Boating / Drifting on the Great Zambezi River

On Tuesday night we went to sleep on our tents to much noise on the river – hippos.  I, Rita, thought they were just fussing at each other, via for their positions .  Steve on the other hand is convinced it is mating calls.  Whatever!  Steve and I already saw a little crocodile while walking around the camp grounds.  The kids and we were warned about crocs and poisonous snakes.  There is a three legged dog here to prove they are dangerous.

On Wednesday we woke up to a beautiful few – the river, the sun rising, and a pod of hippos out in the river.  We rented a boat with a driver and went slowly down the river.  At times the engine was turned off and we just drifted, once in a while turning it back on to fix how we were drifting.  We saw two little crocs and then a bigger one.  Then we got pretty close to the fourth croc.  He must have been sleeping.  He suddenly flipped into the river.  Steve managed to record this.

We got pretty close to several pods of hippos.  One pod was up on land and so we got to see up close what they looked like and not just a bunch of backs sticking out of the water.  That pod had little babies!!

Our driver was  looking for elephants.  We went past several places that they usually are.  Then we found five male elephants!  We just sat and  watched them for awhile.  We also saw a variety of birds.  Then we held onto our hats and speed back to camp.

Vacation

After avoiding the city for six months, we took two days to drive to Lusaka.  The first day we just enjoyed the drive.  Instead of speeding up and slowing down for pot holes we just took it slower.  I, Rita, spent the day crocheting.  It was pleasant and my nerves were still in tack.

We stayed over night at Forest Inn.  Other members on our team have stayed there and recommended it.  It was nice to not be rushed and to just relax.

On Sunday we drove the remaining three hours to Lusaka.  We unhooked the trailer and then went to lunch.  I didn’t realize I was really missing anything or hungry, but the chips (french fries) were really good.  We then went to the Sunday Market at Arcades and spent some money on crafts.

On Monday a family on our team left Zambia for their furlough in the states.  We went to the airport with them, Steve helped them with their many suitcases and we waved goodbye until we could no longer see them.  Then we also drove their vehicle back to the Guest House and handed in the keys for them.  The rest of the day and on Tuesday we did some shopping.

On Wednesday we headed for Zambezi Breezes to camp right on the Zambezi River.