehicle which held roughly 10-12 people. We were accompanied by over enthusiastic Asian tourists, I'm sure you've met the types, all armed with impressive photo capturing devices and an index finger which remained permanently pointed ready to scare of the next safari animal that was unfortunate enough to come our way. We did manage to see a fair bit impala, giraffes, monkeys, warthogs, as well as the national bird of Zambia the fish eagle. Afterward we made our way to two enclosures one for hyena, the other for lions. These enclosures were rather overgrown in places which meant seeing the lions in particular was troublesome. In the end our guide tempted them over with some meat but it was still not easy. A bit of a letdown considering this was the main reason we came to Chaminuka in the first place, but by the end of our stay we would have encountered many more species of animal.
The boat ride was equally as tame, consisting of two or three circulations of the biggest of the lakes which allowed us to see a few more animals. The fishing really saved the day. Firstly on the drive down we past back past the lions that were now in clear view and next to the fence which meant we could get some great pictures stood next to them. Apart from this the fishing was funny as none of us have ever really been fishing before and it was obvious to our instructor! Timeless times we cast out our lines which when returned were missing our bait and any fish on the end of them. Scott thought he hooked a big fish but it turned out to be a mass of weeds. It wasn't until the very end of the day when we cast our very last line in that I managed to hook two fish at once, one did get away, but the other remained hooked and I managed to take it out and grab a photo with it before returning it to the water. Just for the record it was a monster and don't let the other two, or the picture convince you otherwise. Major man points for me I think.
The following day was an exciting day as Lil Chris was due to join us at 6am! So we duly woke early and prepared to pick him up, only to find that his flight had been cancelled due to the British Airways strikes. We spent almost half the day waiting to hear news from him in the internet café. Eventually we found out he was still on his way but he had to fly with a different company and go via Johannesburg meaning a 9 hour journey turned into a much longer one. His rearranged flight was due to arrive in Lusaka at 5pm so we went via the University to pick him up. At the University of Lusaka we had a lengthy an unproductive talk with the binding services in the library concerning a gift for our hosts before creating a sign for Chris's arrival. We created a sign announcing him as the Prince of Isle of Wight (boredom does amazing things to you) and whilst amusing ourselves slightly we received a lot of funny looks from the onlookers both at the University as well as the airport! Chris's flight was further delayed meaning we had to spend time at the airport bar which was fine by us more Mosi for me and Hunters dry for the other two! We picked Chris up drove back to the farm and neglected dinner at the farm in favor of taking Chris out to our now favourite bar in Lusaka the Kalahari. Here we were joined by Silver's cousin and namesake Silifa Mulenga, his friend, and cousin Mwape who drove us back from Kitwe. The night was a blur with many drinks shared, and ultimately ending in downing competitions matched up on apparent capabilities. So it was Silver and Chris which was close, Silifa versus Scott which Silifa won, and Myself versus Mwape which was so close we did it twice each of which were too close to call so we decided on a draw. We treated everyone to 3 plates of goat. Chris agreed with us that goat when cooked right is an absolute treat! We ended the night with Silifa giving the three non Zambians Bemba names which have since forgotten due to time not drink….obviously!
The following day was supposed to be a relaxed affair, it turned out that it was anything but relaxed. The day started straight forward enough with the four of us hangovers in tow visiting the old national football stadium called the Independence stadium, which was located next to a refugee camp. The stadium was condemned in 2004 and is hardly ever used, but is also home to the burial site of the famous national team that died in an air crash in 1993. Unfortunately the gates to the burial site remain locked, but after a little bit of trespassing we managed to find our way into the stadium which was empty and had one side of the stadium missing being replaced by metal gates blocking the entrances. The first thing we noticed was the state of the pitch it seemed immaculate which we could not work out why, that is until Silver walked over and lifted up the pitch which was in fact carpet! It was nice to gain a taste of football and to be inside a completely empty stadium just the four of us was a memorable experience. The rest of the morning consisted of present shopping, and our second attempt to play golf. The golf club asked for 3.4 million kwacha in order for us to play, a request which we politely declined. Upon arrival at the course we were greeted with an overwhelming amount of touts loitering outside the gates hoping to sell on whatever goods they happened to have on them. I felt like a piece of meat the way they were looking at us. The touts were not actually allowed on the grounds with an armed security guard keeping watch. He duly informed me that we should play golf despite the price tag claiming there were many of "my friends" inside which it turned out he meant white people!
In the evening we ventured to Aunt Peggy's house where she had prepared a traditional Zambian buffet for us. The four of us, mainly Juju, were in fact in charge of the braii (Zambian word for BBQ). We were joined for dinner by Clement Peggy's husband and a few of Clements friends. We had a wonderful time and an even better meal, gaining some insight into travel around South Africa as well as how to look at other women when your wife is watching you!!! We stayed a short while before moving on as we were in demand! We were scheduled to meet up with Mwape as well as Silver's Uncle Joe in Times bar. We set off and arrived at the bar in good time all of us gaining entry except for Scott who was wearing shorts! After a brief chat with the doorman it was conclude that unless Scott changed he wasn't getting in. We resolved the situation by taking Scott to Uncle Joe's place which was nearby and he loaned a pair of size 36 waist trousers from Mwape - let the drinking commence. Uncle Joe was a funny character. We met him at the bar, he was wearing a leather cap and matching jacket, two drinks in hand. He informed us that we were his guests and that as a result he would be paying for our drinks all night. He was true to his word which at first was a good thing, drink after drink came our way at a relentless pace. At no point during the night did we have less than two drinks in our hand. We began forcing the drinks down which resulted in us becoming rather drunk. We also bumped into the guys who we would be with tomorrow at the Zambian wedding. These guys included the groom Chabala as well as all the men from the lineup who were there to unwind before the big day. The dancing commenced the mszungus trying to keep up. One of the lineup named Emmanuelle who we had met previously attempted to teach Scott one of the pre rehearsed dance routines, whilst the others were just having a good time. Uncle Joe remained at the same spot at the bar all night which resulted in him drinking himself under the table. Now in England this would mean someone would call him a taxi home and the night would continue…not in Africa. Silver and Mwape had to accompany Uncle Joe out of the bar and to his car following a call from Uncle Joe's wife, and the man proceeded to drive home in his drunken state. This was completely bemusing to Scott, Chris and I, but within half an hour of Uncle Joe departing Silver got a message from Joe saying that he had arrived safely, in his state I doubt if he even remembers how he got home! So a relaxing day turned into a 2am wakeup call for Makasa who let us in late for the second night in a row. Tipsy, tired but very excited for the wedding day that lay ahead we went to bed ready for our early wake up!
DC, Scott, Silv, Lil C xxx
- comments
Martin and Di (Dan's mum & dad) LOL! we have had a real giggle at your exploits today! Definate theme running through this one. Couldn't put our finger on what it was, Hic!!!!! It must have made Scott put on some weight since you left - size 36 trousers! Glad Prince of Isle of Wight arrived safely. Loads of love mum and dad xxxx
Ga Ga & Nan Well you lads are having a good time training for the boozing olimpics,would like to be a fly on the wall watching your antics, carry on having the time of your lives and stay safe Luv ga ga nan
Paul (scotts Dad) You had me laughing out loud, great blog DC, and no, scott is not borrowing my trousers when he gets home!