Panther

Back in March our friends the Schaeffer's came back home from South Africa.  When they passed through Lusaka they picked up a kitten.  Seth has been wanting a cat and so he found out how much one cost and started saving his money.

For the past month he has had a dilemma.  He really wants a cat, but he also liked seeing his money add up.  In the end the cat didn’t cost as much as we thought it would.  We got it at a vet who saves them.  It had its shot and has been fixed.  So the cost of the cat is for that and food.

So this past Wednesday while in Lusaka we picked up a three month old kitten.  Seth thought on it for awhile and finally announced that his name was Panther.

A cat carrier cost way too much and so a collar and leash were bought.  It spent the first hour of our trip home all over the vehicle and meowing loudly.  Then it curled up to sleep with Seth and then later on with Lane.

When we got home on Saturday we found a mess in the pantry.  A week before we left Steve saw a mouse in the kitchen.  Well, for the last two weeks while we were gone, it has made a big mess.  Mouse dirt and popcorn seeds are everywhere on the shelves.  It has been chewing on a plastic container with cornmeal in it.  So there is bits of white plastic all over. On the back of the pantry door at the top is nailed a board with nails in it to hang things – broom, mop, dust mop.  Also us there is a plastic grocery sack full of more grocery sacks.  This mouse managed to jump off of a shelf on to this.  The broom and several sacks were on the floor!  So we are washing every thing before we use it.  What fun, washing dishes before and after you eat. 

So this cat has work to do.  It had better be a good mouser.  I guess you could say it is spoiled too.  What cat has permission to walk all over your pantry shelves.  Tonight I am even opening the cupboard doors.  This mouse lives under them.  We cannot see where they are hooked to the walls.  So if he doesn’t catch something soon, we are going to put some muscle to them and see if we can’t move them. 

Eureka Farm Campground

This campground is very close to Lusaka.  The nice thing about it is the wild animals it has – zebra, buffalo, giraffe, monkeys, impala, and other deer like animals.

We stayed here Sunday and Monday nights.  It is nice for the animals and a cheaper place to camp.  But it is busy and noisy.  It is a favorite place for the overland tours.  They travel on a truck that looks like a semi.  It is bus like at the top and they store everything underneath.  It is a camping tour.

On both nights the first truck to pull in had a smaller group and there for seemed to be a quieter group.  On both nights the second truck to pull in was a large group.  In about 10 minutes about 20 4 man tents were put up around the truck.  On the second night a third truck pulled in.  It put tents up right next to ours.  It was a low budget tour and drinking was what they did the most of.  The first two trucks pulled out by 6 AM.  That third bus stayed up until 1:30 AM and didn’t pull out until 8 AM.

On the second night Seth was sick again and he and I spent the night in the truck.  I got to see impala and something bigger eating grass pretty close to our tent.  This place keeps a guard and after a bit he came waving a feed sack to get them out.  Also got to see the second trucks whole tour group get out and push the truck to start it!  That took a little muscle power.

Buffalo, we got a little too close and had to convince the kids to keep walking kind of fast and away!

Giraffe, he was just outside the gate where we camped.

Zebra, Heather walked up to these to take the pic.

You will have to zoom in to see this guy.  I don’t know what he is.

The rest of the week was spent in Lusaka at the Baptist Mission Guest House.  We went to the Tuesday Market and got lots of veggies.  I spent Saturday afternoon here in Mbala getting them ready for the freezer.  A family on our team flew in Wednesday evening.  Steve did a lot of shopping that morning.  Thursday morning we visited the grocery store.  We made it out of there with only two carts, but still spent more than planned.  Friday we drove to Kasama and stayed with another member of our team who is done and leaving us this week.  Saturday – the rest of the way home.  Yea!

Lazy

Friday was spent as a very lazy day.  Steve and I just sat in camping chairs reading.  Camping chairs are not good for your back, especially that much time spent in one.  The kids played and went swimming.  It is winter here, but on the river it is warmer.  I wouldn’t say warm enough to swim, but then I’m not a kid.  Their lips were blue.  Saturday we did go on about a 4 km hike before we spent the rest of the day reading.

Sunday we packed it all up.  Since we were so close to Kariba Dam, we drove down to see it.  I saw it in 1985, but we couldn’t take any pictures.  Now you can take pictures!

Kariba Dam with its five gates.

Zambezi River after the dam.  Zambia is on the left and Zimbabwe is on the right.

A look at the Zambian side.  You can see the road we drove down to the dam on.

A picture of Kariba Lake.

After this we drove back to Lusaka to stay at a camp grounds there.

Almost forgot, Seth got sick on Saturday night.  Unzipping my tent to get out, then zip it back up, then unzipping his tent and so on is just too much work.  So Seth slept on the back seat of our vehicle and I tried to sleep in the front.  At one point I looked out the window and saw a hippo slowly walking across the campground.  I had to ask Seth if he was awake.  He was and so I told him to sit up an look.  Sometimes you get to see wonderful things when you are sick!

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.

Skinning a Puff Adder

Back in May after Tobias’ birthday party he went to the Schaeffer's house to stay over night.  When they had gotten home from our house one of their workers showed them a puff adder he had killed near the pig pens.

Here is Tobias holding the dead puff adder.

Here are the three boys skinning the snake with their pocket knives.

Don’t you wish you could help?

Curing  the snake skin.  They divided it three ways.  Yes, I have a snake skin somewhere in this house.

More Water Problems

About three weeks ago now in the middle of the night I heard water running.  I went and checked, it sounded like it was next to the bathtub.  Since I couldn’t find anything leaking inside I went back to bed.  Steve also heard the water running.  In the morning our guard told us the pump had been running all night.  Our reservoir was almost empty.

Our water reservoir.

We looked high and low looking for the leak.  We called in a plumber.  He said the grass looks too green and the dirt is damp here along the house.  So we started digging up the yard.

Digging up the yard, following the pipes, looking for a leak!

   

The leak is found!  A 5 inch hole – rusted through the pipe!

We called our LC (Logistics Coordinator) to get permission to spend the money to fix the pipe.  You couldn’t even see light through the pipes they are so clogged up.  So we replaced some piping.

New piping going from the reservoir to the house.

The new pipe hooked up to the old one going into the house.

 

Since then we have had the plumber back two more times to fix more leaks.  When you put in new pipe the water pressure is so much stronger that new leaks appear.  Also it works loose some of the stuff clogging the pipes only to clog up the pipe altogether.