POST24 SOLO9/10 - ZIM ZAM (ZIMBABWE, ZAMBIA): Days 183-200 of 273, 13-30MAY16, 4,571km to total 34,609km, Kasane BOTSWANA (Country 18) to Harare ZIMBABWE (Country 19) via ZAMBIA (Country 20)

17 PLACES VISITED:   ZIMBABWE: 1) Victoria Falls (town), 2) Victoria Falls (waterfall), 3) Gweru (Antelope Game Park), 4) Masvingo, 5) The Great Zimbabwe Monument, 6) Chimanimani, 7) Harare, 8) Bulawayo, 9) Matobo National Park.   ZAMBIA: 1) Livingstone, 2) Victoria Falls (waterfall), 3) Lusaka, 4) Chimutu, 5) Lower Zambezi, 6) Makanya, 7) Mfuwe, 8) South Luangwa National Park.   

18 OVERNIGHTS:   ZIMBABWE: 1) Dorm at “Shoestring Backpackers”, Victoria Falls (Elev 864m), 2-4) Room in “Antelope Game Park”, 12km east of Gweru (Elev 1361m), 5) Facilities Camp inside the “Great Zimbabwe Monument” (Elev 1108m), 6-7) Dorm in “Heaven Mountain Lodge”, Chimanimani (Elev 1503m), 8-9) Dorm in “It’s a Small World Backpackers Lodge”, Harare (Elev 1465m), 10-11) "HALA Select Cecil Hotel”, Bulawayo (Elev 1354), 12) Dorm in “It’s a Small World Backpackers Lodge”, Harare (Elev 1465m).   ZAMBIA: 1) Dorm at “Jollyboys Backpackers”, Livingstone (Elev 883m), 2) Dorm at “Lusaka Backpackers”, Lusaka (Elev 916m), 3-4) Cabin at “Kiambi Safari Lodge”, Lower Zambezi (Elev 392m), 5-6) Room at “Croc Valley Camp”, South Luangwa National Park (Elev 508m).

11 RUNS:   ZIMBABWE: Gweru (2), Great Zimbabwe Monument, Chimanimani (2), Bulawayo (2).   ZAMBIA: Livingstone, Lusaka, Makanya (Lower Zambezi), South Luangwa National Park.

45 UNIQUE WILDLIFE:   ZIMBABWE: 1) Baboon, 2) Slender Mongoose, 3) Vervet Monkey, 4) Wildebeest, 5) White Rhinoceros (4), 6) Spurwing, 7) Bush Buck, 8) Fish Eagle.   ZAMBIA: 1) Baboon, 2) Vervet Monkey, 3) Hippopotamus, 4) Elephant, 5) Crocodile, 6) Bush Buck, 7) Water Buck, 8) Reed Cormorant, 9) Malachite Kingfisher, 10) White Crowned Lapwing, 11) White-fronted Bee Eater, 12) Wooded Vulture, 13) Blacksmith Lapwing, 14) Egyptian Goose, 15) Grey Heron, 16) Open-billed Stalk, 17) Black-winged Stilt, 18) Open-billed Stilt, 19) Spur-winged Goose, 20) African Fish Eagle (Zambian Flag), 21) Goliath Heron, 22) African Jacana, 23) Comb Duck, 24) Great White Heron, 25) Vervet Monkey, 26) Great White Egret, 27) Warthog, 28) Zebra, 29) Long-tail Glossy Starling, 30) Greater Blue-eared Starling, 31) Guinea Fowl, 32) Leopard (1 day & 2 night), 33) Lion (6), 34) African Civet, 35) Spotted Hyena, 36) Grey Mongoose, 37) Thorn-croft Giraffe.

BLOG POST TRAILER:

Welcome to the post that cracks six whole calendar months away from home and with the truck, 200 days away from home and enters my 20th African country (not counting WESTERN SAHARA being part of MOROCCO). Amazing. Two-thirds of the way through the whole trip. Once again, hard to digest. We are now well on our way to Cairo. Sufficiently north and headed east. This post takes you into ZIMBABWE from BOTSWANA for just two nights at the spectacular Victoria Falls. Then it is time for 6 nights in ZAMBIA on Solo 9, one of my best trips alone. I the return to ZIMBABWE to catch the truck at the famous Antelope Park near Gweru. This post then covers the remainder of ZIMBABWE ending just short of the MOZAMBIQUE border. The locals on or near the border towns of Victoria Falls and Livingstone call ZIMBABWE “Zim” and ZAMBIA “Zam”.

I like it. Zim Zam. The “Tim Tam” of Africa. Victoria Falls township (Pop 40,000, Elev 864m) is a quaint little place, homey but to modern and not overrun. This is because the town is inside the Victoria National Park and not governed by local council. The falls speak for themselves. It was high water when I visited which meant “getting wet”. I dressed in my cozzie and lycra top with thongs and a dry-pack for my things. I walked the 2.5km to the falls from my dorm hostel in town and could see the huge spray of the high-water falls high in the sky along with the tuners sound of the main fall 1.5km before arriving. The Zim side has a path with view points numbered from 1 to 15. They view the falls from the side making it easier to see more of the fall before getting wet. The Zam side is front-on but in high water you cannot see anything except white spray along with a thorough soaking. I enjoyed the Zim side while a champion tourist lady called Joy was booking all my Solo 9 trip to ZAMBIA. Without her I would have run out time visiting the falls from both sides and fitting in a helicopter flight. Victoria Falls or "Vic Falls” is one of the seven natural wonders of the world and very well visited. Officially it is tagged the “largest” falls in the world based on the combination of width, height and volume of water pouring over the edge. Learn all about the amazing facts of the falls in the PS below entitled “PS: A LITTLE ABOUT VICTORIA FALLS WATERFALL”.

On Day 184 on Sat 14MAY I started my ninth solo excursion from the truck (Solo 9) which took me into ZAMBIA to observe the falls from the Zam side. Before going to Zam, I took a helicopter flight in Zim which was fantastic and worth the USD150. It is especially good at high water because it gives you a view of the shape and enormity of the falls despite the spray. Back on the ground, I reckon the Zam side is not as good as the Zim side in high water because of the spray but I reckon the Zam side would be better in low water because it takes in the entire front of the main fall. The same day I visited the Zam side I stayed in Livingstone, 15km from the falls.

The only point of note there is the Museum dedicated to Dr David Livingstone who discovered the falls in 1885.  The next day it was off to Lusaka (Pop 2m+, Elev 916), the capital of ZAMBIA. To enable me to visit Lusaka I caught the 5:30am coach which took 7hrs to get there. Lusaka is disappointing and offers the tourist nothing except transport to other places! I tried to make the most if it as I usually do to give any city a fair go before I criticise it. “You have to be in it to bag it” is one of my sayings (“bag” means to criticise for those non-Ozzies reading this blog). I visited the local markets, the museum and cenotaph.

I did a mountain of walking and noticed characteristics of West Africa in this town. Open stalls, rubbish, ice-cream on bicycles, huge religious conferences and share vans with religious names. I also noted shanty towns and many more beggars. This was a sharp contrast against the three huge shopping malls in Lusaka, complete with cinemas. My run along a major Lusaka road also confirmed these observations. In Lusaka and Livingstone I enjoyed buying local hot food at the supermarkets and eating on my dorm bed picnic style with headphones and a movie going - my own little zone of relaxation.

My 153km journey to the Lower Zambezi was easy but a big rip-off. I paid USD200 each way because the flights and hire car are MORE expensive and the public van takes too long and time was critical for me - time is money as they say and if you can buy it then so be it. The actual resort cost with full board and one day canoe trip cost $USD317 by comparison. It still was pricey but luxurious in its delivery. My private driver Jimmy turned up at 3pm to take me to the "Kiambi Safari Lodge" right on the Zambezi itself.

It was a great relaxing drive taking 3hrs. On arrival a sumptuous al-fresco dinner on a lone table out on a stone balcony overlooking the ZAMBEZI with a fire going, the moon out and the sounds of many hippos just below me. Pretty, pretty, pretty good… (Larry David, Curb Your Enthusiasm). That first night I feasted on fillet beef and mountains of garlic tossed broccoli and cauliflower - first time in Africa. Pea and ham soup to start and apple crumble with custard to finish. A real treat. My tent-style wooden and canvass bungalow was again right above the Zambezi. Slept and awoke to the sounds of hippos, frogs and million insects with moonlight during in through the mozzie net mesh.

We set out for the canoe safari at 9am and I returned at 5pm. Went out with our guide Claude and a Dutch couple, Martina and Bass (pronounced “boss” - handy if you are in Africa!). Our two canoes were Canadian built fibre-glass sit-ins with single paddle oars. We paddled a total of 20km bringing us into close proximity with submerged hippos and banked crocs with few standing hippos in the distance. Canoeing here is very popular but most people drive foreign cars in, self-cater and sleep in tents to keep the cost down. We also saw a myriad of birds and many elephants. The Zambezi is very open and breezy making it very comfortable if you can safeguard yourself from the sun. The Zambezi is Africa’s fourth largest river at 2,741km long

This is not the place for the big cats or zebras, giraffes and the antelope family. The focuses hippos, crocs and birds and the actual activity of canoeing. We had a great lunch on an island at a sit down table with chairs brought in by a motored barge from our lodge. Pasta, salad, cold cuts, juice, fruit, tea/coffee. The highlight of the canoeing was see the hippos come into the water from there feeding places on small islands in the middle of the Zambezi which is the border to ZAMBIA and ZIMBABWE making these islands a “no mans land”! Another highlight was my interview with Claude on the canoe and a hippo surfacing right next out canoes out of accident. Scary but still an accident. Around 5pm we arrived at the island where the dutchies would overnight. Once again our barge driver Johnson had set up their huge walk in tent along with outdoor dining table and had fillets of fish simmering away on the fire. I would have also stayed here if it wasn’t for my 11:20am flight to Mfuwe so I returned to the lodge on a high speed barge. The sunset during the 20min trip was one of the best to date. The sky fired up and reflected itself in the still waters of the Zambezi. Another sumptuous private dinner awaited me after a long hot shower. I was a little sunburnt on the nose and thighs but not in pain. Tonight roast chicken featured on the menu and it was another movie to follow.

My journey north the next day began with the 7:30am, 3hr drive to Lusaka airport. Jimmy made good time and I was able to stock up on wine, cheese and olives at one of Lusaka’s fancy malls as there would be no such supplies in small time Mfuwe. I had to sweet talk the supermarket checkout lady into giving me a box which I later taped up by sweet-talking the Lost & Found Baggage lady at the airport since no liquids are allowed in domestic flights in ZAMBIA. Lusaka airport was old and grey and in need of demolition.

Only one departure gate for domestic and one for international with no seat allocation! The Chinese were building a big brand new airport next door so at least things were happening. It was already one year late. “Proflight Zambia” flight PO0806 in a 36-seat British Aerospace Jetstream 41 (which looks exactly like a SAAB 340B) took off on-time at 11:20am but 10min into the flight the captain announced a return to Lusaka based on a rising temperature reading on the starboard engine. Bugger. Engine problems always take ages to fix or validate and I knew I was at risk of missing my PM safari or even having to overnight in dull Lusaka. After landing safely we sat around until it was announced that the temperature gauge was faulty and we would be leaving on the same plane at 2pm. At least I would not be staying in Lusaka and missing the AM safari as well.

The flight up was a little bumpy going up and down but very smooth and scenic along the way. I realised just how vast and dry ZAMBIA was from 17000ft. I thanked my driver for waiting at Mfuwe airport and I arrived at the “Croc Valley Camp”, 30min and 32km later at 3:30pm. The camp is only 2.5km from the main road entrance to the National Park and right on the Luangwa River which borders the park. You can see hippos in and out of the water from the bar and dining areas! There are no park fences either. Much to my surprise the PM safari which combines the sunset safari with the night safari runs from 4-8pm so I had made it! Yippee. And what a safari it was. I went to the trouble and expense of flying up to the South Luangwa National Park because I read that it was a haven for stand-up hippos and leopards - the two big things I had left to see.

And boy did I see them. In the first 45min. Add 3 lions to the mix as well. One almost came right up to where I was sitting and I thought it would put its paws on the step ladder. Instead it walked around the back of the 4WD with me filming right above it. The closest ever to a lion. I was over the moon. The anxiety was off. I then sat back and enjoyed the 14 other types of animals that we saw. Our driver Botha had been briefed by Herbert the manager on what I wanted to see and he called out to me when we fronted the stand-up hippos and leopard. He knew his animals and where they were. There were 5 of us on the 12 seater 4WD with plenty of space to take photos. I also loved the format of doing 2hrs daylight to sunset and another 2hrs of spy light in the night with a popcorn and cordial break in between to watch the sun set. We saw two leopards, one sunset, one night. It was great.

I celebrated my completion of the Big-5 that night with a sumptuous dinner of T-Bone and veggie curry. I retired with a movie and more wine. Woke to the sound of Vervet Monkeys and Hippos and set off on an AM drive safari from 6-10am with none other than Botha with a new team of 5 other people. Four were young doctors who had just finished internships in MALAWI and taking this break before going home to England. The AM safari exposed me to more stand-up hippos with fun and games in the water - saw two males fighting over a female and one rolling around in the water all within 10-15m of us in a pool covered in cabbage like green plants floating on the water’s surface. No leopards this time as they are mainly nighttime hunters but 4 lions featured and all were together outside the park within 1km four camp in the camp next door!

We returned having seen 29 different animals. From 10am to 4pm I went for a run and retired to my room to blog and work on my photos. My last safari at this prolific park started on-time with Botha and the same AM passengers plus two more. It was another potpourri of 21 different animals including a night-time leopard, a brush with elephants and a seeping giraffe! We startled 6 elephants while they were covering themselves with dirt and the dominant male came towards the truck but stopped 5m short and detoured his group around the back. The sleeping giraffe was a "Thorn-croft Giraffe”, much slimmer and taller than the “Articulated Giraffe” we had seen elsewhere. It was crouched down, all four legs folded back on themselves at the knees, body upright and neck at 45 degrees. Saw it under spot light and seeing is believing! How it can relax is besides me. It cannot place its head on the ground because its heart with flood with blood and it is too hard for the neck to lift the head up from a horizontal position. Bizarre stuff.

We also saw six Wild Dogs and a spotted Hyena, both scavengers and just as ugly as each other. Tonight was another feast of beef with maize (a local dish) with more curried veggies and chips. As usual a movie proceeded. South Luangwa National Park, Croc Valley Camp and Herbert/Botha was worth every cent. The park may be less than half the size of Etosha (9,000 vs 23,000 sqkm) but the variety and proximity of animals is exceptional. It may not have the numbers and sweeping plains of Etosha but it delivers in the Leopard department and the hippos here are the best to date. Based on animals this is my favourite park to date but if I look overall at cost and accessibility then Etosha is just in front because it is easier to experience for families and older people.

My busiest day of travel was easily Day 190 on Fri 20MAY when I returned to the truck from Solo 9. Try this on for size: 32km (30min) to Mfuwe Airport, 70min (470km) flight to Lusaka, 45min (413km) flight to Harare, a 4.5hr (280km) bus drive to Gweru and a 30min (12km) car transfer to the Antelope Park where the truck was. I arrived at the truck at 8pm and was not tired to my surprise. After a quick catch-up with everyone I celebrated with a picnic dinner and movie in my room. The Antelope Game Park is a private enclosed farm covering 30 square kilometres with myriads of animals including 113 lions! It was started in 1987 and employs 75 locals and takes on a number of volunteers from around the world. Its mission is to revive the population of lions in ZIMBABWE. Visitors here can undertake many paid activities that put them in close proximity to lions and elephants, both tame and wild in captivity.

My favourite activity is called “Walking with the Lions” and involved walking and patting two 22mth old male “cubs” which certainly do not look like cubs tab 100kg each! I spent 90min with these amazing creatures. Another exciting activity was filming 6 hungry wild male lions sprint towards a mountain of cow organs and make mince meat of it behind a wire fence only 2m from them! They must have run the 100m in 5sec to get to that smelly booty! Watching those teeth do their job and listening to the snarls and growls and the crunching and slurping of guts was awesome but not for the light stomached or vegetarians! I also spent close to 60min with a 29yr old tame female elephant scale Maia who wrapped her trunk around me and even showed me inside her mouth revealing hr four sets of molars for chewing and even allowing me to stroke her tough pinkish tongue. I was got to ride on her back re-aquanting myself with that tough skin and prickly thick sporadic hair. She was a gentle creature and enormous as a stood next to her a patted her huge belly. The only downside activity was the “Lion Encounter” run after sunset where you follow three 26mth old female lions as they hunt for food. Unfortunately we saw no cause and no kill and this is the risk of this particular activity. The chances are high but chances nevertheless. It was a relaxing two whole days here and gave me a chance to catch up on blogging and picture culling. The place was also well-equipped with bar, coffee shop and WIFI. Definitely worth a visit. Another interesting place was the “Great Zimbabwe Monument”, about 5hrs drive from the Antelope Park in the Eastern Highlands. 

It is in fact a number of ruins dating back to the 12th Century constructed by the Shona peoples, who migrated to Congo, to house their King and Queen, the King’s 199 other wives and people of learning and rank, such as generals, advisors (politicians), teachers, artists/performers and the witch doctor / soothsayer. There were no commoners or subjects on this site. It was considered sacred and was a place of learning, politics and reflection. It was not a village or town or city. In this sense it is very similar in purpose to Machu Picchu in Peru or Delphi in Greece - a place of learning, politics, religion and the arts.

After a run here I took a guided tour by myself through the three main sections of the site: 1) The “Hill Complex", which is set 100m on top of a hill and housed the King and his entourage (not his wives), 2) The “Great Enclosure" which housed his first wife, the Queen and 3) The “Valley" which housed his remaining wives and servants who did all the cooking and cleaning at this section. Half a day’s drive further east of this place is the Eastern Highlands featuring the mountainous pine-clad Chimanimani Ranges. Our lodge there was terrific, overlooking the ranges and equipped with two large recreation areas warmed by large open log fires and even a pizza oven which we enjoyed on the last night. We sighed here two nights enjoying walks, treks and in my case runs. I also spent time resting here after ZAMBIA and processed all the photos for this post.

Harare (Pop 2m, Elev 1465m) is a good full-days driving from Chimanimani via Mutare (Pop 200,000), ZAMBIA’S fourth largest city. A different world indeed. Harare is city desperate for modernisation. Most buildings date from the 1960’s and 1970’s. At least it has a centre - a long pedestrian mall and wide streets and has the foundations to be a good looking modern city. I walked the city extensively visiting the Harare Gardens, Africa Unity Park and the two major shopping centres which were half tenanted.

Despite the high unemployment there were people everywhere. Mostly the upper eshalon that defines the wide rift between rich and poor that characterises this and many other African countries. I bumped into Tim that day who had already left the truck and was staying at the poshest hotel in town, the “Miekles”. He shouted me a cappo there and it was divine. The next day I was off on Solo 10 to Bulawayo on a 30+ yr old Boeing 737 Air Zimbabwe. The risk was limited to only 45min. I arrived early giving me ample time to walk the city. Bulawayo (Pop 1.5m, Elev 1354) is big country town looking to become a city. Like its bigger sibling Harare, it has many buildings dating back to the 60’s and 70’s and needs rejuvenation. Badly. It is still pleasant because of its wide streets and country feel but at night it is a different place with lots of shouting, commotion and drunks. I kept indoors and saw this only when buying dinner 100m from my hotel.

Speaking of which, very old and in desperate need of renovation. Indeed, the Cecil Hotel was like something out of a colonial era history book. I spent the whole of the next day, Sunday, visiting the Matobo National Park which is famous for its Rhinos and the burial place of Cecil John Rhodes, of “Rhodes Scholarship” fame, a wealthy industrialist and politician who many say raped and pillaged Africa and at one stage owned all of ZIMBABWE. Maybe it was a fit of repentance that caused him to give it all back after his death in 1902. In any case he holds a very strong spot in the history of the country and many talk highly of him. I was lucky to have company on this safari - a small film producer called Ben from Paris. Suffice to say we had a lot to talk about and for just AUD150 we toured all day with a nice outdoor lunch in the middle. The highlight was getting within 7m of a dominant male White Rhino who was grazing with 3 other Rhinos. Mean looking creatures. At one stage the male curled his tail and stared at me - I sign that he was perturbed and could charge me. I kept absolutely still since they can smell me an hear me but cannot see me directly - only if I move via peripheral vision. Much like a T-Rex. Strange because they look like a Triceratops!!!

We had to climb one of three rocky outcrops, known as “The Three Sisters” to spot the Rhinos so we would not waste time walking around aimlessly. After the rhinos we visited the place where Cecil Rhodes was buried on top of a monolithic hill called "Malindid Zimu” by the locals and “World’s View” or “Matopas Hill” by Cecil and the whites. One thing was for sure - the 360 degree view from he top was outstanding. This national park is defined by its many round boulders, acacia’s and orange dirt. Beautiful. From here it was a 20min drive to lunch taking us deep into the park and affording us the chance to see it up close and in all its wonder. After lunch we headed to one of many caves called “Nswatugi” and featuring many animals and human figures.

The giraffes were very accurate and visible and it is estimated that these paintings are 9,000yrs old. How did they last so long? How come the high-tech Dulux paint on our houses doesn’t last beyond 15yrs!!! We spent sunset driving through the park to look for leopards. No luck but saw some Bush Bucks and a variety of birds. Unfortunately this park was badly poached due to the desperate poor and has very few animals. I enjoyed another great dinner and movie in my room and sent the next morning visiting the “Khami Ruins” with the brother of a taxi driver that I engaged while walking through town - at a fraction of the cost of the tour companies. Khami is only 25km from Bulawayo and was a citadel set on a hill for the son of the King in “The Great Zimbabwe” and his entourage of elite rulers, politicians, witch doctors and educators. It was built in 1414, reaching 9,000 elite at its peak and destroyed in 1640 by a huge internal conflict between two elite groups. It was a great day to send the morning.

At 2pm I departed for Harare on a big comfortable 50-seater coach and arrived at 8pm. I managed to pick up some of that delicious charcoal chicken and roasted veggies that I ate the night before Solo 10 began. What a sign. Solo 10 had begun and ended with the best chicken I had ever tasted. I sat up late that night drinking wine and posting this blog. A great way t end Solo 10 and re-join the truck for our journey into MOZAMBIQUE tomorrow…

OBSERVATION: "YES BOSS".

To date, many indigenous Africans address me (and other white male tourists) as “boss”. Blue collar as well as white collar. Mostly men, then children but hardly any women! Then I realised that the African countries where this mostly occurred were countries that were once colonised by England. It is amazing that these countries that found independence around 1960 and 1980 and this term still survives, even after a generation. You can only imagine the suppression and suffering that occurred but it is unusual that the term survived - you think you would forget it the minute you found freedom.

BLOG POST DETAIL:

DAY 183 of 273, Fri 13MAY16, 80km, Room at “Thebe River Safari Campsite” Kasane (Elev 918m) BOTSWANA to Dorm at “Shoestring Backpackers”, Victoria Falls (Elev 864m) ZIMBABWE. The border crossing from BOTSWANA to ZIMBABWE was the quickest and easiest to date. We were done in 30min and pulled up to our camp site in the township of Victoria Falls at 11am, a total trip of only 80km from our camp in Kasane. This was great for me because it would give me some time to organise Solo 9 into ZAMBIA. I planned to visit the waterfall tomorrow from both sides, Zim and then Zam. So off I went into the township to look for agents.

Victoria Falls (Pop 40,000) is very unassuming. Like Kasane, it is undeveloped and very plain. I found out why. It is officially INSIDE the Victoria Falls National Park so it is controlled by the Parks and Wild Service and NOT local council. Plain buildings, no multi-storey, no shopping malls etc. It actually has some character this way. My luck was running out. Most agents here did not engage in organising activities or trips in ZAMBIA. I would have to face the prospect of organising Solo 9 once I crossed the border into Livingstone. Then came that stroke of luck that I wished I had in the delta with the charging elephants. I visited the “Backpackers Bazaar” agency that organises activities for Oasis and met a guy who told me to see a lady called “Joy” back at our camp site. She was there organising activities for our group. She also had knowledge of ZAMBIA. Bingo. I wasted no time getting back and met her.

A lovely lady with a mind like a steel trap. She had finished with the group and assured me that she would organise my whole trip. Miracle. I wrote out my itinerary for her with all the places and lodges that I wanted to target. Left her my Lonely Planet. It was 12:30pm and she told me to visit the falls and come by her office around 4pm to select from options and make bookings and deposits. I was overjoyed. I had gained much time. This meant I could visit the Zim side of the falls now and then cross over to Zam tomorrow to see the falls from that side and stay in Livingstone to start Solo 9 and travel to Lusaka the following morning.

That was an extra day in my pocket. What a lady. Off I went sporting my Ungowa/Bondi running tights, singlet, thongs, GoPro and dry bag of money and Lumix, all designed to get me soaked at the falls. Apparently the water levels were maxed out and the spray was like a thunderstorm. “Prepared to get wet, very wet" was the advice Joy gave me as I left her. When Joy saw “Bondi” emblazoned on my butt she stopped me and said “why didn’t you tell me you were from Bondi Beach”. “How do you know Bondi?" I replied, “have you been?”. “Yes I have” came the reply. Apparently Joy had done an overland trip in Africa with a driver from Sydney.

The driver was so charismatic and the group got along so well that he noted them to his wedding in Australia and they all went! Amazing. The driver’s parents paid for Joy to attend because their son spoke so highly of her - that was the parents wedding present to their driver-son: a surprise visit! So whilst Joy was in Australia for the wedding she visited Bond Beach amongst other places including Melbourne and the Gold Coast. What a story! It was a 20min walk from the camp to the falls. No signs required - you can see the huge plume of spray and hear the rumble of the fall - incredible. I walked into what seemed to me to be a very secure entry. Inside there were tellers with captions of “Immigration”, “Customs Inspections”. For a split second, I thought to myself - this is a little over the top for an entry to a waterfall - I mean it is big, but is all this necessary.

Then it dawned on me on what was going on... I actually missed the entry gate to the falls and ended up at the border post into ZAMBIA!!! It was a Paris Anderson moment and even Joy laughed exceedingly when I told her later that arvo. Anyway, I backtracked and entered the falls. What a site. Learn all about the amazing facts of the falls in the PS below entitled “PS: A LITTLE ABOUT VICTORIA FALLS WATERFALL”. Navigating the fall is easy. There is one long stoned path with numbered and titled viewpoints 1 to 15. The actual waterfall is one long sheet of water. On the Zim side you actually observe the falls  side-on on most of the path and when the water level is high (like today), there are more clear views of the sheet since the spray moves from left to right and not towards you. The path however does get to point where it is in front of the sheet then downstream and it is here that you get soaked. You can still see some of the sheet through the spray but is obscured and hazy.

I used the GoPro for most of the shots since the scary was too much for the Lumix and at times it was like rain. I got soaked but the sun was out and no different to going for a swim in your togs. It only took me 2hrs to cover all the viewpoints - mainly because of the spray - could not spend too much time in it. The good news is that it was low season and there were not too many people - most wore ponchos over their clothes. It was a much shorter walk than Iguazu and longer than Niagara. I marvelled at the sheer quantity of water pouring over the 1.7km long edge! They say that at high water, the quantity of water falling in 72hrs is enough to supply New York City for a year!!! Wow. There are also lots of monkeys running around and if you set down your camera bag or item of clothing it will disappear! I enjoyed the visit because I got a chance to get wet and refresh myself.

From the falls I headed straight to Joy’s office. It was only 3:30pm so I hoped we could book everything by the end of today. It happened but not without effort. Fuelled by plenty of great espresso lattes that I bought with me, Joy and I worked feverishly on the phone and internet to book the two hostels, two lodges and two airfares - both cheaper than hiring a car. No public transport goes to the places I will visit and car hire in ZAMBIA is pre-historic and way too expensive since it not only charges a huge daily base rate but per kilometre. There is no such thing as unlimited kilometres in ZAMBIA. Solo 9 would be an expensive trip but would give me access to an entire country, the largest national park with EVERY animal in it and a canoe safari by myself only metres from hippos and crocs. My chances of seeing leopards was also extremely high. I was determined to see every key animal IN THE WILD and this trip would give me the best chance of achieving this now. Bring it on.

I missed my chance to run since I worked with Joy until sunset. No matter. Solo 9 was the priority today and I had managed to visit the Zim side of the falls. Very happy. I also booked a helicopter flight over the falls for tomorrow morning given the large amount of spray, I wanted better photos and film. As it turns out booking stuff was so hard and slow that I could not have done it by myself - I celebrated my good fortune with Joy over several beers and local food at our campsite and with members of the group. It was a great night and the perfect way to usher in Solo 9.

DAY 184 of 273, Sat 14MAY16, 17km, Solo9, Dorm at “Shoestring Backpackers”, Victoria Falls (Elev 864m) ZIMBABWE to Dorm at “Jollyboys Backpackers”, Livingstone (Elev 883m, Run1) ZAMBIA. Today was the start of Solo 9 day! So excited at the prospect of being alone for the next week.

My helicopter pickup at 8:15am was right on time and we drove about 15min out of town to a helipad in a low-rise scrub area. A safety briefing for the 5 of us and it was not long until we were airborne. I sat in the front with a local pilot called Derek who kept a clean ship. The front bubble of the helicopter was so clean it was as if it did not exist. Joy had ensured that the helicopter company I was in today used craft with windows that could open. The last time I was in a helicopter was way back in 1987 when I visited my relatives in the USA for the first time. My second cousin was an ex-cop in LA who used to fly the police helicopters so he had a buddy of his take my brother and I up over the sunset skies of LA. It was an unforgettable experience. Here I was many years later experiencing a similar thing. The total fight lasted 15min and covered 37km at an average speed of 145km/h and 670m altitude.

The waterfall was spectacular from this vantage. We first flew to Batoka Gorge into which the waterfall drains and then did figure-eight loops several times above the fall to enable everyone to take photos/film. I went berserko. I had 3 cameras running. The GoPro was on for the entire flight and I switched back and forth from my Canon to my Lumix for photos and film, to pick the best result. Chilling these would be a major exercise - something to do at the safari lodges when alone. What was most impressive was the sheer size of the water sheet and the plume of spray rising above it - they say up to 400m. We also flew above the town of Victoria Falls which looked larger than I imagined.

The helicopter was so agile, twisting and turning and the view through the front bubble was especially good. Back at the helipad we watched a film of the flight including us getting on and off and great shots of the fall itself. I decided to buy a copy just in case. I asked our transfer driver to drop me off in town so that I could buy a present for Joy for the stellar job she did with Solo 9. I then walked to her office to presenter with her gift. She was surprised. She also asked me to go back to my camp to sign a credit card form since her printer was broken. I did this with plenty of time to spare. My transfer across the border to my hostel in ZAMBIA was due at 11am and I had 30min up my sleeve to do some blogging and farewell the group. At 11am Solo 9 officially began and much to my surprise Joy was in the transfer van to take me through the border. The border process was even faster. I farewelled her after I got my ZIMBABWE exit stamp. Paula was one of those people who could anything she put her mind to. She was also a “can do” and “yes” person. She was what every African country needed to promote tourism and bring it to the next level. Her kids would benefit from her character and enthusiasm. Livingstone was only 15km from the border and waterfall.

The “Jollyboys” hostel was large, colourful and cheery. However it did not live up to its name because it was run entirely by women!!! Best of all it was in the centre of town, next to the Livingstone Museum and a very short walk to two big supermarkets and the bus stations to Lusaka. I was set up well. Even though it was only noon, I wasted no time putting on my waterfall uniform and catching a shared taxi to the fall from the markets. I also bought my bus ticket to Lusaka as advised by the lady who checked me in at the the hostel - only $AUD18. They share taxi to the fall was a crazy $AUD1.50 to go 15km! I wondered how these guys made a living. My driver over the border, Steve, and told me that unemployment was at 60%. Unbelievably high. There are only 14.5 million people in ZAMBIA but the government has failed to expand the economy and apart from Copper and Maize, the country exports very little and has almost no manufacture int the country = no jobs.

There is an election scheduled for AUG16 and people are keen to kick out the current government. The fall from the Zam side was better for low stare and worse for high water. There are three paths and a hike. The left path goes upstream of the sheet. This is one of few places were I could use my Lumix to take photos. The middle path tracks in front of the sheet along its entire length - this would be great in low water but today, in high water, you could see nothing and the soaking was guaranteed. The right path covers the gorge downstream that leads you to the Victoria Falls Bridge, built in 1905 and today used for bungie jumping! The Lumix was safe on this path. The key differentiator of the Zam side is “The Devil’s Pool” which is a collection of water near the edge of the fall but not in the water flow. You can sit in it and stare over the edge to see the water falling to the gorge 108m below.

It has been closed for a while now due to the high water level. Bugger - that was one of the main reason I and others come to the Zam side. The other differentiator for the Zam side was the 25min (15min for me) down from the top to the bottom of the middle gorge to a place called “The Boiling Pot” where you see whirlpools and eddies as the water flows down and meets the resistance of surrounding cliffs. It took me 2.5hrs to negotiate all three paths and it was a descent 3pm before I started back. At 4pm I set out for my 74th country run. It would have been 75, if I had run yesterday in Zim but Solo 9 was too important - that would come once I got back. The run was great. I felt good even though I had walked and hiked at the fall - maybe this had loosened me up rather than tired me out. It is on this run and my walk around town beforehand and later that I realised that it was back to poverty, street-side markets and rubbish.

Not as bad as the west but every second child was a beggar and people constantly approached me trying to sell me something. The real Africa was now starting to re-emerge! The conveniences and Western styles of NAMIBIA and SOUTH AFRICA seemed a distance memory. Food in this town (and probably the country) was ridiculously cheap. $AUD0.60 for a kilo of tomatoes, $AUD0.50 for a loaf of bread and a litre of milk. I picked up a whole roast chicken plus 4 hot side dishes for only $AUD10 for my dorm bed picnic that night. Had a beer at the bar over some emails and noticed how many young people were staying there - one overland group and a what looked like a high school female sports team. As the noise and mozzies started to rise, I headed to my bed to enjoy dinner and a movie to celebrate my first night of Solo 9. Victoria Falls was in the bag and Lusaka on the cards!

DAY 185 of 273, Sun 15MAY16, 468km, Solo9, Dorm at “Jollyboys Backpackers”, Livingstone (Elev 883m) to Dorm at “Lusaka Backpackers”, Lusaka (Elev 916m, Run2) ZAMBIA. Up at 4:15am. Probably a world record to date. Had to catch the first bus to Lusaka leaving at 5:30am to give myself enough time to tour the town and go for a run. It was still dark but there were plenty of street lights along the isolated main road of Livingstone to guide me to the bus company. Judging from the beggars and sellers the day before it was a little silly walking there but there were no taxis around at that hour and it was only a 15min walk - calculated risk. I also walked in the middle of the road to prevent anyone from jumping me from the sides. As usual, the “Shalom” coach was delayed. Despite its very Jewish name (probably the owner), I now KNEW that the true Africa was back!

Set off close to 6am and I figured our arrival would be around 12:30pm all other things going well. From the minute we set off I started blogging - I was well behind and little anxious about photos as well. Sunrise was terrific. The colours of the sky against the emerging savannah lands of ZAMBIA looked like textbook Africa to me. Wide open spaces with lots of grass and scattered trees. Elevation was still high - between 900m and 1100m and perhaps this is why it was so dry. The coach was excellent. Big shapely cushioned reclining seats. Only about 10 of us stated out in the 60 seater but after two stops in main towns it quickly reached about 50. The conditions in the smaller towns were nowhere near West Africa but much worse than the south.

Poor sanitation. Lots of rubbish. Lots of people sitting around. It was Sunday so most smaller shops were closed. Also the round thatched mud brick huts re-emerged. The other two West Africa traits that re-emerged on the coach were the loud trashy synthesised African music to keep the driver awake followed by a Christian radio station with preaching. I arrived in Lusaka (Pop 2m+) at 12:45pm, exactly 7hrs after leaving Livingstone. Found a taxi and completed the short 10min drive to the hostel. It was a small but cosy place with individual huts sleeping 4.

I put all my gear in the locked luggage room and headed off to see the city. The hostel is 30min walk from the centre. What centre? Lusaka has no centre. There is the man railway station and bus interchange, both old and decrepit. To the west are about six taller office buildings. To the east is the main drag, Independence avenue with government offices, museum  and embassies. To the south a run-down market with hardly any merchandise. To the north, nothing but railway line and shanty towns.

Lusaka is disappointing. It was the worst city after Nouakshot in MAURITANIA. The one thing Lusaka does have is four very large shopping malls complete with cinemas. All the usual favourites are here: Shoprite, Wooloworths, Pick N Pay, Spar, Hungry Lion, KFC and even Subway but strangely no McDonalds. There are also lots of casinos here. These things differentiate it from the diehard West African nations. I noticed a lot of construction sites of office buildings baring the names of Chinese construction companies. This is like the west. I also noticed a lot of religious conferences given by lay preachers and profits.

This was much like Ghana. I walked past the “Levy Shopping Mall” on my way to the Kamwaia Markets. They were reasonably large but most stalls shut because today was Sunday. They reminded me of West Africa. Lots of Chinese stalls too. I even saw young guys riding he bicycles with portable coolers on the front. For a moment I thought that Fan Ice was back but no - it was just ice-cream!

The CBD of six office buildings no taller than 30 levels were next door across the railway line. Next to the markets was a Mosque. A short distance further is the National Museum. A large modern edifice but only half full with exhibition inside. The history of the country is good and easy to follow but there is not much else. It is the only real tourist site and overall disappointing. What I did learn at the museum is that ZAMBIA has 73 different ethnic groups mostly descendant from the “Luba and Unda peoples migration from Congo”. The country was first settled late in the 15th Century and the tribes at that time smoked the peace pipe and used the medicine man to heal much like the indigenous of America. From here it was a 30min walk to the Anglican Cathedral of the Holy Cross, such an ugly building that I did not bother photographing it! Instead I walked another 20min, past the High Courts to reach “The Cenotaph” which commemorates all who fell in the two great wars. I then photographed that buildings surrounding the Cenotaph since they looked OK.

After a few minutes I heard a whistle. A sweaty, pudgy  policeman almost out of breath tapped me on the back saying “no no, you cannot take photo”. Turns out that the buildings surrounding the Cenotaph were Government Offices including the Office of the Vice-President. I had to delete those photos but they let me keep the one of the Cenotaph but only after I insisted. As I was about to delete the photos, the policeman was joined by two others and they asked me to stop and stand straight with them because the Presidential Motorcade was about to pass. That is why they were there on a Sunday. Several police motor bikes went by with their sirens blazing followed by several US-style vans. Finally in the centre was a large brown van with the Zambian Flag flapping on the bonnet and dark tinted windows. It was the President. Lucky me. Right place at a the right time.

Behind it was a truckload of armed soldiers. After this, much to my surprise, the 3 police officers engage me in discussion, wanting to find out about Australia. The older guy who tapped me on the shoulder was actually a graduate lawyer and wanted to come to Australia to do his PhD. I gave him some tips and we all parted on good grounds. I started walking back to the hostel, now feeling the effects of a 4:15am rise, so decided to catch a taxi from a hotel I passed. You cannot hail taxis on the road. You can only use a hotel, mall or rank. Strange. I guess they create too much traffic. I must say that the walk from the Cathedral to the Cenotaph was nice - probably the best looking part of town and it is no wonder - all the embassies and consulates are here. Once I got to the hostel I was in two minds about running I was that tired but pushed myself and managed to pull off my second 10km run in Zambia down The Great Eastern Road. I went passed the other two large shopping centres and could not help noticing the great divided between rich and poor.

On the one hand, BMW and Mercs coming in and out of the malls and on the other, people living under the overpasses, others selling anything they could at the traffic lights and child beggars at the entrances and exits to the mall. I was told that many people live o USD1 per day. Sad. I was glad to be back at the hostel.

The hot shower gave me enough resolve to taxi to the Levy Mall to buy dinner and stick up on wine, cheese and olives for my stay at the lodge tomorrow night - it is isolated. The Levy Mall is great. Just like the one in Ghana. Almost as good as home. I enjoyed the variety at Pick N Pay and managed to get back by 7pm. My plan was to eat on my bed and then prepare my photos for Post 23. I was simply too tired and brain dead. Instead I watched a movie while I ate and fell asleep watching it.

DAY 186 of 273, Mon 16MAY16, 143km, Solo9, Dorm at “Lusaka Backpackers”, Lusaka (Elev 916m) to Cabin at “Kiambi Safari Lodge”, Lower Zambezi (Elev 392m) ZAMBIA. Lucky I had set my alarm to 7am instead of 4:14am! I thought I had forgotten. I slept like a rock. My room mates were a Swede and two Danes. I popped up, reached for my cameras and started culling. Today was blog day right up until my 3pm pickup for the Lower Zambezi. At 10am I packed up, locked my pack and sat int the common area to complete processing of my photos. Text was completed on the coach to Lusaka. At 1:30pm I was ready to upload Post 23. Nothing but timeouts. WTF. Last night the internet was screaming - so much so that I downloaded a movie! Today when I really needed it - nothing. There was a power failure this morning. West Africa was back! I then discovered that as a result the provider’s network was slow all day catching up on stored traffic. Just my luck.

I keep trying endgame up at 2pm. I would be relying on the internet at Kiambi Lodge - fingers crossed. All that work and I could not post! Had the shits. Would have been nice to travel to the lodge knowing that it was done! Jimmy, my lift from Kiambi showed up exactly at 3pm. I recall the gate man telling me that Jimmy must be white - no African is on-time. I laughed. We made a stop for a sausage roll - Jimmy shouted me insisting that these were the best around - he was right. Hot crunchy pastry with ample meat and spices inside. Delicious. Jimmy was married with 5 children, ranging from 18 to 32.

He had 3 grandchildren. Jimmy is 52yrs old. That’s typical in Africa. Married at only 17, everyone is in a hurry to have a family. I wonder of this will ever change as it did in the west? As a result Jimmy is a very calm guy and measured in his words. Thank goodness he has had a steady job for many years but it still must have been tough on his wife since he is away from home several days at a time. The drive in our modern 2.5L Diesel 6 4WD Toyota Kluger took 3hrs to cover the 143km to the lodge. The scenery was soothing. Rolling hills of bush, reddish and green in the glow of the setting sun. Road was great with ample passing lanes. Mainly blue sky with the occasional alto-cirrus to add depth. Just after sunset we stopped in Chimutu to pick up my guide Claude. A nice guy, born and bred in Chimutu with 2 years at Kiambi Lodge, another 21km further along a very bad dirt road. Claude is married with two sons: 5 and 2 and is away from home 3-4 days/week. It was dark when we arrived at the lodge.

It was around 6:30pm and it was very cool. Sky was clear and there was a ridge in the distance lit up by the new May moon. This was a dream place. I was in a huge hut/cabin overlooking the Zambezi with hippos in it! I could see and hear them! My “hut” was modelled on a tent with canvass roof and wooden sides and floors. More like a cabin with a canvass top. It was very plush. Fan and Fridge. No TV. The bathroom was on the other side and was very large and well appointed and with no side walls - open to ZAMBIA! Screen doors and windows kept the mozzies at bay and I was in Heaven. Had a shower and grabbed my PC to head to the office and dinner and hopefully post no 23. It was 6:45pm an dinner was at 7pm. There were only 4 other guests. All Dutch. I set myself up in reception (office) to locate the camp and begin the post. It started out badly.

Timeouts and a security check from Google (I use Blogger which is now a Google product and subject to Oodles of security). I was getting nowhere and decided to take time out for dinner and get back to it. Was I in for an all-night-post like my nightmare night in Congo? This question would have to wait until after dinner. I settled into my tent-palace with a sumptuous shower. I hard Hippos belching just outside my door. I was in Paradise. The staff here treated me like Royalty. They led me out to a sole table out in the open in front of the Zambezi. Alone. I felt like Royalty. What am I talking about? I am Royalty!!! I am the President and King of Bolgatanga!!! Ha Ha!!! It was surreal. I had the cook serving me. To start - Beef, Leek and Potato Soup. Delicious. The main was rare filets of grilled beef with collie-flower, broccoli, potato and rice with a home-made chilli and mushroom sauce. Delightful! The beef was especially good and I was told by the chef that beef is a huge industry in ZAMBIA. The biggest company is called “ZAMBEEF”, very catchy and been around for decades. There was even desert at the Zambezi. A compote of pears and apricot with custard. My goodness. What was I doing? This was not camp nor cook group. But I liked it. A welcome present for surviving 6mths in Africa! After this sumptuous dinner it was time for WORK! Yes, WORK. I camped myself at the office and began the upload… Success. Went up in minutes.

My only explanation from my first attempt was that the Germans were too busy eating and talking now whereas before they were uploading 50,000 photos on social media. Boy I hate that stuff because they do not cull their photos - megabytes go up PER PHOTO, not kilobytes as I do… Anyway it ended well. Post 23 went up Minutes and I was happier then a pig in shit!!! Now it was me for bed. Today’s mission was accomplished and I had a run planned at 6am before my day-long canoe safari along the Zambezi...

DAY 187 of 273, Tue 17MAY16, 40km, Solo9, Cabin at “Kiambi Safari Lodge”, Lower Zambezi (Elev 392m, Run3) ZAMBIA. Woke up at 6am to the sounds of several hippos and lots of different birds. My run took me along a bad dirt road further north-east past a town called Makanya. I passed many people, thinking, what do all these people do for a living? Then my answer came. A vast fenced plantation of banana and mango as far as the eye could see in all directions. Amazing. Later at the lodge I would ask about this field.

It was a private  estate run by a South African who came to Zambia to plant it 15-20yrs ago. He know employs 100+ people and basically gave rise to the two of Makanya. This is what ZAMBIA needs and why education is so important because the LOCALS need to be doing this shit - not foreigners! ZAMBIA must be run by Zambians in much the same way as Africa needs to be run by Africans. BOTSWANA had this figured out soon after independence which is why their President decreed 30% of mineral incomes to eduction. Now all the major beef farms in the country are owned and run by locals. The results speak for themselves. As I ran back out of the village, I saw a huge African Green Python dead on the road with a number of kids standing around. They had killed it. It was eating the local chickens and their eggs. It was about 2m in length. 

Back at the lodge I had the best breakfast of my trip to date. Cereal (even rice bubbles), a huge omelette with everything in it, thick bacon, tomatoes, big fat sausages and baked beans. I had enough to run to the other side of ZAMBIA. Plenty of freezing cold orange juice and percolated coffee. The best start possible to a whole day of canoeing! Our canoes were Canadian made and single paddle style. They had three seats. There were 4 of us - Claude the guide, myself, Bass and Martina (guy and gal from Amsterdam). We all got acquainted at brekkie. I paddled with Claude in one canoe and the dutch couple in the other. A powered launch full of tents, chairs, table and food/drink supplies took us approx 5km upstream on the Zambezi with cones in-tow. We would then paddle back downstream for the 5km via a different channel and then another 15km further downstream. The dutchies and Claude would overnight in tents on an island but I would be launched back for an overnight at the lodge due to my morning flight to Luangwa tomorrow. The dutchies were due to continue paddling tomorrow. We set out in the canoes at 9:30am at 18C and mainly blue skies.

We encountered hippos almost immediately. What struck me was how much closer we came to them compared to the Okavango. This is because the Zambezi is huge, wide and open with many visitors so the hippos are mire used to humans and are less likely to charge - if they do you have plenty of space to escape to. The delta on he hand comprises narrow channels of thick reeds with not much space or options to avoid a charge. There are also far less visitors to the delta so the hippos are not as comfortable with humans here. Another thing that became obvious early was the sheer number of birdlife here. And close. The banks are full of them. Of the 22 different animals we saw all day, 17 were birds. The Lower Zambezi is very open and wide. The banks are green with ample trees and bush including the odd Baobab. Because it forms the border of Zim and Zam we would observe wildlife on both banks and hence in both countries.

There are also many islands of thick reeds in the middle of the Zambezi which form part of “no man’s land” and are home to most hippos - they climb onto them after sunset and feed on the reeds most of the night. The hippos then return to the water before sunrise and actually sleep in the water for most of the day since the water supports their great weight. Contrary to popular belief they do not eat reeds or plants in the water. They use the water to protect them from the sun, drink and sleep. They are also more sacred of humans than we are of them. They will only charge to protect their young and if they feel threatened (rare) or if the males are “on heat”, seeking a female and they feel that we are preventing them from getting one. A hippo will not charge for the hell of it. If it does charge it charges. There is no “mock charge”. This is why people often regard them as the most dangerous animals in Africa.

Our guide reckons this is not true and thinks the Rhino is more likely to charge without good reason. Lions, crocs and sharks are even less likely to attack humans because we are not their favoured prey. They need to be starving or we need to outright attack them - these are also animals that will “fire a shot across our bow” before firing the next missile at us!  Claude was a very well informed guy with lots of experience. He also understood that some visitors were more adventurous than others. For this reason he let me walk up to an lone adolescent male elephant (8-12yrs old) feeding on reeds on one of the islands while filing me! I asked him up-front to find opportunities to enable me to get “up close and personal” to the wildlife, including the hippos! He followed through. I got within 10 steps of this elephant who stared at me whilst stuffing hords of reeds into his mouth. At one stage he stopped eating, his ears opened up and the truck went up.

I stood my ground ready for a charge but it did not come. Instead the elephant starting walking away. Claude explained to me later that this is often the case with LONE males. Because they have no one to protect they mostly decide to walk away from a threat rather than engage. When an elephants ears open up and are held out like sails indicates that they are threatened. I was hoping the elephant would chase me so I could make-up for the delta but I was glad to get this close and be photographed with my subject! This was probably the highlight of the day for me. The other great moment came when we turned the corner of an island of reeds and saw many hippos entering the water from the island right in front of us. Hippos OUT OF THE WATER - this is why I came to Lower Zambezi - my wish had come true. The only problem is that it happened suddenly and fast because we stumbled upon it and there was not enough time to photograph or film it properly. The same thing happened when I saw another two hippos standing out of the water on another reed island.

We were very far away when I spotted them and by the time we got close enough to film they had snuck back into the water. Bugger! I saw it with my eyes but not with my camera! Would I ever get proper footage of a whole hippo standing free and unobscured? Another highlight were all the crocs we saw and close - you could paddle right up to them on the bank since they were fast asleep. Once they woke they ran like they had seen King Kong! Crocs are chickens! They are so scared of humans. Once again they have to be VERY hungry to attack you for food. One croc was so big and so close to us that when it woke and rushed into the water it soaked us! Once again no time to capture this footage since it happened as son as we pulled up to it.

Lunch was terrific. Another staff member called Johnson who launched us in the morning had set up a table and chairs with a full spread. Pasta, Greek Salad and a tray of cold meats. Plenty of bread, feeling cold water and OJ. Brilliant. We ate and relaxed and talked about the tourism in ZAMBIA and on the Lower Zambezi. Claude (like Jimmy) feels that the lodges are too expensive and not “packaged” enough to bring the cost down, i.e., the cost is no spread out over many people. Government taxes are high and passed on to the tourist. Transport here is also a problem. One-off transfers like mine cost more than the lodge. If there were fixed scheduled trips then this cost could be shared and Jimmy would spend all his life going back and forth all day.

I did an interview with Claude in the canoe to bring out these main points for the film. He enjoyed it. The afternoon paddle was also enjoyable. Focused more on the birdlife which was easy to photograph. Sunset on the Zambezi is glorious. The sun’s disc is so prominent and the whole sky lights up causing trees and reeds and clouds to be reflected in the waters of the river. Great panoramas. We arrived at the overnight island at 5pm and once again Johnson had everything set up. A huge tent for the duchies, table and chairs, a small kitchen area for prep and washing and on the fire, fillets of fish were being pan fried. I wish I could stay. Also there was another high speed launch with driver ready tot take me back to the lodge.

I farewelled my canoeing party and off I went at 60km/h down our paddling route. What had taken us all day took 25min in the launch. This is where I enjoyed the sunset and the cool air across my sun drenched body. On arrival a quick shower and off to the office to answer a few emails on Post 23. Dinner was another grand affair. I was the only one at the lodge and eating. My usual table out in the open on a landing overlooking the Zambezi with the sounds of hippo in the distance. Magic. Tonight it was pee and ham soup, roast chicken with veggies and rice and apple crumble with custard for desert. A meal fit for a king! Tonight I relaxed again with a movie wondering if I would see a leopard in the wild tomorrow or the next day...

POSTSCRIPT: Here are the 20 different animals we saw during our day-long canoe safari along the Zambezi River in Lower Zambezi: Hippopotamus, Elephant, Crocodile, Bush Buck, Water Buck, Reed Cormorant, Malachite Kingfisher, White Crowned Lapwing, White-fronted Bee Eater, Wooded Vulture, Blacksmith Lapwing, Egyptian Goose, Grey Heron, Open-billed Stalk, Black-winged Stilt, Open-billed Stilt, Spur-winged Goose, African Fish Eagle (Zambian Flag), Goliath Heron, African Jacana, Comb Duck, Great White Heron.

DAY 188 of 273, Wed 18MAY16, 665km (Flight 470km), Solo9, Cabin at “Kiambi Safari Lodge”, Lower Zambezi (Elev 392m) to Room at “Croc Valley Camp”, South Luanga National Park (Elev 508m) ZAMBIA. It was 5:15am when I woke but I was excited. Today a whole change in scenery and back on an scheduled flight after 6mths in the wilderness!!! My journey to my next wildlife lodge some 800km away in a straight line would involve: a 3.5hr car ride to Lusaka airport, a 50min flight to Mwufe and a 1hr car ride to the lodge just outside South Luangwa National Park, the largest in ZAMBIA. Love these sorts of long winded trips. The personal lone brekkie at 5:45am was the same as yesterday. I thanked the cook and waiter for getting up so early. Jimmy joined me for coffee at 6am and by 6:15am we were “on the road again”. The morning was cooler and crispy than my rice bubbles!

Enjoyed the sunrise and view immensely as I blogged away, now plugged into Jimmy’s cigarette lighter. My Mac would need to last the distance. It was good at that. Only 45min for a full charge which gives me 8hrs of blogging or 6hrs of movie making. Not a bad exchange. The traffic was heavy going into Lusaka and the airport but thanks to an early start we managed to gain enough time for a stop at Spar supermarkets for some wine and olives as Mwufe airport was just a strip. I also grabbed a cardbox box just in case my domestic airline “Proflight Zambia” did not allow liquids on board. We arrived at the airport at 10am, 1.5hrs before my flight to Mfuwe in the north-east corner of the country some 470km away as the crow flies or close to 700km by road. 

I farewelled Jimmy and went to checkin. Lusaka airport is crap. There is only one domestic and one international departure gate and the building looks 100yrs old. The Chinese are busy building a much bigger terminal next door - due on 2017. I was correct. Zambia domestic do not allow liquids in the cabin so I asked the checkin lady for some tape to secure my cardboard box. No tape - she told me to go by some - your responsibility! I felt like telling to go… But I was better than that. And a survivor. I went to Lost and Found Baggage and sweet-talked the lady there into lending me some tape and marker for my name. She was terrific. In 10min I had a very secure box with my prized supplies inside, ready for the aircraft and the lodge! I checked in - no problem.

I even showed my box to the check-in lady who refused to help me and rubbed it in. Thank goodness I remembered to transfer my Swiss Army Knife and lighter from my pants to my pack. I had an hour to kill so the first thing I did was to visit the office of the Airport Manager to put in a good word for the Lost & Found Baggage lady who helped me out. I then sat down to a cappuccino and discovered a dry husk in my pocket so I was set for a mid-morning snack.

Sadly there was no WIFI in the airport so I blogged. 
Our seats were also not assigned so I was determined to get to the queue first. Coffee was good but too hot. We boarded on time and I sat at the front of the “Proflight Zambia” 36-seat British Aerospace Jetstream 41 which looks exactly like a SAAB 340B that I caught to my Ricegrowers Project in Leeton for 2.5 yrs! It brought back a lot of memories. Then an amazing aircraft discovery that I would never expect in Africa - the seats along the from row (3 of them) all had airbags sown into the seatbelt. 

I was wondering what that fat piece of plastic was on my belt! The only lady flight attendant explained that this was necessary to ensure that we could help open the front door in case of emergency - she would do the back door. I guess it was meant to maximise our chances of survival but she didn’t exactly say that. I have never seen this anywhere else. The view of Lusaka from the air was terrific. Clear but bumpy. About 10min into the flight the captain announces an engine problem and the need to return to Lusaka. Bugger me! There goes my afternoon safari. Engine problems are never fixed on time. So it was back tot he terminal and back to my blog. At around 12:30pm an announcement came that we would fly at 2pm. There was nothing wrong with the engine - it was a faultly temperature gauge that was proven via a manual test. At least we would get there today! Flight PO0806 took off again at 2pm and the flight lasted 1hr flying at 17,000ft. 

The view below was great. Rolling brown hills with small green trees - like a carpet. Most rivers were dry except the Zambezi. Fluffy clouds and bush fires in the distance. The landscape is what I expected to see - vast, brown and isolated - the true internal Africa. Mfuwe airport terminal was well equipped for where it was. A few shops, and ATM but very old. It even had a tower. It is actually an “International” airport since many other countries run flights here because of the popularity of the South Luangwa National Park. My driver Solomon was waiting patiently. There was no wine in Mfuwe village so thank goodness I made the stop at Spar and bothered to make the box - it was worth it. I would use the same box to ferry my wine back. It must have been 28C on the ground and very dry. Solomon was 26yrs old and looking for a wife. People are very straight up about marriage and take much pride in marrying early. 

Solomon told me that he was late and getting anxious. The 32km drive to the “Croc Valley Camp” took around 30min in his beat up Toyota Corolla. I was glad to finally be there. It was an idyllic place. All the rooms where small thatched roof cabins set around a central open bar, dining area, fire place and swimming pool with the large Luangwa River right there below and the National Park on the opposite bank. From the bar you could see many hippos in the water and in the morning they are on the bank sunning themselves because of the water getting cold overnight. The whole camp is covered by trees and there are many Vervet Monkeys in the trees above and racing around in the bar. A bush paradise. I knew straight away that I was going to like it here. I met Herbert, the local manager and kicked into action. He advised that I do today's 4pm drive safari before making a decision on what I did tomorrow. If I saw a Leopard and standing Hippos today I would not need to go to the extreme of hiring a personal tracker for all day tomorrow - I was prepared to pay the USD280 to see what I needed to see.

It was now 3:55pm and I could not believe my luck. Most other PM safaris went from 3-6pm. This one was 4-8pm which includes a night drive with spotlight. Easy decision. I was so pleased that I could do a PM safari given the 2hr plane delay - it was the reason I flew and I was not going to loose that advantage. I dumped my gear in my room and off I went. The 12 seat Toyota Landcruiser only had five passengers. Plenty of room for photos. There was even a couple from Cooma. The Ozzie accents stood out like lion’s balls. They were doing a 5 week self-drive from SOUTH AFRICA UP to TANZANIA and back down - pretty fast if you ask me. They nearly fell off their seats when they found out how long my trip was. Our driver Botha was very friendly and informative and was soon to become a legend.

The main gate of the South Luangwa National Park is only 2.5km and 5min drive away. The gate is on a bridge that spans the Luangwa River. There is no fence around this National Park so it is possible to get wild animals visiting the camp sites. We each paid USD25 cash to get into the park and USD40 for the actual drive safari. It was worth every cent. The animals we saw that night were unprecedented for me. I had told Herbert to inform our guide that I flew to this place to see two things: a whole Hippo out of the water and a Leopard. This happened in the first 45min of our safari. Each time Botha called out to me as if he was doing this drive just for me. I was impressed. Herbert had done a great job and Botha was a champ. I saw the standing Hippo, 20min from the gate from the bridge over the river - we had not even got into the park itself! I snapped away but only 5min later there were many more hippos out of the water and tumbling and rolling around in a pool of green cabbage like plants only 20m in front of us and the Mfuwe Lodge which is the most expensive place to stay for obvious reasons - you can see frolicking hippos from you bed and balcony while you sip champagne and nibble caviar!

A whole bunch of Koreans were staying there because we saw them coming out in game car after we passed. I couldn’t believe it. Only 15min into a 4hr safari and I got one out of my two wishes. After 30min we came upon 3 Lions, 1 male and 2 females. Bring it on. Lions straight away - who would have thought this. One walked right up to me at and stared at me just two metres from where I say - in all truth I was going to move inwards but stayed my ground and enjoyed the close encounter! The same lion then walked behind the 4WD and I leaned out to be right above it! Amazing. Even closer than Etosha. Enjoyed every second. Then in another 15min the impossible - a Leopard in a tree!!! It was then that I fainted. Was this the result of incredible luck, a competent driver, who knew where the animals were or simply a prolific park? Maybe it was all of the above. That’s it - I was done in just 45min. I could have driven back to airport and off somewhere else. But I thought, what I read about this park was true. It is a “Noah’s Ark” of animals and I wanted to stay to see what other wonders I could find. The only mainstream animals that the park does NOT have are Rhinos and Cheetahs.

It is a pity because they could have been a “Big-5” park! The Leopard was sitting in a small “sausage tree” with elongated salami like fruit hanging off it. He sat there as if he was “King Shit” looking out over his subjects like he wasn’t impress. No expression on the face. He was a fare size, maybe not the biggest. He then climbed down and walked into some tall reeds. The park itself had a number of different types of landscapes ranging from very thick bush and scrub that would poke inside the 4WD to a vast open area next to the Luangwa River and everything in between. Some areas looked like the typical African “savannah”, others looked like I could be in the Ozzie bush. I reckon over 4hrs we must have driven 40-50km. There is a main gravel road from the gate to the other side of the park but most access is via tracks off this road. Some parts are very bumpy and others we struggled to make it uphill. Botha was an excellent driver and quick to avoid a sticky situation. He also positioned the 4WD perfectly in multiple positions so that everyone could take photos. This park is also full of birds. Botha knew the names of all of them without hesitation. Most were also close to the vehicle and easy to photograph.

Just on sunset Botha stopped the 4WD under a tree and he and his assistance set up a table with popcorn and cordial so we could enjoy the sunset. Apparently this happens with all afternoon/nigh safari drives. After this the assistant pulls out the spot light and we safari under this by night. It is actually quite good because the light is strong enough to register a good image with photo and film. We saw another Leopard by night and followed it as it searched for food. Botha explained that Leopards mainly hunt at night using their “night vision eyes”, which apparently can see 8 times better than humans. Like Cheetahs, Leopards hunt alone. Their main prey is Impala and Buck which sleep out in the open plains so that they can see danger and have room to run. I am not sure about this strategy since they cannot see as well as Leopards and these plains have thick bush on the side which the Leopards use to creep up to them and then attach side on. Leopards do not accelerate or speed as much as lions or cheetahs. They rely on their night vision to get as close as possible to their prey. I think a better strategy for the Impala is to hide in the bushes and sleep there so that they are not visible in the first place! I shall have to write to them! The other interesting animal we saw at night was the African Civet which looks like a badger or skunk.

We also saw a Spotted Hyena which moved very slowly - first time I had ample time to photograph one - typically the move very quickly. It was a very warm night with an almost fall moon and the whole place looked and felt magical. What a relief. I knew I was in the right place. From 4-8pm, 17 animals including my two requirements in my first safari here, as follows, in order of appearance: Vervet Monkey, Hippopotamus, Impala, Lion (2), Bush Buck, Leopard (1 day & 1 night), Open-billed Stalk, Great White Egret, Warthog, Zebra, Long-tail Glossy Starling, Greater Blue-eared Starling, Elephant, Guinea Fowl, African Civet, Spotted Hyena, Grey Mongoose. I had two more safaris coming tomorrow and just had to celebrate. I sat by the river enjoying a 300g T-Bone with veggies plus a veggie curry since veggies were hard to come by. It was a terrific dinner but priced like home since there are no towns or supermarkets nearby. That meal was substantial and cost AUD42. I continued my celebration with a movie in my room. The camp was isolated. I was only one of seven staying there tonight and it had a capacity of 55 beds and 40 camping person spots. High season is August through October. This was a great day. First time filching after 6mths of overland and a safari that met all my remaining needs. What more could I ask. Well, read on. Much more.

DAY 189 of 273, Thu 19MAY16, 0km, Solo9, Room at “Croc Valley Camp”, South Luanga National Park (Elev 508m) ZAMBIA. Who needs an alarm clock when monkeys and hippos are carrying on outside almost all of the time once first light appears. Thank goodness that this lined up with my 6am departure for our morning 4hr safari. I made sure that I was on Botha’s 4WD for both AM and PM drives. Truth is only one was going out anyway. I met 4 young doctors, who were doing internships in MALAWI for the past few months and were taking a break before heading home to England. It as fund changing stories and we talked about travel extensively.

The morning air was cool but much warmer than down south. The animals came thick and fast. A total of 29 different species in just 4hrs. More than any other safari I have done. Admittedly most were birds and I was surprised that we did not see Giraffes. Make no mistake. The Hippos are fabulous here. You get close and you see them at play. We saw two males fighting over a female. We saw mother and child kissing and playing. We even saw one rolling around on its back. It was a hippo circus. It made the Okavango Delta experience positively boring! The other surprise was the 8 wild dogs that we saw right next to our 4WD. One even placed its front paws on the rail of the 4WD in front of us. Boy they are ugly creatures. Uglier than Hyenas. Like Hyenas, they are mainly scavenges but do more killing themselves than Hyenas. For this reason they are the most successful hunters and meat eaters of all carnivores.

They are rarely hungry unless there is no food due to drought. Interesting. We saw the most birds on this safari. We saw more hippos in and out of the water but no Leopards. They are more common near sunset and at night. The elephants and zebras were plentiful, close and in many spots. Did not see Giraffes but they would surprise us this arvo and tonight. Botha would stop anytime we needed and get closer if we asked. He woudalsq let us off the 4WD to get panoramas and more stable shots of animals further away. Our half-time morning break comprised coffee or tea and some scones. Hit the spot. By the end of our drive it had warmed up significantly. It was now close to the finish and we had not seen any lions but you can count on Botha. We exited the park and I lost hope but what I didn’t know now but would find out later, that Botha was aware if four older lions that had escaped the park at the start of year and were sleeping around the lodges so that they could hunt the town’s sheep and goats - easier than game for old lions! Instead of turning into our camp, Botha turned into another. It is at that moment I took heart. Before I knew it, there was another stationery 4WD in front of us and I know the rule - the best way to spot lions is to spot clumps of stationery vehicles! The rule applied here because there they were -

4 lions asleep under two trees. Botha had lived up to his name! We spent a bit of time here since one of the cats decided to have a shower, licking herself all over which made for excellent outage at only 5m away. The proximity was great. I remember that great feeling ring back into camp as I counted up the 29 species we had seen that morning, as follows, in order of appearance: Haneda Ibis, Vervet Monkey, Impala, Guinea Fowl, Water Buck, Hippopotamus, Yellow-billed Stalk, Fish Eagle, White-crowned Lapwing, Saddle-billed Stalk, African Jacaranda, Red-neck Frankolin, Crown Crane, Ground Hornbill, Long-tail Glossy Starling, Red-billed Hornbill, Wattle Lapwing, Elephant, Warthog, Zebra, Wild Dog, Great White Egret, Sacred Ibis, African Spoonbill, Yellow-billed Stalk, Bateleur Eagle, Crocodile, Lion (4). The weather was excellent for running. Hot but blowing a cool breeze. I was keen to run since I had missed out yesterday due to the late flight.

Off I went through the village of Makanya only 3km away and 2km beyond before my turnaround. I get the impression that many of the villagers had never seen a runner in Lycra before and I could hear their loud laughing and yelling even through my Eurovision music! After my shower I settled down to start culling the many photos of ZAMBIA to date. I had a big job ahead of me since most were many wildlife shots and clips and would take much time to process. I sat down at 12:30pm and did not stir until 3:30pm when I went to the bar to order dinner - anyone on PM safari needs to preorder dinner so that it is ready on return after 8pm. I also settled my bill since I would be leaving early the next day. I was glad to Botha again and the passengers were the same as the morning plus two new ones - 8 in all. I sat at the back with Thomas from Germany. A post-uni guy having a 4 week break before starting work. We set off on time at 4pm and decided to visit the same 4 lions in the next camp. Some more theatrics from the same female. Some of us wondered if the others were alive - we left them in the same positions from the day before.

Speaking of dead things, we did see a dead Striped-belly Sand Snake just before the lions. It is very small and causes humans much pain but not death. It had been run over. After the lions we entered the park and headed for the large open river area. It is here that we came across a different type of Giraffe than the “Articulated” variety I have seen to date: The "Thorn-croft Giraffe”. It is a much taller and more slender animal. Also, less scared of humans than the other variety. There was one right next to the road, agin within 5m away. This is what I liked about this park. At less than half the area of Etosha it is much more compact and as a result the animals more accessible and closer. Speaking of close, we also had a sweaty palm experience with a bunch of elephants.

We startled them appearing suddenly and very close where they were - there was  of them in a sand pit spraying sand over their backs (first time I have seen this and up close). They looked up and their ears immediately feared up. The huge dominant male started walking very quickly towards us. Bocha called out “please stay seated and keep still and make no sounds”. We followed instructions. One of the ladies started to panic - “lets get out of there - what are we waiting for?” Her neighbour settled her down. I was filming. At about 5m from the 4WD the elephant stopped, stared and retreated and led his entire pack passed us around the back of the 4WD. It was a nerve racking but exciting experience. We quickly calmed down with some bird lie and the setting sun. We made our popcorn stop to a great sunset show behind a thick bush - it looked like the bush was on fire.

The scattered clouds also added definition. Then it was spot light time. Our first animal was the Large Spotted Genet. Unfortunately I was unable to snap it since it fled as soon as the light hit it for a few seconds - enough to see it. It was quite ugly. Our second find was none other than a Leopard - our third separate sighting. It was a larger male ad out in the open. Excellent footage. We followed it along with two other trucks. It must be so used to 4WD since it hardly panicked. It was sniffing and looking. Amazing that it could concentrate with all the commotion going on around it. Eventually it disappeared into the thicket but we must have been with it for 15min. Unreal. I was more than satisfied.

After this our last surprise was a SLEEPING GIRAFFE - yes finally we got to see something very rare according to Botha. This one was a Thorn-croft sleeping right next to the road. “They never sleep here” whispered Botha. It was o the ground, all four legs folding on themselves at the knee but the body and neck were upright. The neck was at 45 degrees. I would not believe it unless I saw it. Eyes closed. How did that neck not tire? Amazing. From here more standing hippos since they come out of the water to feed at night and typically will eat all night and sleep all day in the water.

The PM drive had yielded 21 species, slightly more than the 17 the night before. Here they are in order of appearance: Striped-belly Sand Snake, White-breasted Bee Eater, Lion (4), Thorn-croft Giraffe (standing and sleeping), Hippopotamus, Yellow-billed Stalk, Impala, Bush Buck, Elephant, Long-tail Glossy Starling, Red-neck Frankolin, Great White Egret, Sacred Ibis, African Spoonbill, White-crowned Lapwing, Zebra, Slender Mongoose, Guinea Fowl, Water Buck, Large Spotted Genet, Leopard.

More dinner and movie celebration this being my last night and given the enormity of animal variety and success with leopards and standing hippos and even a sleeping giraffe! This is definitely a park I will be recommended. Probably equal with Etosha for different reasons. Put together and it is probably the only two parks you need to go to. I am sure there are many more that make the same impact and I hope I can visit them...

DAY 190 of 273, Fri 20MAY16, 1,207km, Solo9, Room at “Croc Valley Camp”, South Luanga National Park (Elev 508m) ZAMBIA to Room in “Antelope Game Park”, 12km east of Gweru (Elev 1361m) ZIMBABWE. I was sad to go. I had such a great time in South Luangwa and ZAMBIA. I was however looking forward to the travel today  I love to travel, especially alone.

I left the camp at 7:40am. The day was perfect. A cool 20C and no clouds. I felt wide awake despite getting up two times in the middle of the night in a slight case of diarrhoea - may have been the tap water I was drinking. I was OK now and dreading a return since I was travelling constantly today: 32km (30min) to Mfuwe Airport, 70min (470km) flight to Lusaka, 45min (413km) flight to Harare, a 4.5hr (280km) bus drive to Gweru and a 30min (12km) car transfer to the Antelope Park where the truck was. Not to mention the layovers in between. Would I make it by nightfall? I would know once I was on that bus to Gweru.

The plane was on time. Only 8 people on a 21 seat British Aerospace Jetstream 32 prop operating as Proflight Zambia PO0801 to Lusaka. We departed 5min early with a bumpy sliding ascent to 17000ft. The it was smooth all the way. Scattered cloud and a bumpy landing in Lusaka 5min early. We were even given a muffin and juice on the plane. I was up for a two hour layover in Lusaka. International was in the same terminal. I checked in and cleared customs. Sat in a cafe enjoying a coffee and sausage roll. Air Namibia flight SZ373 was on-time - our A319-200 rolled down the runway at 12:25pm for its 45min flight to Harare, the capital of ZIMBABWE. They served Biltong (dried beef) on board with juice. I should have known better - what else would a Namibian airline serve! Flight was quick and smooth except for some bumps on landing. I was out of that airport and in a taxi in record time. A local lady and the customs guy both told me to go to the Harare SHowgraound to catch the bus to Gweru. The said they ran often on big buses and it was safer than the bus terminal known for its pick-pockets and occasional muggings. After 30min in the taxi - there it was - a big 50 seat orange bus bound for Gweru. The only problem is that there was no schedule. It would leave when full or close to. I boarded at 2pm.

Estimates of 2:15pm became 3pm until we left. If the trip was 3.5hrs I would arrive 6:30pm after dark. I sweet-talked the lady next to me to call the camp and I informed them of my estimated arrival time, the coach name (Luxury Places) and my drop-off location. It worked. When I arrived at 7:30pm, after 4.5hrs covering just 280km, my driver Stanley was already there waiting. What a relief. I was home and hosed! He kindly offered to take me to Shoprite to pick up some dinner since I would miss the truck dinner. The Antelope Park was only 12km away and I arrived at 8pm. I booked my activities, checked into my room and visited the group around the fire, sharing the highlights of my trip and what they had done. Around 9pm I excused myself since I had yet to eat. I popped in to see Riza and Roberto. At around 9:30pm I finally settled down to a bed picnic dinner and a movie to celebrate a fantastic trip to ZAMBIA (my 20th African country and 80th in total) and my huge trip back to the truck today that had started 14hrs ago and ended well...

DAY 191 of 273, Sat 21MAY16, 0km, Room in “Antelope Game Park”, 12km east of Gweru (Elev 1361m, Run1) ZIMBABWE. What a good-looking, well-run place the “Antelope Game Park” is. It was a cold, cloudy day but I looked around in the morning before heading out to my first activity “Elephant Encounter” which involves meeting 4 trained elephants up close and personal and even taking a ride on their back!

The Antelope Game park was started by Andrew and Wendy Conolly back in 1987 and their mission was to increase the numbers of elephants and lions in ZAMBIA whose numbers were dangerously low at the time. The park is 3,000 hectares (30 square kilometres) in size and employs 75 local people and takes on a number of volunteers from around the world. The couple have two daughters and son who will continue their work. The park is surrounded by a tall wire fence and has the following animals on it: 113 lions, 4 elephants, 150+ impalas, 200+ warthogs, 50+ kudus, 250+ jackals, +150 zebras, 6 giraffes, 200+ common dykers and numerous birdlife.

There are 4 large camping grounds and a number of standard and delux twin rooms. Visitors can pick from 18 different extra charge activities that focus on the elephants and lions including horseback safaris and preservation classes. I did the “Elephant Encounter” with Dan that involved 4 elephants (1 male, 3 female) aged 25 to 29yrs old. The eldest was a female   called Maia that I ended up “encountering” and riding. The 4 handlers explained how they trained the elephants using repetition and positive re-inforcement consisting of oat pellets. The elephants carried out some simple tricks at the request of their handlers and then it was time to climb inside the pen with them and feed them pellets. Maia was very gentle. She wrapped her truck around my neck and body several times asking for pellets by placing her twin-nostril trunk in front of my face. As I dropped the pellets in she sucked them up into her mouth. At one stage she tilted her head back, raised her trunk skywards and opened her mouth to take pellets directly. I threw some inside and was able to pat her tongue! Pinkish and very tough and leathery.

I could also see four rows of molar teeth for chewing - top and bottom, left and right. I was surprised to find how few teeth there were considered the average 170kg of grass chewed each day! Then it was tie to climb aboard! Maia knelt down on all fours and the handler gave me a hand boost up. The skin was very rough with short tough black bristles as hair. Maia touched me with her run several times and I popped some pellets in. When she stood up I could feel her huge backbone between my legs and boy was I high up - the view was great. We walked around the pen for a few minutes before alighting. I then walked around her touching her belly and enormous body. I was glad to get so close. The whole exercise book close to an hour and we were done by 10am. They then set the elephants free to roam around the park, including the camping areas - the handlers accompanied the huge animals just in case. These activities are not cheap. This one cost USD15.

My next activity was to watch a bunch of mature male lions being fed at noon. Until then I decided to answer a few emails and make a few calls since Australia was within range. At noon, five of us from our group and some other visitors climbed aboard an open jeep and rove 5min to a corner of the park near the entrance. As we approached we heard the ever increasing growling of the lions. On arrival we were confronted by several pens each containing 6-10 male lions. The females were in another location nearby. We were led to oe of the pens which contained a mountain of cow organs only 2m from the wire fence. We all lined up against the fence crouching down to insert our camera lens between the gaps. We could not believe how close we were to the organs - the smell proved it.

We would not have to use zoom at all! After we all ready with our cameras, our guide whistled to the handlers at the enclosures to let out the lions. All of us were looking thorough our viewfinder. The site was incredible and very very scary. In a spilt second 3 distant balls of hair become three huge lion heads with flowing mains, exposed fangs and ferocious growling. They skidded to a stop grabbing the guts as they went. Their paws held on to the guts as they tucked into the smelly meat, pulling it from side to side to cut it whilst panting heavily from the 100m sprint in 5sec!!! Then the fun and games started. The three alpha males right in front of us protected their booty from the other three males sitting patiently behind by turning to snap at them and growl. What a sight it was. Munching, crunching, slurping and growling with blood and guts all over there faces. Certainly not a site for vegetarians or those light of stomach! Lucky for us all three lions ate their smelly mess right in front of us without pulling some away as often happens.

This happened to Roberto the next day and made very good pictures or film harder to get. To add insult to injury - we did this a second time! Walked over to another enclosure and went through almost the exact same experience. Terrific. The footage will be one of the highlights of my film! Cannot wait to see it larger than life on the big screen! This activity also cost USD26 but seemed better value because of the footage it afforded us. The next activity was “Walking with the Lions” scheduled for 4pm followed by “Lion Encounter” at 5:30pm. The former costs USD85 and involves walking alongside two 22mth male cubs for 90min with plenty of opportunity to pat them and take photos/film with them. The latter costs USD98 and involves following the same male cubs as they go for a hunt in search of food. You follow them with spot-light and there is a 50-50 chance of seeing them in a live-kill!!!

This makes it popular but also risky that you will not see a thing! I used the free time to go for my first run in ZIMBABWE (my 75th running country) followed by blogging. 4pm rolled up very quickly and we walked out past reception and the dining area to a gated fence, passing though it and up a hill via a track with our guide. The guide then radioed to two handlers in the distance and they released the two male cubs and walked with them to where we were standing. They did not look like cubs to me! They were big. Approx 2m long and stood 0.5m. The handlers reckon they weighed 100kg each. That is not cub territory for me. They were brothers and would live all their lives in captivity. Their offspring however would be preped and released into the wild. This ensures that reproduction continues just in case those released are unable to reproduce. The two young lions would often stop and lie down as they walked. You could pat them on the back and even touch their tails but the head was off limits. There were 10 of us walking 6 from our group and 4 Koreans.

They were shit scared and only touched them at the end. I did a lot of patting and even tried to place my head on their back but they kept rolling over to  try and play with me with the handlers stopping them each time due to the VERY sharp claws - they could unintentionally open up my flesh without even realising it. Each of us carried a stick for this purpose - if the lions reached out, we could put out the stick so that the claws or teeth touched it and not us! A good idea and simple! It was the longest 90min of the day since I was at constant attention. I got back in time for the Lion Encounter but discovered that it was suspended because we needed a minimum of 6 to do it and there were only 5 of us. Lucky two more overland trucks pulled in that arvo and our head guide Carlos was confident we would make up the number. Given that news it was time for wine, cheese and olives in our room. For the first time in a while, Roberto, Riza and I bought up, gossiped and laughed. After our truck dinner of BBQ pork steak and salad (cooked by Iceland and very tasty) it was back to our room for a movie. As usual we did not make to the end and all fell asleep! It was a very fulfilling day.

DAY 192 of 273, Sun 22MAY16, 0km, Room in “Antelope Game Park”, 12km east of Gweru (Elev 1361m, Run2) ZIMBABWE. It was a cold night and the morning sky with scattered clouds and some sun managing to come through. The only activity was the postponed Lion Encounter at 5:30pm if we got the numbers. I decided to start culling my ZAMBIA photos since there were many of them and I was behind. Perfect day for it. Clouds and cold and culling would give me an opportunity to let the day warm up before my run. We had a sumptuous carver lunch booked for us at 1pm so there was ample time to cull and run. The cull went well. 1000+ photos down to 500 with 350 to go. I went for my run at 11am. It was way warmer and the sun was out. I look a slightly different track but it was all isolated running through savannah style bush outside the park. Lunch was terrific. We assembled at the dining room and enjoyed some white wine I got from the bar before eating. The food was great but the meat was a little overlooked - typical in Africa - no one like red. We ate chicken, kudu and beef with several salads, potato, rice, broccoli, carrots, squash, beans and even lentils. My ideal food. We could also go for seconds. Riza and Tim followed through with a very lifted 2011 Shiraz from Stellenbosch - both bottles setting us up well for the whole afternoon. Roberto, Riza, Tim and I adjourned to an outdoor table overlooking the island and pond and drank and laughed our way through the afternoon with plenty of warm sun during through. It was one of the most pleasant, relaxing afternoons in a long time!

It was also very fitting as a celebration of our 190th day on the truck! I then found out that our 5:30pm Lion Encounter was now a reality so I raced off for a snooze at 4pm so I could shake off the afternoon wine to enable me to be sharp for the hunt. The sleep was great and I almost missed the hunt if it wasn’t for Roberto walking in at the right time! Eight of us gathered for the activity and we set off in an open-topped jeep with four handlers and a driver. We drove to the female lion enclosure and released three 26mth old females. Tonight was not our night. We spent 3.5hrs out in a VERY cold night with no action at all. Even though we were provided with blankets it was hard to completely relax and take in the awesome moonlit landscape. We stopped for popcorn and canned juice - it would turn out to be the most expensive snack at USD98 each and no kill! Some of our group had been here before and told me that if the lions could not find prey living in the park then the handlers would drive to an enclosure and release a zebra into it to guarantee a kill. No such thing happened. We arrived back at 9pm hungry and cold and I did not wast any time crawling into bed to get warm again. Next thing I knew it was morning!!!

DAY 193 of 273, Mon 23MAY16, 235km, Room in “Antelope Game Park”, 12km east of Gweru (Elev 1361m) to Facilities Camp inside the “Great Zimbabwe Monument” (Elev 1108m, Run3) ZIMBABWE. Another night of going to the toilet at 3am and 5am - for had a mild case of diarrhoea every since I came back from ZAMBIA. I think I got it from something I ate or drank in Lusaka since it started in Lower Zambezi. I was now on medication to try and get rid of it since it was cutting short my sleep and threatening my runs. It was a clear sunny morning but cold. We all rugged up as we pulled out at 8:30am to head south-east towards Masvingo.

Our first stop was Gweru to do cook shops. Riza and I truck guarded since we could not remember the last time we did it. We still got 30min to visit Shoprite for more supplies and even got time for a take away coffee. Grew was busy but in the daylight looked like a Ozzie country town from the 1970’s - caught in a time warp. Buildings were old fashioned and run-down. We then headed further south-east passing through Masvingo around 1:30pm. We arrived at tonight’s very basic facilities campsite inside “The Great Zimbabwe Monument” at 2pm. This is a very significant archaeological site, not only to the history of ZIMBABWE but as a good example of medieval construction and practices similar to Machu Picchu which is why it was UNESCO protected in 1986. The Great Zimbabwe Monument is in fact a number of ruins dating back to the 12th Century constructed by the Shona peoples, who migrated to Congo, to house their King and Queen, the King’s 199 other wives and people of learning and rank, such as generals, advisors (politicians), teachers, artists/performers and the witch doctor / soothsayer.

This site was abandoned in the 16th Century after the death of the last King and when his two eldest sons decided to split on the basis of differing options and a population that was too big for the site. The German explorer Carl Maruchas re-discovered it in 1817. The ruins are divided into three sections: 1) The “Hill Complex", which is set 100m u on a hill and housed the King and his entourage (not his wives), 2) The “Great Enclosure" which housed his first wife, the Queen and 3) The Valley which housed his remaining wives and servants who did all the cooking and cleaning at this section. There were no commoners or subjects on this site. It was considered sacred and was a place of learning, politics and reflection. It was not a village or town or city. In this sense it is very similar in purpose to Machu Picchu in Peru or Delphi in Greece.

The truck had lunch at 2:30pm, probably the latest to date but I went for a run. It was warm and sunny. Most people on the truck went on a guided tour at 3pm and by the time I showered (cold!) I took my own guide at 4pm. My guide Tendai was a young lady born and raised in the area and had been guiding here for 2yrs. The guided tour normally takes 2hrs but I had only 1.5hrs so we agreed to miss the museum and a working local village so I could see the two most important areas. She took me to the Great Enclosure first. This whole site is called the “Great Zimbabwe” because in the Shona language “zimbabwe” means “great stone building”. The country ZIMBABWE was named after this site. There were 150 of these sites built all over ZIMBABWE but of a much smaller size and housing only local chiefs and their staff. This site was called “Great: because it was the largest and housed royalty.

Whilst the architecture and condition of the ruins were nowhere near as impressive as Machu Picchu, the method of construction of the walls and arches was very similar. The outside wall was the best preserved standing 8m high and 6m thick, made of local granite. None of the actual dwellings that people lived and slept in have survived because they were made of mud brick and thatch and deteriorated with weather. Only the stonework has remained along with a few dwelling “floors”.

The museum contains all the articles found such as cookware, utensils, tools, decorative art etc. We then walked across the field separating the Queen from the King, an area called the “The Valley” which contains some stonework ruins that encircled the King’s other wives and staff. We passed outside the modern day village architected and occupied by the descendants of the Shonas to preserve their way of life and to give an example of how the dwellings may have looked back in the 12th-16th Centuries. We then used the original granite steps to ascend 100m to the top of the “Hill Complex” that contained the residence of the King and all his officials and learned people. The view of the site from here and the surrounding plains and Lake Mutirikwi was excellent, especially in the golden glow of the setting sun. I saw the site of the King’s Palace, the witch doctor’s place and the area where political meetings, ceremonies and performances were held. We descended using some restored steps and I reached the camp site by 5:30pm. The others returned just after. Roberto, Riza and I sat with a few members of the group to munch on fresh sweet peas, cheese and olives that I had bought to day at Gweru, It was a great time. The peas were the hit. What a pity I did not taste them at the shop were I bought them and buy up heaps more. That evening was very cold, probably the coldest to date, around 10C. Most of us decided to sleep early. I set up my sleeping bag in the truck because Jacob did not want to set up our proper tent and I figured the pop-up would be too cold without a rain tarp. Even though we slept early enjoyed the re-dinner extension of our “culture club” - I am sure those who participated appreciated why we did what we did...

DAY 194 of 273, Tue 24MAY16, 313km, Facilities Camp inside the “Great Zimbabwe Monument” (Elev 1108m) to Dorm in “Heaven Mountain Lodge”, Chimanimani (Elev 1503m, Run4) ZIMBABWE. I reckon the next time I sleep in the truck will be when I do brekkie in my cook group. I was woken by 50 million feet thumping their way through the truck. It was a miracle no one stepped on me. Just why everyone gets up way before brekkie is besides me. I get the impression that everyone values food more than sleep! We left at 7:30am and headed north. About 5min out we stopped for 45min at the local arts and crafts stalls near the Monument. I had planned to do all my souvenir shopping in ETHIOPIA because of the proximity to Cairo and the advised range and price.

Today’s morning drive was cold indeed but took us through some wonderful scenery, all variable. Vegetation is mainly bush and scrub with trees but not bounced together. We then saw hills and distant ridges and by noon started to enter a valley with many hills. It was almost blue sky with a shimmering sun but the air was still cool. After lunch we headed due east and ascended into what looked like an alpine forest with mountains and valleys. Totally different from the semi-arid savannah we had seen since Gweru. It was lush and green against a stark deep blue sky. It also cooled down again. Could have been in Canada or Germany! It only got better. We ascended to 1,770m and a new world opened up. A world of pine forests and alpine mountains. We even stopped in the middle of a one forest to collect already fallen and semi-burnt wood for the truck.

We arrived at the small village of Chimanimani where our camp site was located at around 2pm. What a beautiful spot. We could see the Chimanimani Ranges in the distance which rise to 2437m being Mt Binga in MOZAMBIQUE only 12km from our location. No time to waste - it was sunny with cool air. Given our elevation of 1503m I knew the temperature would drop quickly as the sun set especially in the shadow of the surrounding mountains. It was a hard run but successful. I descended 235m and had to run it all back uphill. Unfortunately the hot water run out half way through my shower so it was a sprint cold water ending since it was already 15C outside and dropping fast.

The good news is that I had a dorm bed in a room of four with Roberto, Riza and Sharon and it was very snug. There were also two huge fireplaces in the mail recreational areas and the three of us parked ourselves in front of one of the fires in the other room and culture clubbed our way to dinner. WIFI was good too. Cook group did a good job to brave the cold to feed us and we all ate inside next to the fireplaces. Given the cold most people were in bed by 9pm. I decided to watch the rest of my last movie that I fell asleep on...

DAY 195 of 273, Wed 25MAY16, 0km, Dorm in “Heaven Mountain Lodge”, Chimanimani (Elev 1503m, Run5) ZIMBABWE. Today was a rest day for me. There were only walking tours on offer and most of these quite tame. I slept in to 8pm and worked on my photos for this post until 1pm when I went for a run. I rang mum and brother at 11am given the strength of internet but ran out of credits for more calls. The power of the lodge suggested a more scenic run with less of an descent so I did that. It was a good run but almost stacked it three times because of the amount of stone in the ungraded road. Despite this the scenery was great featuring the Chimanimani Ranges as the backdrop. Also passed through the village. Most people went on walks and visited the “The Bridal Veil Falls”, only 6km from our lodge. I saw them online but they did not impress me so I continued processing photos for this post from 3-6pm after my shower. It was a lot of work given the many animals I had seen in Zim and Zam. I also find it relaxing, like reading a book. Assembling these memories may be a lot of effort but you relive those moments. At6pm we all sat together around the fire and enjoyed brushetta and guacamole dip made by Fatima. Absolutely delicious! Oasis then bought us pizza since the lodge had a wood fired pizza oven. It was also delicious. They made their own thin base and kept the ingredients few. We had a medley of toppings including margarita, veggie with feta and olives, chicken tikka, chicken tandoori and their specialty of the house “the heavenly” which featured avocado, feta, beef, capsicum, onion. Washed down by a South African 2014 Shiraz Cabernet. A great way to finish the day and a great stay at lofty Chimanimani.

DAY 196 of 273, Thu 26MAY16, 402km, Dorm in “Heaven Mountain Lodge”, Chimanimani (Elev 1503m) to Dorm in “It’s a Small World Backpackers Lodge”, Harare (Elev 1465m) ZIMBABWE. Today was Harare day. A long, all-day drive to the capital of ZIMBABWE which started at 7:30am. We headed north through more pine-clad mountains enjoying fantastic scenery but clad in our winter gear. The pines then gave way to bush and rolling hills with narrow valleys all the way to Mutare (Pop 200,000), ZAMBIA’S third largest city which we drove through. Lunch was outside an interesting old tavern hotel. It was my cook group but many sampled the local meat pies which are popular throughout ZIMBABWE. The afternoon drive was still very cool with jackets on until Harare. We arrived at our back packers at around 5pm only 3km from the centre. It was in an affluent inner city suburb called Avondale so very green and lots of larger gated houses about with high fences. The sky was clouded over and grey.

The temperature dropped quickly. It was my cook group also for dinner. After settling into our 12 person dorm, Roberto, Riza and I sprung into action and started the first ever three course dinner on the truck. Roberto was in charge of the menu and head chef. Avocado soup to start with followed by a stir fry of beef mince, rice, peas, onions and peanuts. The desert was Peruvian delight that Roberto has discovered involving caramelised tomatoes with cream. We served each course separately since there was no raging log fire but the gas burners given the hoister building enclosure. It started to sprinkle as we served the soup but everyone was under cover. The whole exercise went very well and people were stuffed. Most people liked the desert but it was a bit unusual to some. Tomato as a desert is not usual but the interesting thing is that tomato is a fruit and not a vegetable so “why not tomato as a desert”? Roberto was the first to admit that the sauce need to reduce further and become like a syrup - instead it was very watery. Water, sugar, orange juice and rind and boiled up with whole small Roma size tomatoes. It was a gamble but a brave one. Most people said it was the most interesting “out there” meal they had so far. The internet here was terrific so I decided to set up shop next to a blazing fire next to the bar and call a few people. I was up until 12:30am talking mainly to Nick Drinias - it was such a clear conversation - like he was in the next room! Totally satisfied that night and slept like a log looking forward to my own walking discovery of Harare the next day...

DAY 197 of 273, Fri 27MAY16, 0km, Dorm in “It’s a Small World Backpackers Lodge”, Harare (Elev 1465m) ZIMBABWE. Today was dedicated to the discovery of Harare, the largest and capital city of ZIMBABWE. I spent the morning booking my Solo 10 trip with Christina from “Black Rhino Tours” based in Bulawayo. I would start that journey tomorrow from Harare at 5:15am and complete it by 9pm on Monday 30 June 2016 returning to Harare to re-join the truck. Solo10 is focused on visiting Bulawayo, Matobo National Park and the Khami Ruins - places the truck saw whilst I was in ZAMBIA on Solo9 - so a bit of a “catch-up” trip. It was a cloudy day with intermittent sun and a short walk to the “Avondale Shopping Centre” where I took an AUD0.75 share van into the city centre only 3km down the road. The city centre is mostly grid style so I methodically took the main lines up and down. Harare centre is spread out with enough high-rise being a mixture of very old buildings and new separated by wide roads. It is a tired looking centre but unlike Lusaka it has a well-defiend centre being a pedestrian mall that is First Street. Most of the older buildings are 1970’s style with some art-deco thrown in for good measure.

I started in “Harare Gardens” which had some good bits and some bad bits. The bad had a lot of homeless people sleeping in it with rubbish and not many flowers but the good was next to the ritziest hotel in town and was nicely manicured and full of flowers. I then headed for “Joina Mall” which was not that big and not that glossy - the whole place was only 70% let. Even Lusaka, which is a far worse city centre, has better malls. It was now that I realised how much retail was suffering in this city and probably the country. I spotted a camera store and they referred me to a repairer nearby - I wanted to service (clean) by other Lumix TZ70 which was not working. I dropped it off and was told to come back at 3pm. Perfect. I then started walking towards the other main shopping centre in town called “Eastgate”. Along the way I spotted a barber and had a number 3 all-round for only $AUD5. The pedestrian mall was lacking - no cafes or restaurants along its entire 500m length! Eastgate was a horror story. It looks like a stack of concrete milk crates and only the ground floor is retail - the rest are offices. What an eye-sore. At least it had a cafe and I sat down for a break given it was around noon. The coffee took ages. I noticed not only here but in other food places that the local staff move at a snail’s pace and not multi-task or cut corners - everything is done in series, Back and forth. Back and forth. After a 10min wait the coffee was crap. I then visited the main Anglican Cathedral and next to it “Africa Unity Square” which was full of locals basking in the sun and watching each other walk past. I was the only white. Weird. Just as I was leaving I noticed Tim taking photos and greeted him. He was glad to see me and we crossed the road and he shouted me coffee in the fanciest hotel in town “Meikles”. He was staying there at a cool USD300/night. He told me about his solo plan to go into MOZAMBIQUE to take a very famous train ride from Nampula to Cuamba followed by a 3-day cruise across the length of Lake Malawi to re-join the truck at Daar Es Salam in TANZANIA. I also told him my solo plan. We wished each other good travelling and I headed back to the camera repairer.

The service was a success and he had found a heap of dust inside the focusing mechanism explaining why it would not focus. It only cost $AUD70. Good as new and not covered under warranty since it is classified as “wear and tear”. I then walked to the “Pathfinder” bus office to buy my return ticket from Bulawayo to Harare for Monday. From here it was another short share van backlit he Avondale Shopping Centre. I looked around there and discovered a “Food Lovers” supermarket that sells gourmet, organic produce and other food. I would come here to get hot veggies for dinner. I also discovered a huge outdoor grilling take away that specialised in Mexican style flame grilled butterflied chickens - they were HUGE! They were being grilled over hot coals and the smoke reminded my of the outdoor grills in Greece. My mouth watered - I was definitely having this for dinner tonight. Could not wait to go back to the backpackers, shower and return for my feast. I did all of this but not before a good blog. I sat down on my top bunk at around 7pm to watch a movie and consume my lovely charcoal chicken and hot begin medley - it was one of the most satisfying dinners in a long time. Delicious and nutritious! I was now ready for Solo 10!!!

DAY 198 of 273, Sat 28MAY16, 397km (Flight 357km), Solo10, Dorm in “It’s a Small World Backpackers Lodge”, Harare (Elev 1465m) to Room in “"HALA Select Cecil Hotel”, Bulawayo (Elev 1354, Run6), Bulawayo ZIMBABWE. Up at 4:30am and met Keith at 5am at the front gate. taxi was on time. Keith was on the same 7am flight as me but going on to Victoria Falls so we decided to share the taxi. Took only 20min and we checked in 15min later. Another 15min coffee at the gate. Slow as snails and triple handled everything. The other frustrating thing was “no change”. No shop or taxi or seller in ZIMBABWE has change, even for a USD2 coffee out of USD10! WTF. A lady passenger had to give me change otherwise it was no coffee for Keith and myself. We boarded on time then came the next shock. Air Zimbabwe Flight UM326 was using a B737-200 with Pratt & Whitney engines - the last model to built using these engines was in the 1980’s making this plane over 30yrs old. Pratt & Whitney engine company doesn’t even exist any more!

The USA, Europe and Australia got rid of these planes in the 1990’s and now I know where they went! I told Keith and he said “why did you tell me that!”. Take off was loud given the age of the engines! It was a smooth flight however and we got to Bulawayo in the scheduled time of just 45min to travel the 357km from Harare. I farewelled Keith and caught the AUD15 shuttle van straight to my hotel 21km away. The hotel was a million years old and in need of a serious upgrade. The rooms were clean but looked like an apartment in Warsaw just before World War II. I was in two minds about staying but it was very central so I stayed. I began my walking expedition of the city at 8:30am. Bulawayo (Pop 1.5m) is a big country town of the 1970’s trying to grow up and become a modern city of the 21st Century. Like its older sibling Harare, it has too many old buildings and looks tired and run-down. There are wide streets with car parking in the middle, its of people around and has a definite “country” fee during the day. At night is a different story. Lots of drinking and revelling in the streets.

There is a definite roughness and edginess about it. Once again this was a grid city so I walked up and down, left to right. There is a pronounced city centre being “Main Street” and only one main shopping centre which is 50% occupied and mostly by computer shops and internet cafes! As I walked around I noticed HUGE LONG QUEUES of people waiting patiently outside banks and extending around the block into neighbouring streets! When I asked about it people told me they queuing to withdraw as much of their USD as possible. Why? Because they were fearing a further collapse in the economy to the extent that three funds would be frozen - much like Greece. I then checked my USD situation and to my horror I only had $USD40 left! I then change my mission plan and went searching for the shortest queue. I found it in 10min and waited another 30min but to my relief was able to withdraw USD500 which would more than pay for Solo 10. Phew! Another disaster averted.

I then walked to the “Zimbabwe Natural History Museum” which is just outside town but only a 15-20min walk. It is a huge circular building with three floors and excellent. Showcases all the geology, flora and fauna of ZIMBABWE. There were two highlights. Stuffed versions of every main animal in the country and the life story of Cecil Rhodes after which the “Rhodes Scholarship” was based. He is actually buried in the Matopo Hills which I would visit on Monday. Cecil Rhodes was a very controversial figure. Many like him because of some great infrstructure works he pushed in Africa, especially the Cairo to Cape Town train line. Others hate him for his engineering of the “Berlin Conference” that divided and colonised nearly all of Africa amongst a handful of European super countries only to exploit them for their minerals. I am in the second camp. He should have never interfered. What I cannot understand is how one man can change the course of history and the fate of many countries and their people. It is my view that if Cecil Rhodes had NOT existed, African may have been a completely different place - probably for the better. I enjoyed my time at this museum - it is the biggest in ZIMBABWE. I got back to the hotel at 2pm and went for a run.

Terrific sunny arvo but with a chill in the air. At 1350m, this city will be cold tonight! I blogged until 4:30pm with the afternoon sun streaming into my room - it was very relaxing - so relaxing that I dozed off and woke an hour later because it was nippy!!! Put on some clothes and went put into the sunsetting arvo to buy some dinner at the “Choppies” supermarket just 200m from the hotel. It was Saturday night and things were hotting up. Revellers out and shouting. I must admit that I felt a little “perturbed”. Haven’t felt this way since Lagos NIGERIA. I perceived this was a city in a struggle. People are struggling here. Every penny counts. People even watch me closely as I dolled out my money in the supermarket and as I carried two full bags home. What could I do? How could I help? I was a shell in an ocean of sand! I could have been Bill Gates and still be unable to do anything. It was a sinking feeling. Often a guilty feeling. But what could I do. No resources. No power. Make me President and give me command of the troops and maybe I COULD do something… I know understood why Lonely Planet kept writing - after dark do not walk but cab it! I timed my excursion to the supermarket just in time. I stepped back into the hotel just on last light and bunkered down to a delicious chicken and bean dinner with movie sauce!!! Boy was I right. That temperature nose dived and for the first time in a long time I had to sleep under a blanket!!!

DAY 199 of 273, Sun 29MAY16, 102km, Solo10, Room in “"HALA Select Cecil Hotel”, Bulawayo (Elev 1354), Bulawayo ZIMBABWE. Norman and Christine picked me up right on time at 8:30am. Both are white and were born in ZIMBABWE and have been involved in tourism most of their lives. They are now in their sixties and keen to continue taking visitors to the sites of Bulawayo. They gave me some good news. They had found another tourist who arrived yesterday and was keen to do see the Matobo National Park. Unreal. That meant half-price for me since it was a minimum of two people. His name is Ben and he is a film producer! We picked him up from a lodge just outside town and agreed to do a full day tour for AUD150 each, covering the park, Rhino safari walking, Cecil Rhodes grave, cave paintings and a tribal town. His English was good. He explained that he made simple documentary films for TV stations around the world including SBS and ABC in Australia. He was responsible for doing the deals and organising crew to shoot and then produce the film. He worked for a small production company of 3 owners and 6 employees and they hired the rest. Naturally, I told him about my blog and comedy documentaries and we got on like a house on fire. He actually admitted that he liked the time he used to shoot and produce films by himself and that he missed the days. Our driver and guide today was yet another Norman, same age and background as the Norman that brought me here.

A very knowledgeable and experienced Norman as well! It was just Ben and I on this big 20 seater open-air safari jeep. Matobo National Park was only 30km south-west of Bulawayo. Originally, the English colonists called it “Matopas” but the locals changed the name back to Matobo. We stopped along the way to learn the history of the area featuring large tracks of land outside the park that Cecil Rhodes bequeathed to the government. Some of that land is used for boarding schools and an agricultural college that specialises in crop and livestock cross-breeding to improve yields and resistance to disease. Matobo is mainly igneous granite but also has a lot of gold in its top-soil.

After passing through the north gate we proceeded to three rocky outcrops known as “the Three Sisters”. We climbed up the tallest one and began our search for Rhinos. The day was perfect. 20C, a cool breeze and no clouds. Visibility was endless. It did not take long for Norman to spot three Rhinos about 1km away grazing in a semi-open area surrounded by trees. The park was truly an image of Africa that I had seen in many documentaries - Acacia (there are 460 varieties throughout Africa), umbrella shaped trees, rocks, red earth, dead trees and long grass waiving in the breeze. We started down the sister and started walking across this landscape to reach the Rhinos. The huge grey bodies stood out in the green and red of tree and earth. There were four of them. A dominant male, two females and a younger male. They were White Rhinos given the wide box-shaped mouth which is designed for grazing on short grass. The local word for “wide” is “weit” which was mistaken for “white” by the Europeans.

Despite attempts from the locals to correct this, it stuck! This is how the “Black Rhino” got its name because it has a pointed or beak-shaped mouth designed for “browsing” or eating leaves off trees. Black is the opposite of White so that stuck too. The Black Rhino is larger and harder to spot. We saw them in Etosha. Much to my delight I got within 7m of the dominant male. At one stage he stopped eating, curled his tail and starred at me. Norman told me to not to move and that he was ready to charge because of the curled up tail - a sign of agitation or fear. He backed down, uncurled his tail and moved away to find more grass. Norman pointed out that he thought that a Rhino charging without warning is not strictly correct. If he decided to charge, he will and there will be no “test” charges. But there can be warning signs such as the curled up tail or waiving his head fro side to side. Another misnomer is that the hide of a Rhino is the toughest and thickest around - false. It is actually quite soft even though it is thick and Rhinos are known to get skin rashes and infections from rubbing against tree trunks or rocks. We stayed with the Rhinos for quite a while. It was then getting on towards noon and we planned to see the grave of Cecil Rhodes on at “World’s View” before lunch. It was a 15min drive to this place which the locals call "Malindid Zimu". “World’s View” or “Matopas Hill” was the name that Rhodes gave the place because of its commanding 360 degree views the park and beyond. This was a magical place. From the car park you climb up these huge gently sloping monoliths until you reach the top which has about a dozen large spherical stones.

The area around the stones is covered in a fluoro-green lichen creating a dazzling contrast of colours: lichen green, boulder orange and sky blue. The view from the top is nothing short of spectacular! You can see the park stretch out in all directions. This spot is the exact geographical centre of Matobo National Park which stretches out a total of 100km east-west and 40km north south to cover 450 sq km. It is small by African standards (Etosha is almost 23,000 sq km) but its topography is very scenic. Full of granite boulders, many round, some craggy with odd shaped trees, some green some dead, orange dirt and long greenish yellow grass. Put all of this against a deep blue sky and you have a photographers paradise! Norman explained that lichen will only grow in absolutely 100% clean air so start breathing it all in!!! This we did. Cecil’s grave was simple and in the middle of the dozen boulders at the top.

It reads “HERE LIE THE REMAINS OF CECIL JOHN RHODES”. No dates. No age. His two best friends are buried close to him. One was his doctor and the other his lawyer. He was a controversial figure. On the one hand he made a fortune mining diamonds from multiple African countries and on the other he pioneered the construction of the Cairo to Cape Town railway. He did all of this by 35 and died at 49 in 1902. At one stage he owned all of ZIMBABWE but gave it back steadily over his life and bequeathed the rest after his death. He also established the famous “Rhodes Scholarship” to grant students all over the world an opportunity to study at Oxford University in England. Even I was invited to apply for this scholarship after uni and I am glad I did not take it up. I am not a fan of Cecil Rhodes. He founded and chaired the “British South African Company” which mined diamonds and gold in several African countries at the expense of the locals.

He also organised and chaired the 1885 “Berlin Conference” which officially divided Africa amongst select arguing greedy European powers who couldn’t wait to get their hands on minerals, ivory and slaves and led to the colonisation of an entire continent. For me he is the personification of the colonisation and exploitation of Africa which should never have happened. It is ironic that he asked to be buried in such a beautiful place and maybe he gave all that lady back because he realised the consequences of his actions. This we will never know. Our next stop was lunch at the “Farmhouse Lodge”, a privately owned ranch about 20min drive across the park and just outside it. I was booked to sleep here tonight. The drive to lunch gave us a great appreciation of the wild and colourful beauty of the park. Boulders and bush everywhere. It is a pity that so much of its wildlife was lost to poachers - mainly locals - much of this drive by the poverty of the country. The only animals remaining are leopards, rhinos, impalas, water buck and wildebeest.

The park is especially famous for its rhinos that you can see on foot and up close like I just did and the truck before me. The Farmhouse comprised a large cottage with restaurant and verandahs surrounded by a dozen stand-alone chalets and horse stable nestled under a hill of boulders. Lots of greenery and shade it was the perfect place to relax but pricey at AUD135/night. I wanted to go for a run tomorrow and see the Khami Ruins so it was better for me to stay at the Cecil Hotel again instead of here and waste 30min driving into town so I decided not to stay. We enjoyed a spaghetti bolognese and salad lunch outside in the sun and a cool beer. Later on I would regret this because we spent too much tome getting here and missed out on visiting a tribal village.

Once again my theory on sit-down lunches during travel sis true - don’t do them - they will waste time and cause you to miss out on seeing vital sites. You can always eat later. Nothing will happen to you. Its not like you will get sick or die! Our drive to the “Nswatugi Cave" paintings took another 20min from lunch. We followed a trail for 10min ascending about 80m. The cave was small in depth but open to the outside giving good light on the paintings. The paintings were mainly of giraffes, impala and wildebeest with many human figures both male and female. The giraffes were especially life-like with muscle tone and shape resembling real-life. These paintings were were made by the early San peoples some 9,000yrs ago using mineral sand mixed with blood or egg-yolk to make the colour set - it did - they were very well preserved with outlines clearly visible. Just how these could service thousands of years of rain, hot and cold is besides me when a dulux painted house back in Sydney has to be repainted every 15yrs, even with all that paint technology!!!

By this time the sun was setting so we had to give up our tribal village visit since it would be dark by the time we got there - bloody lunch! Instead we decided to take the long way home and safari for some leopards and sable which mainly come out when dark. No luck. We got great views of the stretching shadows from the myriads of boulders in this place and the smooth orange boulders turned red under the glow if the setting sun. Here are the 8 species that we saw at Matobo: Baboon, Slender Mongoose, Vervet Monkey, Wildebeest, White Rhinoceros (4), Spurwing, Bush Buck, Fish Eagle. We got back to the Cecil Hotel in town around 6:30pm. Ben decided to stay there too given its central location and his intention to tour the city tomorrow morning. It was a good move for both of us. We saved AUD90 and 30min each staying here instead of The Farmhouse. We dropped off our gear and went out to get hot food from the nearby “Choppies” supermarket. Given the time, they were low on food so we had to walk further into town to get food from another supermarket. Mission accomplished. Returned around 7:30pm. I wished Ben well - he would spend a total of 10 days travelling throughout ZIMBABWE and then fly back to Paris from Harare. After another brilliant hot hot shower I settled down to my food and movie.

DAY 200 of 273, Mon 30MAY16, 502km, Solo10, Room in “"HALA Select Cecil Hotel”, Bulawayo (Elev 1354, Run7), Bulawayo to Dorm in “It’s a Small World Backpackers Lodge”, Harare (Elev 1465m) ZIMBABWE. Wonderful sleep-in until 8am. The day was once again glorious. My morning run was a delight, soaking up the sun as I cut though 15C of air temp. One last great shower here and it was off to the Khami Ruins, 25km out of town. My driver “Sudska” was the brother of the taxi driver I had organised this trip with when I was walking around town. The tour companies wanted AUD120 but Sudska was happy naming his price at AUD45. Sudska is also the name of the famous maize meal porridge that is the staple of ZIMBABWE! Sometimes it just pays to do things yourself and just ask! I spent one hour looking through the ruins of Khami. The ruins are actually the residence of one of the two sons of the King who lived at the Great Zimbabwe Monument. The King’s two sons had a fight and one came here and the other set up a similar stone citadel near Gweru. They both then declared their own Kingship. Khami was built in 1414 and was occupied by the son King and an entourage of 9,000 elite. No commoners. They formed “steppes” from the surrounding natural hills and re-inforced them with stone walls, levelled them and placing “Dhakas” on them - round huts made of clay with thatched roofs. None of these remain - just the stone retaining walls.

Khami fell in 1640 when several of the elite had a civil war and destroyed it. It cost AUD30 to visit the ruins along with a guide to explain everything. I was off at 12:30pm and got dropped off at the “Pathfinders” coach terminal at 1pm. Blogged a bit until our departure to Harare on-time at 2pm. It was good to be in country where the coach left at the scheduled time and not when it filled up. Our 50-seat coach was very comfortable with only 10 on board. I dedicated the next 6.5hrs to completing this post ready to upload from my backpackers tonight! It was a great trip. The countryside outside from Bulawayo to Gweru was flat and vast, low flat-topped trees and bush with fluffy clouds stretching away to touch the horizon. We had a short pee and food stop at Gweru at 4pm and to pickup and drop off. I arrived into Harare city at 8pm. I managed to pick up some of that delicious charcoal chicken and roasted veggies that I ate the night before Solo 10 began. What a sign. Solo 10 had begun and ended with the best chicken I had ever tasted. I sat up late that night drinking wine and posting this blog. A great way t end Solo 10 and re-join the truck for our journey into MOZAMBIQUE tomorrow…

PS: A LITTLE ABOUT VICTORIA FALLS WATERFALL:

Victoria Falls (Elev 864m) has the largest “water sheet” of any fall in the world at 1,708m wide by 108m high. It is the second widest behind Iguazu and third in volume of water (1,200 cubic meters per second average annual flow rate) behind Niagra and Iguazu. At its peak high water, the water flowing over the edge in 72hrs is enough to supply all the water needs of New York City for a year. The first European to discover the fall was Dr David Livingstone in 1855 who named it to honour Queen Victoria. It is the result of the Zambezi River (4th longest in Africa at 2,693km flowing through 5 countries) flowing over a cliff into the Batoka Gorge formed 150 million years ago. It is one of the seven natural wonders of the world and as a result is UNESCO protected. When Zimbabwe became independent the fall was renamed “Mosi-ou-Tunya” which means “the smoke that thunders”. The entries and main roads and park signage on both sides bears this name. The fall is also part of the border between ZIMBABWE and ZAMBIA since the Zambezi is the border so half belongs tooth country. Both countries have set paths and lookouts to view the fall. Both countries offer “day VISAs” for this purpose. Many argue that if take into account width, height and volume then Victoria is the single “largest” fall in the world.

PPS: A LITTLE ABOUT ZIMBABWE:

ZIMBABWE (Pop 2.1m), formerly “South Rhodesia” is a country that has suffered much by way of internal political violence both before and after independence from the English in 1979 and almost resulted in civil war. All of this goes back to conflicts between two key black groups that occupied the country, the Shona and Ndebele and later the British. The Shona were the original inhabitants of ZIMBABWE and built up kingdoms of great power and wealth from gold and ivory trading with the Swahili from the 11th to the 15th Centuries. Along came the Portuguese in the 16th Century and the first conflicts began. These are resolved by the two parties forming an alliance. In 1834 this was challenged when the Ndebele peoples raided the country from SOUTH AFRICA. Since the British were already in control of SOUTH AFRICA they stepped in 1888 under Cecil Rhodes and defeated the Ndebele in return for a deal to control minerals in the country with the Shona/Portuguese alliance. In 1895 the English stepped up their grip on the country and called it South Rhodesia”. In 1904 many white Europeans flocked to the county on rumours of diamond mining and by 1922 the whites there legislated a self-governing colony. In 1930 white supremacy legislation was passed similar to apartheid in 1948 and conflicts escalated.

Two key black political parties emerged (ZANU & ZAPU) and in 1979 they joined forces under Mugabe (ZANU-PF) and came to agreement with the white party in charge who conceding independence. This did not last with Mugabe wanting complete control and the two black parties came into conflict which resulted in many civilian deaths in 1983 and almost erupted into civil war. In 1999 Morgan Tsvangirai formed a party (MDS) to introduce democracy and stop the conflicts. Mugabe responded with more violence so in 2009 Tsvangirai signed a deal with Mugabe to stop the violence. Since then, the country is still ruled by the ZANU-PF with no multi-party free elections. The Shona and Ndebele are still the two main ethnic groups and most of them are Christian with the others following African Traditional Beliefs. As a result of one party rule, investment in ZIMBABWE is non-existant which caused the original local currency to collapse and be replaced by the US dollar in 2009. Those diamond mines happened and are controlled by Mugabe who has been accused of swindling USD2billion. Whether guilty or not, the economy is suffering with massive unemployment and inflation. 60% of locals receive money from family members working in other African countries and overseas. Most of the others live below the poverty line. On a brighter note, tourism is supported and increasing and as a result 20% of the country has been declared National Parks. The main dish is “sadza” a white maize meal mixed with water to produce a white mash, eaten with tomato based gravy and meats or veg.

PPPS: A LITTLE ABOUT ZAMBIA:

ZAMBIA (Pop 14.5m), formerly “North Rhodesia" has an unemployment rate of 60%. The key exports of Copper, Maize and tourism are simply not enough to employ everyone. Inflation is also rampant which explains why everything is cheap for tourists but not for the locals. The currencies of ZAMBIA, ZIMBABWE, BOTSWANA and NAMIBIA are all closely tied tot he Ran of SOUTH AFRICA which is leading the devaluation. When it goes down they all go down. The country has 73 ethnic groups and 75% are Christian (mainly Protestant) with almost 10% Muslim. 99% of the population is indigenous with Indians and Europeans making up the tiny rest. 

South Africans retailers and Zimbabwean farmers are relatively new to the country. Zambia was first settled by the Khoisan people from Congo before Christ. In the 1st Century the Bantu people, also from Congo, became the dominant group. By the 16th Century these groups had mixed and divided giving rise to the many ethnic groups there today including the Swahili from which “Ungowa” is derived! The Portuguese were the first Europeans to arrive in the 18th Century followed by the Arabs. In 1855 Dr David Livingstone discovered the Victoria Falls and became the catalyst for the British “South Africa Company” to take control in 1890 naming the country “Northern Rhodesia”. It was not long until many British and Europeans exploited the huge copper deposits and Britain officially colonised the place in 1924 to try and control the mineral-grab. The indigenous were already mining copper before Europe came along and were displace and mistreated as part of the grab. There was a long period of uprising until independence in 1964. The first President changed the constitution to allow only a single party until enormous pressure from the opposition parties saw him loos the 1991 free elections 27yrs later!

He is still alive at the time of writing aged 92. Free elections have settled in but there is still a lot of corruption. Zambia now has its 5th President but 3 have died in office of ill-health. The biggest problem now is unemployment and inflation and many citizens are blaming the Chinese both in mining and construction - like in most other parts of Africa they use their own labour and squeeze down local wages and rights. On the flipside, ZAMBIA is a wildlife paradise. It is the size of France, England and Ireland combined at 752,000 square kilometres! It boasts every kind of mammal and reptile and 750 species of birds in 20 National Parks and 34 private Game Management Areas. It specialises in hippos and crocs. 

PS: INTERESTING FACT ON AFRICA:

Africa is three times the size of Australia, measuring roughly 8000km tall by 7500km wide, is the oldest land mass in the world with 97% more than 300 million years old. Mt Kilimanjaro is the highest at 5895m and the Danakil Depression the lowest at -120m. The Nile is the longest river at 6650km. Lake Victoria is the largest lake and second largest in the world after Lake Superior.