From Zimbabwe to Zambia
A School Visit and Kafue National Park, Zambia
May 10 - 12, 2018
Our wake-up greeting came very early this morning, as we had a busy day ahead. After a large breakfast, we left Hwange National Park for our long trip to Kafue National Park in Zambia. But Hwange had a final parting gift for us...a pair of adorable rock hyraxes soaking up the sun.
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This pair of rock hyraxes remind me of the Pushme-Pullyou from Dr. Doolittle. |
Before leaving Zimbabwe, we stopped to visit St. Mary's Catholic School, one of the several schools supported by the Grand Circle Foundation, the charitable wing of the Grand Circle Travel company that includes Overseas Adventure Travel. The children, in their bright blue uniforms, came out to greet us and we visited several classrooms, including a new computer lab that was being set up with the help of volunteers. The adorable primary class children sang a song for us, and we got to interact with the older kids, asking them questions about their studies and having them read to us.
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The children greet their visitors. |
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Primary classroom |
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Our tour members met with kids in the upper grade classroom |
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The brand new computer lab |
The headmistress told us about the successes of the school and how much they appreciate the support from Grand Circle. They had made several improvements to the buildings recently and the classrooms were bright and cheery with posters on the walls and lots of books. We learned that most of these kids walks several kilometers to get to school each day. I couldn't help but contrast this with one of the schools we had passed along the road - a one room crumbling stucco building sitting in a dreary plot of dirt - although I guess a crumbling school is better than none at all.
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The headmistress told us more about the school. |
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The students learn about agriculture in the school garden. |
Our bus took us back to the town of Victoria Falls where we walked across the bridge over the Zambezi River that separates Zimbabwe from Zambia. Outside the immigration office, we were greeted by a band of baboons climbing on vehicles and watching for unwary travelers carrying food. We were also "greeted" by overly friendly and persistent young men trying to sell us copper bracelets and carved animals.
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A Zimbabwe traffic jam! |
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Walking from Zimbabwe to Zambia. "Buy my copper bracelets and animals!" |
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Our first glimpse of Victoria Falls. |
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Baboons were romping all over the grounds outside the immigration office. |
Like many African nations, Zambia has an interesting and rocky history. Based on my scribbled notes from one of our guides, here is a brief summary. It has a population of 17 million people from 73 tribes with many languages, although the official language is English. After centuries of tribal kingdoms, the region came under the control of Cecil Rhodes and his British South Africa Company in the late 1800s, and my generation grew up knowing this country as Northern Rhodesia. In 1924, the company handed over the government of the country to Great Britain. In the 1950's, a group of African men with ability but no rights led the movement to push out the British, and Zambia gained its independence in 1964. The country had lots of natural resources, including copper, but its big challenge was to find qualified people to run the new government and the industries, so the economy took a big downturn in the 1980s under the president, Kenneth Kaunda. In 1991, the resistance party won a landslide victory and the new president, Frederick Chaluba, The new president recovered a lot of the money that had been hidden overseas and worked to diversify the economy, with an emphasis on agriculture and tourism. Some farmland was returned to white farmers who had been exiled. Education is free through Grade 7, then those who pass the exams may continue their education for a fee. Students with excellent grades may attend university under a government grant if they work for the government for two years following college. So life is improving, although unemployment still stands at 45%. Currently, the Chinese are buying up copper, gold, and coal mines and bringing their own labor.
After entering Zambia, we had a short bus ride through the large town of Livingstone to the very modern Victoria Falls Airport where we split into three small groups for our plane ride to Kafue National Park. From the plane, we could see the Lufupa Tent Camp along the banks of the Kafue River near its junction with the Lufupa River.
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Sue and Elisabeth in Victoria Falls Airport |
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Roxann, Rob, and Joan wait for the planes to Kafue National Park. |
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Part of our group heads to their plane. |
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Rob, Joan, Susan, and Dennis shared this little plane. |
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I don't look too nervous, right? |
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Rivers of Zambia |
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From the plane, our Lufupa Camp could be seen near the junction of the Kafue and Lufupa Rivers. |
We landed on a tiny airstrip, startling a grazing herd of impalas, then had a short drive to our lovely camp. Once again, we were greeted by a friendly staff, cold towels, and welcome drinks. Our comfortable tents were set up on platforms overlooking the river.
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Impalas racing away from our plane. |
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They were probably a little annoyed at us. |
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The Kafue Airport |
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We head to our next camp. |
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The staff was out to greet us... |
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...and cold drinks were waiting. |
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Rob outside of our tented cabin by the river. |
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The accomodations were very comfortable. |
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Our view of the river... |
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...from the nice deck. |
After settling in, we headed out for a pleasant evening game drive through the park. By the time we finished, it was quite dark, and our driver used spotlights to try to see the nocturnal animals that might be roaming through the bush. At one point, he stopped in an open field, turned out all the lights, and I gasped to see the stars blazing over us in the moonless sky. The Milky Way was clearly visible, and familiar Orion was near the horizon, but the Southern Cross was high in the sky, a rare sight for those of us living in the Northern Hemisphere.
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Evening in Kafue National Park |
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Red-necked Spur Fowl |
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Goliath Heron |
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We had spotted a genet, a small African mammal that looks rather like a combination of a cat and a raccoon,
but it quickly disappeared. |
A Game Drive through Kafue National Park
We woke up to a lovely sunrise and the grunts of hippos very nearby in the river. Our days for most of the rest of our trip followed the typical pattern for most African safaris - up early for a morning game drive in order to see the animals at their most active, a return to the camp for lunch and an afternoon rest during the heat of the day, then out again in the late afternoon when the animals once again begin to prowl, ending the day with social time - a "sun-downer" drink and dinner. We were always back in our tents by about 8:30, and since the night was pitch black, Rob and I were usually asleep by 9 p.m.
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Morning on the river. |
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Hippos and a Grey Heron. The hippos made noises all through the night. |
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Breakfast in the open air lodge. |
Our morning game drive took us past many familiar animals, but introduced us to a few new ones, including a well-hidden Defassa water buck, and the puku, a lovely antelope.
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Defassa Water Buck hiding in the tall grass. |
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Water bucks |
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Male Puku |
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Female pukus |
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Mother and child puku |
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Our guides joked that the small herds of male impalas and pukus were "the losers," but we also learned that when a
male antelope is busy mating, he doesn't eat, so he becomes weak, and the head of the harem changes every few days. |
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Glimpse of a blue monkey at the base of the tree. |
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Crocodile basking in the sun. |
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Wart hog skull by the side of the road. |
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Butterfly |
We also learned more about the flora of the park.
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Leopard orchids growing on the trunk of a palm tree. |
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Candelabra tree |
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The white pods of the Cassia tree. Its bark is filled with quinine. |
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Wetlands |
We took a rest stop along the banks of the river where we watched a large group of hippos quite close to the shore. Before we headed back through the woodlands, our driver lit a wad of dried elephant dung, which helped to repel the tsetse flies that become active in the warm afternoon.
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Sue and Lou photograph a pod of hippos. |
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We encountered lots of hippos during our river cruise. |
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This reminded me so much of the Jungle Boat Ride at Disneyland |
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Add caption |
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Our guide lights a ball of elephant dung to ward off tsetse flies. |
The big excitement of our day was finding a pride of lions. (I know I go way overboard on photos! But lion sightings are rare, and I can't stop myself from taking dozens of photos in the hope that a few of them will turn out well.)
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This is why one doesn't go walking through the African grasslands! |
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I think they spotted us! |
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The pride was on the move... |
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...until they found a nice shady spot to rest. |
Kafue National Park is home to over 500 species of birds, and as usual, I was on the lookout for as many of them as I could find. We didn't come close to finding all 500, but here are a few we saw today.
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Great White Egret |
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African Go Away Bird (or Grey Lourie)
I found a YouTube video that makes it a bit more clear how they got their funny name.
The Call of the Go-Away Bird |
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Goliath Heron |
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Helmeted Guinea Fowl |
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Gross Starling |
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Wattled Lapwing |
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Meyers Parrots |
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Black Shouldered Kite |
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Little Bee Eater |
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A pair of Crowned Cranes |
Unfortunately, I had come down with a bad chest cold, so after lunch, I made the difficult (but wise) decision to skip the evening game drive and had a nice rest, once again enjoying the sounds of the hippos in the river. I joined the rest of the group for dinner and sun-downers, and we all oohed and aahed at the gorgeous sunset over the river.
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Dinner in the Lodge |
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Time for Sun-Downers |
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A beautiful end to another great day! |
Cruising on the Kafue and Lufupa Rivers
Today was a fun change of pace from our usual game drives. Our "drive" today involved floating down the two rivers that join near our camp, navigating around the many hippos and crocodiles that live in the river, and spotting the many birds that live along the riverbanks.
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Karen, Joan, and Candace are ready for the cruise. |
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Our vehicles for the day. |
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Looking forward to a good day. |
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Looking for wildlife |
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Great Cormorant |
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African Darter -AKA Snake Bird |
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We saw lots of the Snake Birds drying their wings after fishing in the river. |
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Water lily and table of trees |
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African Fish Eagle - the national bird of Zambia |
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Fish Eagle in flight |
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Malachite Kingfisher |
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Another view of the Malachite Kingfisher |
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The African Jacana is also called the Jesus Christ bird because it appears to walk on the water. (Thanks, Karen H.) |
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My favorite bird of the cruise was the very unusual Saddle-billed Stork. |
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These storks mate for life. This couple was tending their nest. |
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Our guide showed us how to make a necklace of the green and purple stem of the water lily. |
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The Hammerkop always reminds me of Woody Woodpecker. |
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Monitor Lizard |
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A huge Tent Spider web |
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This hippo appeared to be wearing a crown of flowers |
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Study in Khaki |
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Wire Tailed Swallows |
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Red Throated Bee Eater |
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Another African Fish Eagle |
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A peaceful river. |
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Puku herd on the riverbank |
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Red Throated Bee Eater |
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And another one. |
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Pied Kingfisher |
The staff surprised us with a lunch by the banks of the river, then we returned to the camp for an interesting lesson from Lydia, our camp manager, who introduced us to the "ground nut," (which we know as a peanut) and talked about the many ways it is cooked and used here. It is a primary source of protein, as meat is expensive. Some of us got a chance to pound some peanuts into peanut butter. Then Charles showed us the ingredients for making homemade beer, which he began brewing today and planned to carry along to complete the fermentation in time for the end of our trip!
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Walking to lunch |
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Lunch in the bush |
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Roxann and Sue help Lydia made peanut butter. |
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Dennis gives it a try |
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Ingredients for homemade beer |
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Our group spotted something in the tree at camp. |
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It was a little monkey. |
Lydia talked candidly about Zambian culture, with an emphasis on behavior within families. We were surprised to learn that parents are not the ones who give lessons on moral behavior to their children. They appoint an "auntie" or "uncle" who instills these moral lessons in the kids. The objective of bringing up a girl is to prepare her to manage a household, while the boys are prepared to provide for a family - traditionally through farming, animal husbandry, and fishing.
At puberty, girls are confined to their Auntie's home for three months to get an education in becoming an adult. Boys are taken to the bush for a ceremonial circumcision and other rituals. They must be able to establish a household before asking their Uncle to arrange a marriage - and marriage is not between two people; it is between two families. The parents are not involved in the marriage arrangements. Although marriages are arranged, girls do have the right to say no. If she agrees, the man must pay a dowry.
Marriages are expected to last for life, and the couple is expected to produce children. In some tribes, polygamy is accepted, and if a couple does not have children, the husband may seek a second wife.
It was kind of interesting. As our "teacher," Lydia was very straight-forward about describing the culture, and appeared to be very accepting of it. But when we asked if she would consider being a second wife, she said absolutely not!
Our day ended back on the water with an evening cruise and "sun-downers" on our boats, which our pilots tied together so we could enjoy the social hour. Then, as was the tradition on our last evening in each of our camps, the staff followed dinner with entertainment and dancing.
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Another curious hippo on our evening cruise. |
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Hippos everywhere |
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Unidentified birds |
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Brown-hooded Kingfisher |
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Sun downers on the boat... |
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...complete with snacks. |
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Dinner and entertainment were both in the boma for our last night in Kafue Park |
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Once again, we enjoyed the wonderful singing and dancing. |
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And this time, we got to take part in the dancing!
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Another beautiful sunset to end our stay at Lufupa Camp. |
2 comments:
Such a diverse rock we live on. Great photos.
Hi,
Tks you for your post. These are beautiful places. If I have a chance. I will get to Santorini, Greece for sure. I believe that I will have the unforgettable memories.
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