Immy 4x4ing in the African Bush!!

I'm a fairly competent driver when it comes to scooting around Norfolk on back roads and round blind corners, avoiding black ice and remembering to be "careful when it hasn't rained for a while" (thank you Granny I don't think I will ever forget that).  But for some reason I've been nervous about driving out here.  I think it's a bit of driving a car that's not yours but most of it was pure chicken livered.  So I have been slowly coaxing myself on little excursions into the wild.  Obviously never alone!!  Have to take someone to change my tyre!!  Who also doubles up as a cameraman when needed.

So I took myself and Monty down to the bushcamps to say hi to everybody and to visit Bili which is busy being rebuilt for next year.  In true African style of course I loaded the car up on the way back trying to reduce the amount of stuff they have in camps to make closing up not such a big headache.  We had a great day and saw some great game too.  Here's a bit of what we saw.

Spring is Here

I always look forward to Spring in England with the daffodils out, blossom on the trees and the lambs bouncing around.

Spring here in Luangwa is very different.  Temperatures sawing into the 40s being a big part of it.  Leaves falling to the ground to make room for the new leaves feels very strange to me.  It hasn't rained here now since when I first arrived in April so everything is looking a faded yellow colour and with all the leaves on the ground to me it looks more like the end of summer turning to Autumn.  But the most obvious sign pointing to the fact that Spring is well upon us is the sightings of babies!!  The most special is 2 seperate sightings of a lioness with cubs.  There is one near Kapamba (one of our bushcamps) with 2 cubs and then one a bit closer to home which is just around the corner.  Which our cameram has caught on video.  If you follow the link below you will get the most amazing clip of the lioness with her 3 cubs who are about 10days to 2 weeks old in the clip.

http://vimeo.com/15665401

Day in the life of an Ops Manager in Africa!!

I had a transfer scheduled to leave the lodge this morning at 7am with ice for all the camps.  The transfer was supposed to be taking staff in who had been on leave.  One of them didn’t turn up and when I spoke to him he claimed he wasn’t supposed to be back in until tomorrow when he knows full well that I have no relief chef for him.  He lives too far away to send someone to go and pick him up in time either.  So I've had to make a Kitchen Porters day and promote him to head chef for this evening!!  I then opened the freezer which the ice is kept in to find it empty.  It’s Sunday and the workshop is closed on a Sunday and they’re supposed to fill up the freezer with the blocks of ice that our machine makes.  So I had to go and get our workshop manager out of bed to get the keys to get the ice.  So in reality my 0700 transfer left at 0815!!  Very annoying.

On top of that the power was going on and off all day yesterday so the aircon in my office has decided not to work today and it’s about 38 degrees.

I then finally made it to our 8am meeting at 8:45 this morning as I'd been running round like a mad woman.  It was all made worthwhile when we got marooned on the library deck when “Wonky” (who is famous for walking through the lodge) and her family decided to pay us a visit.  They walked straight through the lodge one of them actually rang the reception bell was very funny.  I unfortunately didn’t have my camera on me, we made a sneaky exit round the back and managed to get back to our offices.  Where I was thrown back into work as my radio was buzzing from the camps calling out for all sorts.

I then looked up to see an elephant just outside my office window.  What a world I've ended up living in.

Malaria!!

Ok so I am now officially a true British Campaigner in Africa; I have just got over my first bout of malaria!!


I got to have a drip and everything!! Tristan (my brother) is very jealous he’s very romantic and always wanted malaria picturing himself as one of those stoic African Explorers like Livingstone. Unfortunately for him you can’t get malaria in Ballito. I also wouldn’t wish it on anyone. It’s a very weird illness but then I’m not used to being ill and feeling so helpless.

I started feeling sick Friday morning when I sat in my office shivering for about 2hrs. It was horrible it was warm outside but I just couldn’t shake off the goose bumps. I even had goose bumps on my face and head. I decided this wasn’t quite right so I took myself off to bed. Then I was sick so Nurse Chooks came to take control of the situation. I had horrible tingly feelings in my arms & legs, my temperature was going up and down so Chooks decided to do a malaria test. So she stabs me with a needle and sucks some blood up with this little plastic device & puts into a little testing tray. We then wait for 15 minutes and of course it comes up positive & she puts me on coartem. I was dreading going on the coartem because it’s supposed to make you feel really awful first before you start to feel better again.

The next morning after a very restless night I woke up and thought that I didn’t feel half as bad as I thought I should feel so I decided to get out of bed. I was craving an orange so I went into the kitchen. As I was peeling the orange and talking to Chooks I collapsed onto the floor. Unfortunately I hit my head quite hard on our wooden sofa before hitting the concrete floor. Chooks quickly ran round to help me & I had no idea where I was when I came round. I thought I’d fallen out of bed. Chooks then part carried me to my room and just as we reached the doorway I passed out again but this time Chooks couldn’t wake me up and she started to get quite worried. I finally came round and told her she was like Hitler (obviously delirious) and insisted I was fine and could do it on my own….obviously not fine Immy.

Anyway the doctor was called and I was put straight on a drip. My first drip too. I was pretty nervous. I’d only had my first antibiotics the week before so I’m very new to all this being sick thing.

Although maybe not quite Hitler, Chooks did make sure I was tied to my bed with my drip so I couldn’t actually leave my bed unless with her for the rest of the day. She then decided to kidnap me!! She was off to Ballito on the Sunday and didn’t want to leave me behind. It was a very tiring trip and despite being totally embarrassed by it I was relieved for Chooks insisting on booking a wheel chair at each airport. But here I am now back in David’s room in Ballito. Not too bad a place to be kidnapped to but wish I was able to enjoy it a bit better than from my bed. Although things could be worse I could be tied to it!!

Wow what a wild couple of months

Wow I can't believe it has been over two months since I last wrote on this.  I have been completely absorbed by my new life in the South Luangwa and boy has it been busy.  I have been busy opening camps as well as running them when open and we have had a new camp open pretty much every 2 weeks since the 1st of June.  I now have 5 camps open with an average occupancy across the camps of about 80% so it's very hectic here.  Unfortunately I do find a lot of my time behind a computer screen mapping out guest movements, which are constantly changing due to new bookings or cancellations or lack of vehicles etc etc.  I do try to get out into the bush as much as possible and have managed to get down to all the camps before each opened and then ever so once in a while to see the staff and check everybody is ok.
I spend an hour of every morning doing my radio calls to camps, which is like having my own radio show.  "Immy's Hour" on Radio South Luangwa.  This is when I find out how everybody is in camps, check the guests are happy and that the camp has no maintenance issues and also the daily sightings from the camps.

I managed to get a day off last Sunday and drove myself down to Zungulila, our most recent camp to open and my favourite.  It was my first 4x4 driving experience so I was a bit nervous.  I wasn't alone either, which was a good thing but also meant I had an audience.  But we made it safely down to Zungulila and in time for sundowners despite our late start and deliveries which I had to make at each camp on the way down.  We picked up Zillah (Chamilandu's manager) up on the way as she had no guests and we had a brilliant night.  Starting with a little bit of fishing from the bridge, then sundowners on the beach and then an amazing candle lit supper on the deck.

After supper Mike the manager at Zungulila had asked the staff to put on their dance show for us as I'd never seen it.  It was hilarious especially as I'm getting to know the staff quite well now.  They transformed the boma into a theatre and we sat in a semi circle to watch.

I then managed to have a lie in until 0630!!  Can you believe it??  Typical isn't it.  I didn't mind too much as the view you wake up to in the morning at Zungulila is just too special for words.  So I went down onto the deck and cuddled up in one of their woolen blankets and wrote in my diary and realised what a long time ago it was since my last post.  So here I am trying to catch up with the last few months.  So bare with me.

Mfuwe Lodge

Just a quick clip of where I work....I think you'll understand why I love my job so much.  Just follow the link.

http://www.vimeo.com/12202548

Opening of Chindeni

It has been an incredibly busy couple of weeks here in the South Luangwa. We opened our 2nd bush camp, Chindeni at the weekend and it was extremely hectic and stressful but great fun. As always a lot of it came together at the last minute. So much so that we actually flew four sets of sanitary wear up from Jo’burg to Lusaka. We then chartered a 206 to fly them to us at Mfuwe!! Amazingly it worked and they arrived safely. The cisterns however didn’t make their first flight so we booked them seats on the Proflight to Mfuwe the next day; obviously they were enjoying Lusaka duty free too much. Of course this caused us lots of giggles especially when in the morning meeting of the day Cisterns x 4 were expected on the 0910 Proflight, our Head Housekeeper asked, which rooms she should make up for them!!

Lucy and I decided last minute that we were missing out on all the fun of setting up Chindeni so we caught a ride down with the opening stock going into camp on the Samil (ex South African Military vehicle) on Friday. We were opening on the Saturday!! We were supposed to set off at 12pm so I think we finally left the Lodge at 4pm. We spent the afternoon frantically gathering last minute requests from the construction team down in camp; from paint, mattress protectors to beer. At about 2pm when we were just about to leave, a freight truck from South Africa arrived with the remaining furniture for Chindeni. To stop the guys from just throwing the load up on top of all the veggies Luce and I climbed up on top of the Samil and directed. Everyone around of course thought this was hilarious.

Once packed we were ready to go, Luce and I opened the door to the cab and I jumped in to find there is actually one passenger seat and my seat was in the middle on top of the engine!! I managed to get myself comfortable with my feet up on the dash board (I have to add that the wind screen was completely broken). There was a bit of sponge for me to sit on, which I was very appreciative for it was half an hour in when I realised. We were quite snug as we’d got all our luggage in with us plus our cooler box of drinks and chocolates (essential) and three trays of eggs, which Luce hugged protectively for the whole journey down. It was now 3pm and we were finally off we drove round to the front of the lodge to pick up a radio as we didn’t have one. Unfortunately we couldn’t find a spare one so Lucy and I sat cooking in the sun while someone went off to search for one. With no luck on the radio front we decided to head off anyway. We got about 1km down the road when Lucy who still had mobile signal got a call saying we had to come back. The construction team had remembered something else they wanted. So back we went and found ourselves back outside the front of the lodge for another half an hour. Someone did manage to find us a radio this time so it was worth going back for.

So finally we were on the road only 4hrs after our scheduled departure, which after living in Africa for 5 years and working in the bush for 6 weeks I’d say that that’s pretty good going actually. Of course about half an hour into our trip we got a flat tyre. So we all piled out of the samil. Luce and I weren’t the only passengers we had about 6 guys on the back. The tyres for the Samil are so big and heavy it took all of them to lift the spare down to change. Thankfully it only took them about 15 minutes to change the tyre; I was starting to get a bit nervous about standing around in the middle of the bush. The cat density here is amazing and although I’d have loved to see one our way down, I’d rather it wasn’t whilst I was standing in the middle of the road.

Just before we got to Chindeni I saw a leopard in a little gulley stalking a herd of implala. I shouted to the driver to stop but we were going pretty quickly for such a big truck and about 500m later we finally came to a halt. We flashed my tiny little LED light at it and got a glimpse of it but we also got a glimpse of one of our safari vehicles, which then flashed their lights at us. Feeling very guilty for ruining their sighting we carried on our way. We then continued to tare through the park, which almost led to us having buffalo for supper as the driver finally heard Luce and I screaming buffalo over the noise of the engine. Was quite an adventurous journey and we were very relieved to finally arrive at Chindeni. It was by this time 8pm so we got straight to work. We had no idea where we were going to sleep as the rest of the crew were staying at another camp of ours which isn’t opening this year called Billimongwe. But Billi’s was pretty full so around supper time Andy suggested that we test drive one of the chalets, which had just been made up. So we did and I have completely and utterly fallen in love with Chindeni. The shower is amazing, the beds are the comfiest I’ve ever slept in and the sheets are divine, you just slip into them they’re so soft.

Luce had set her alarm for 0630 but unfortunately I’d forgotten to turn mine off, so it went off at 0600 and of course it was in Lucy’s bag and I couldn’t find it. So by the time I found it I was awake. Luce had also woken up and had suddenly remembered that she thought Andy had told the electrician to start work again in our chalet at 0600. It was at that moment that we heard one of the guys outside asking when we were going to get up as they needed to start work. So our night in the amazing Chindeni beds and sheets was over.

We started work straight away and got the kitchen sorted out. We’d finished unpacking and tidying in the kitchen just as the construction crew turned up, which earned us some brownie points. It was a great day despite the running around and hard work we all put in. I felt a bit like I was a part of Ground Force as every half hour I’d do a radio call to the main Lodge to see if they’d left and then to their guide along the way; I’d then go and tell everybody we’ got 2hours left or half an until they arrive. The whole camp worked so hard and we got everything finished in time and it just looks amazing. The deck is just breath taking.  It was creatively designed around three big trees, 2 Tamarind and and an Ebony; which appear to be growing out of the middle.  Although with the view where the camp is situated, the place would be amazing with just a roll mat and a torch. Instead it is pure luxury, well as much luxury as you’d want in a bush camp. They thankfully haven’t destroyed the essence of the bush camp experience.

The guests arrived and we sneaked off out the back as if we’d never been there.

We had a couple of more things to tweak in the morning, which we could do while the guests were out on their morning walk so I agreed to stay another night. I wasn’t lucky enough to spend another night in one of the Chindeni tents and was dragged back to Billi’s. We turned up in the dark and unfortunately I don’t think Chris Botha (who’s guarding Billis) was expecting us. We’d brought food over with us but there were no lights or water. Instead of letting this get us down, Monty, Phil, Caline and I celebrated the success of Chindeni with a whole bottle of whiskey!! Phil was actually drinking warm beer (also no ice) so it was just the three of us who polished off the whiskey round the camp fire. Chris managed to create something out of the food we’d given him (I’m not really sure what it was). I think he must have cooked a huge bag of rice as it looked like we had about 500g of rice on each of our plates. I have to admit I was very nervous at Billis because it was so dark and I’d never been there before so had no idea where anything was. That nervousness seemed to leave as the night went on, which of course was due to the whiskey.

We did a swing by of Chindeni in the morning for some last minute tweaking and then over to Kapamba to check all was well there. We’d planned to be back at Mfuwe around lunch time for a well deserved massage but of course keeping to bush times we arrived after dark. We did get to see a baby elephant and its mother playing in a lagoon on the way home though, which was lovely. Unfortunately I didn’t get a great photo as I had Chooks’ camera with me and I was trying to work out settings on it.

That night it absolutely tipped it down with rain, which is very unusual for this time of year. I got a very early night and had a very well deserved sleep.

Immy Takes A Walk In The Bush

Ok so I had a great week. Last Sunday I went out for sundowners with Lucy and Monty. We went to a spot, which is called “Big Baobab” you can guess why but apart from the big Baobab tree the spot is on the edge of a lagoon where we saw two big water monitors plus a hippo. We stayed and watched the sunset, which was stunning. It was so nice to get out of the office for although it’s very hard to forget I’m in the bush when you’re chased by baboons to work and stalked by toads in your bedroom it was still nice to actually take a break from my desk and get into the actual bush. An African sunset is truly magical. Plus on the way home we came across a leopard, which seemed fairly agitated. Unfortunately we didn’t have a spotlight with us just my little LED torch so we couldn’t actually make out its spots but we were fairly close and he hung around for a bit. We were trying to work out what was agitating him so we were focused on him and the surrounding bush when a hyena walked straight in front of our car. To top it all as we were driving into the lodge a family of hippos walked past us. A Daddy, Mummy and tiny little baby hippo. So it was a very good night.


I then went down to the bushcamps, which I was very excited about. The morning of the day I went down I woke up early and showered. There are times like these that make me wish I was keeping a video diary of myself in the bush. I was really enjoying my shower because the water was lovely and hot, which has been a bit of a rarity here at Mfuwe Lodge since we opened (solar heating isn’t quite what it promises to be). So anyway mid shower with a head full of shampoo and something falls from the ceiling and hits me on the head. I threw myself out of the shower so quickly that I slipped down the shower door and landed spread eagle, naked on the bathroom floor. Luckily I didn’t hurt myself but I just started to laugh at how pathetic I am. I laughed even more when on inspecting the floor of the shower to see what had fallen on me I found a tiny bit of wood or concrete from the roof above.

I then transformed into “bushgirl” as I’ve been working some pretty cool outfits for work but not quite suitable for the bush. So put on my brown linen shorts, a vest and my bush shirt. I had my backpack packed and was about to put my boots on when I remembered Dave always saying to me shake out your boots before you put them on. So I picked them up and gave one a half hearted shake not really expecting anything to be in it and it rattled. So after a couple of hard hits to the floor my toad prince came shooting across my bedroom floor. That explains why I hadn’t seen him for a while, he’d obviously bounced into my boot and couldn’t get out again so had died in there. So when people tell you to check your boots each time you wear them, they really mean it. I now keep my boots high up on a table just in case anything else decides to move in.

Before I left for the bushcamps I went to check on Chooks as she’d come down with malaria. She’d got through the worst but was still looking very pale. Quite a few people are down with it here at the moment. I’ve decided that I’m immune to it (well that’s what I keep telling myself anyway, positive thinking). From Chooks’s house I then walked up to the lodge and found a dead snake. A dead snake is better than a live one but still not nice as it reminds you they’re there. I’ve actually seen or heard about a lot more snakes than I wanted to in just a few weeks so can no longer keep telling myself they don’t exist. I carried on up to the lodge and of course my friends the baboons were there and the big Daddy was also there sitting on the path and he is very big. I carried on walking and kept my head down but as I got closer I saw they weren’t going to budge so I cut across the lawn around a tree and back onto the path. So I guess they’ve won as I’ll probably be doing that most mornings now.

The River road, which closes during the green season, is now open so we took that route down to Kapamba. It’s a nicer route to take guests along as the game viewing is much better and on our journey down we saw plenty of game including Puku, Impala, Elephants, Warthogs and a herd of Giraffe.

We did a site inspection of the camps still in construction on our way down. Our next camp to open in Chindeni, which is a tented camp on the Luangwa river and the whole setting of the camp is truly stunning and the tents are gynormous. They have a fitted bathroom and lounge inside plus deck overlooking the river. They are twice the size of the tent Dave and I stayed in at Lugenda. We stopped off at Kapamba to check on a few things there and I got to chat to Mike the camp manager there. The returning guests from Kapamba have been raving about it so it was great to get a chance to see it completely finished and it does look amazing. The Kapamba River, which the camp is situated on is completely clear and shallow (so apparently no crocs). Guests go out swimming there, which is so nice and in the evenings they have bush dinners on the island in the middle of the river.

On our way into camp we’d seen a big Puff Adder, which had put an end to any bravery I’d started to feel. We spent the night at Zungulila again, which I think is going to be my favourite camp when finished. It is another tented camp on the Kapamba River and the interior designer’s theme for the camp is “Out Of Africa”, which of course is one of my favourite films. I was in the same tent again on the end and after seeing that Puff Adder earlier I was very nervous. Plus Monty had seen a leopard on our way into camp. A herd of buffalo moved into the grassy area in front of our tents and the hyena were calling very close by. I could hear the warning call of the Puku and then for the first time I heard the rasping “saw” of Monty’s leopard, which I’d almost past for his imagination as no one else had seen it. The saw of a leopard is the name for his roar.

The following morning I got talked into going for a walk, which I found I couldn’t get out of. I was very nervous the grass was almost as high as it had been in Lugenda. Our first task was to cross a little river with a plank as a bridge. Once past we then parted the grass and started our adventure.

My nerves settled down as I started to enjoy really being a part of the bush. James was our guide and he was great. He pointed out loads of different tracks and we found the track of our leopard from the previous night. Unfortunately or maybe fortunately we didn’t run into anything exciting on our walk but it made me realize that this was what the real bush experience is.

So a bit of a breakthrough for me this week.

Oh and I almost forgot I got to go on a night drive with some clients and saw a male and female lion so has been a pretty amazing week for Immy in the bush.

The Frog Prince Returns

It rained last night so guess who was on my door step when I opened my door this morning.  My friend the Frog Prince or Toad Prince in fact.  I made sure I shut the door quickly behind me as I don't want a repeat of last week.  Although I don't remember holding the door open for him last week so I suppose he has his own ways of getting in.  Will just have to wait and see if he comes to see me tonight.  Although hopefully he wont be able to get through my mosquito net.

I'm getting used to sleeping under a mosquito net.  There's something quite romantic about it and lit up by bedside lamp there's something very special about getting into bed.  That and being very tired.  I just wish David was here.

Baboon Business!!

I made it safely through the baboon gauntlet this morning.  I usually come up to the office around 6.15am after being rudely awaken by the baboons dancing around with each other on the corrugated tin roof above my head.  Between 6am and 6.30am seems to be the worst time of day for the baboons to be on the path from the staff quaters to the main lodge but today they were too busy chasing each other.  There were a couple of times when they stopped and looked at me but I just kept my head down so as not to make eye contact again and carried on walking.

They are becoming quite a menace at the moment, they seem to have doubled in number since I first started.  There are a couple of troops around and they often coincide and clash with one another.  So there's a lot of gang warfare going on.  With the two troops around though they are becoming more brave and invading our areas more.  During our morning meeting today one sneaked up and stole a muffin from the table next to us!!  Another one was enjoying the brand new sofas in the lounge, which I'm sure the interior designer wont be too pleased about.

David has suggested I carry round a big stick for defense in case I get attacked again but if anybody else has any suggestions for disciplining baboons in a way that wont frighten the guests please let me know.

Immy and the Toad

I don’t know how the story about me picking up a frog leaked out but I seem to have all the toads and frogs in Luangwa knocking on my door now.

I’d only been asleep about 10 minutes last night when I woke up to find a red back toad 2 inches from my head on my pillow. I shooed him off and went back to sleep only to wake up again to the feel of something on my back. I flipped over and heard a thud on the floor, which with further investigation with my torch I found it was the same toad. It was now 3am and I was beginning to feel a bit spooked by this toad as I was worried about what else it would attract to my room. So instead of going back to sleep I read, which was good timing as I got to hear the lions roaring and the hippos. I eventually drifted off to sleep but woke up again this morning to the toad sitting on my chest winking at me!! I threw off the sheets, which was a bit of a mistake because I then couldn’t find him. I almost thought that maybe I’d dreamt the whole thing so I got out of bed and after searching everywhere for the toad went into the bathroom. I came out of the bathroom to find him sitting on my pillow!!

Well he was persistent but there was no way I was going to kiss this toad. Red Back Toads are very poisonous if you were to start licking them. It’s their defense to stop animals from eating them.

Chased by a baboon to work....

I’ve been getting quite used to the baboons and monkeys around the lodge as they usually just walk away when they see you coming. However I had a run in with a baboon on my way to work the other day. When I walked up to work there were a couple of baboons on the path grooming each other. I was expecting them to move as I got closer but instead they ignored me. Eventually I stopped, not really knowing what to do and then one looked at me and unfortunately we locked eye contact and he started to come towards me. So I turned round and he really did come after me. I was carrying my laptop and really didn’t want to be chased by a baboon. So with pounding heart I turned round and faced him and shouted at him. He stopped but he still didn’t look like he was going to leave me alone. I then stepped off the path and he made another strike in my direction but I stayed calm and shouted at him again. He then strutted away off behind a tree, which he jumped out at me as I passed. Luckily by this time I wasn’t far from the lodge so I felt more confident as I didn’t think he’d chase me towards it. When I got up to the lodge my heart was still pounding and then I saw that the guides and the guests who were having breakfast were all laughing at me as they’d watched the whole thing. With the relief of making it to the lodge safely I was also laughing. Fannuel, one of the guides said that the baboon chased me because I was a woman. Apparently they are scared of men so would have scarpered quickly if a man had walked up the path. I’ll have to work on my man stride!!

My Next Adventure Starts in the South Luangwa

So I have lasted my first week in my new role as Operations Manager for 5 bush camps in the South Luangwa National Park in Zambia. It was hard saying goodbye to everybody in Dubai, I didn’t want to stay but I was very nervous about what was in store for me in Zambia. I hadn’t worked for such a long time I’d forgotten my own capabilities and was beginning to doubt whether I could do the job or not. My first few days at the lodge I read as much information about all the bush camps as they could give me so I could get an idea of how it all works. I hadn’t realized how big the lodge was so I have to admit I’d started to panic slightly. But slowly I’m starting to feel a bit more at home. The wildlife is beautiful here and the game viewing is brilliant. Every time you go out you see a big herd of elephants. I have to admit that there is a lot more sitting in an office than I imagined being in the middle of the bush but I am definitely starting to enjoy myself. We try to get out in the bush as much as possible and we’ve had a couple of staff sundowner trips, which have been fun. I’ve seen plenty of elephants with tiny little babies with them. But still yet to see any cats. We get quite big prides of lions out here and more often than not the clients come back having seen a leopard on their drives.


On Monday I went down to see a few of the bush camps, which are about 3 hours away. I went with my boss Andy and the design team (the lodge and bushcamps have been under major refurbishments these past few months). The bushcamps are stunning. Each sleeps about 8 people and they are all different but very remotely situated, which is great if you enjoy the bush. We stayed in Zungulila, which is a tented camp with thatched roofs. It is set on the Kapamba River and the scenery is truly stunning. We had a Mongolian braai that night, which is a stir fry cooked in a wok over a fire. The food and atmosphere was amazing. One of the girls with us was even more scared of the bush than me, which seemed to make me braver so I ended up sleeping in the furthest tent away on my own. The tent was lovely and it was so nice to sleep in my own room for a change. I have been sharing a room with someone else, whether it was David, Francesca or Chooks for a few months now so it was nice to have some time to myself. We had an early start and the chef cooked us toast on the fire. We went back to Kapamba, which was opening on the 6th May to help get it ready for the beginning of the season. As we were opening different boxes I noticed a little frog inside one of them. Lisa, one of the design team has a big phobia of frogs so I now had to get rid of the frog before she saw it. It was a very cute reed frog which was sitting very still as it was probably hoping he could hibernate there. I plucked up the courage to pick up the frog but it wasn’t as easy as I’d imagined it to be. As soon as I tried to pick it up it flew into the air in a starfish position but after a few attempts I finally caught him. He was very cute and was a creamy colour with little orange feet. He eventually took one final jump off my hand and free falled from the balcony onto the ground below. Unfortunately I left my camera in Dubai and nobody believes me that I picked up a frog. So as soon as I get my camera back I will have to stage a photo for you all.

What to Wear in the Bush

What to Wear in the Bush!!

Ok so I thought that I should give a few tips on what to wear in Africa after telling you all “What not to wear in the Bush”. So if you were thinking about making a trip out to the African bush here are a few pointers I’ve got for you. Sorry boys you can adapt this as you like or take a tip from David, which is pretty much take two pair of shorts, a couple of pairs of t-shirts, a pair of flip flops and a pair of boots and you’re set. Us girls need a bit more careful planning.

Footwear!!

A decent pair of footwear is essential. A worn in pair but as you saw what happened to my trainers in Mozambique not too worn in. Leather boots are preferable for comfort as they mold to your feet. They also look much cooler as you don’t look like a Snowdonian hiker, which fabric boots tend to make you look like. The Courteney Boot is the most popular boot for Zimbabwean hunters and guides, who tend to live in them, which shows how sturdy they are. If you don’t want to go and splash out on a pair of new boots though trainers are a good alternative.

As well as a pair of boots you need a pair of flip flops. The flip flops I have are a navy, foam pair from Abercrombie & Fitch and they are the comfiest things ever. I bought them in London a couple of years ago when the shoes I’d decided to wear that day were giving me unbearable blisters and I had to find a quick replacement and they have lasted me so well. They still look brand new and I have practically lived in them. The only drawback to them is the colour. Although I love navy and they do go with pretty much everything, they don’t go with black. I had an awful occasion in Mozambique when I had to wear my zebra print dress with them. I was lucky I was only with David as he didn’t notice.  Whereas if my Mother had been there she would have been mortified. So when I was in Dubai I did pick up a pair of dull gold Havaianas so the occasion won’t have to arise again. So I would advise if you can only fit in one pair of flip flops like I could in Mozambique I’d choose a neutral coloured pair; but most importantly stick to ones with a sponge sole as not only are they comfy they are easy to clean and waterproof for if you end up being somewhere through the rainy season and might find yourself stuck in the mud.

Bottoms!!

I pretty much lived in 2 pairs of shorts for 5 weeks. One with an elastic waist band, mid thigh length and green (got to blend in) and the other pair were brown and drawstring. Both were light weight, had big pockets (which are desirable as you’ll find that your Mulberry just doesn't quite right in the bush so you need somewhere to put your lipbalm, tissues etc) and were colours, which not only co ordinate with the scenery but were great for getting dirty in. I had another useful pair of shorts with me which were just above knee length, tailored but also light weight, which were great for times when I had an occasion to be slightly smarter or for travelling in. No I lie I had another smart pair, which were khaki but tighter and very cool. I didn’t wear them as much as the others because I can’t bare wearing tight clothes in the heat but I just love them so I had to take them. They’re from Kingsley Heath, a new South African label stocked in Stutterfords, an equivalent to A&F but with an African twist. A pair of longs (trousers) is essential for those nights you spend outside as the mosquitoes are so bad that not even the mouti (Zim word for medicine). For these occasions I had a pair of green cargo pants (trousers) but I also took a pair of beige tracksuit bottoms with me, perfect for those times you want to be cosy when it rains.

Tops!!

I took quite a few tops with me. They were mainly vest tops with shelf bras in them, which are ideal for when it’s too hot to wear a bra. They were all very neutral colours (can you see a theme here, I was almost completely camouflaged). I had a couple of short sleeved t-shirts and a couple of long sleeved t-shirts plus two bush shirts. Stay away from the colour blue as it attracts all the flies and mosquitoes for some reason they love that colour. The bush shirts doubled up as good for flying in as it’s always really chilly on the flight and vital for fishing because I would have been burnt to a crisp without one of those shirts to cover me up but at the same time I didn’t get too hot in them. I also took a fleece that I didn’t take up to Lugenda with me because it was just too hot there but I wore quite a bit in the evenings in Zim for although it was reaching 35˚C during the day, winter was on its way and it could get quite chilly at night. David advised me not to take a waterproof saying that if it rained I’d just stay inside. It was a good job I knew better than him and went against his advise on this occasion otherwise I would have spent a vast amount of my time in Lugenda either being stuck in the tent or the lodge. Luckily for me I’d slipped a last minute poncho in before we left so I could move freely about camp without getting wet. Plus it was perfectly sized so didn’t take up any extra space in my suitcase.

Headgear!!

A hat is very important. I took two hats with me. One was a wide brimmed straw hat that had a wire around the rim so could be folded up into my suitcase and then molded back into shape again. I also had a green cap with me, which had I been brave enough to walk round the bush would have been ideal for that. It was also great for fishing as I didn’t have to worry about it flying off as we were speeding down the Zambezi.

Extras!!

David insisted on me packing some clothing which wasn’t khaki, green or brown. Although these colours were the most practical it’s always good to add some bright colour in there just to lift your spirits a bit. I took an orange halter neck which co ordinate beautifully with my brown or green shorts but also made me look less like jungle girl all the time. I also took a couple of light weight sun dresses for running round Pemba in.

Ideally bush clothing needs to be practical and comfortable so you can enjoy your surroundings without getting too hot or itchy. Having a set of clothes which you can mix and match with reduces the amount of clothes you have to take but try not to go too frumpy.

African Fashion Report

I’ve been very neglectful I know but unfortunately I haven’t had great internet availability. So I will have to give a brief summary of what has happened since we left Zimbabwe.


We left Harare ealier than planned as Dave’s course was cancelled so we had to get him back to South Africa quickly so he could do one down there before going back to work. At the same time our flights to Lusaka got postponed to 25th April as Chooks’s work permit hadn’t come through. Once back in Ballito I decided I should pop up to Dubai to see how the family were settling in up there so I left for Dubai on the 13th April for 10days. It was very hard saying good bye to Dave as I don’t like crying in public. As I tried to keep control of my emotions I let Dave do all the talking as I didn’t trust myself to speak. Which is a shame because I didn’t agree with him when he said 8 months isn’t a long time but instead of disagreeing I just let im hold me. I’ve started again now, which is a very good reason not to keep a diary as somethings you just don’t want to have to relive.

Although I was excited at first to see Dubai; I soon became very bored and was longing to be back in Africa. I haven’t really got a lot to say about Dubai apart from the shopping is amazing but depressing if you have no money and no use for the clothes for at least another year.  So instead I am going to entertain you all with my reflections so far on my adventure in Africa.

Before you start thinking that I grew up with a love of animals & that I always wanted to live in the African bush, I will have to put you straight on that. I grew up in Dorset with my two brothers, Tristan and Barty; both of whom are younger than me. The only pets we were allowed were goldfish, which always seemed to die on us and actually I still don’t know what happened to them when we moved from Dorset to Norfolk. Barty always wanted a dog but after we moved up to Norfolk my Mum joined British Airways as cabin crew and we went off to boarding school so there would have been no one at home to look after it. I think it was a lucky escape for our Mother as she hasn’t any love for animals. As to wildlife I loved the outdoors and camping and the beauty of the countryside but apart from being able to identify the most common trees and flowers that was as far as my interest took me. So how I’ve ended up traipsing around the African countryside I hardly know. I guess it’s amazing where love will take you. How cheesey!!

My one passion, which has stayed with me through my teenage years until now is fashion. Before I started spending such long periods of time in Africa I worked for a couple of years as manager and buyer for a boutique called Ruby and Tallulah in Burnham Market. I loved my job, not only did I get to advise people on what to wear all day I got to go to Paris and London fashion weeks. The job was ideal for me but sadly Norfolk didn’t have anything else to offer me and during my time there Mummy and Rick sold our house and moved to South Africa. Loving fashion so much I should have followed a career in London but I’m not a city girl and instead I followed my parents to Africa. In Ballito I met David and for the past couple of years I have gone back to the UK to work during David’s hunting season and then come back to Ballito to see him during his off season. With the decision in mind of trying to find somewhere to settle between the two continents I decided to give it a go in Africa. There wasn’t a job available with the company Dave works for and I wasn’t sure I was ready for Dave to see how useless I would be in the bush and after spending those three weeks with him in Moz I think I made the right decision in looking elsewhere.

But anyway back to fashion. My intention in revealing this to you is that I wanted to give you a fashion report from Africa. You can’t compare African fashion with British fashion, for a start they are a season behind us as our winter is their summer and vice versa. If you can call it a winter!! There are parts of South Africa like Cape Town and Jo’burg, which can get quite chilly the same as parts of Zimbabwe but not enough to start wearing big winter coats, gloves and boots like we do in the UK. They do though and I don’t blame them, it’s nice to have a change from wearing shorts and bikinis for a while. I actually prefer winter clothes there’s more of an art to it. You can really design your outfit and actually wear clothes. I’m not suggesting that South Africans go around naked but some of the girls you do have to double take to see if they are actually wearing a skirt!! I have to admit I’m not as shocked by how the girls dress here as I was when I first came to South Africa. The thing is that in Durban from about January to February it is so hot and humid that you can’t even face putting on clothes. For me that means I take to wearing light, loose dresses as I just cant bare tight clothing when you feel so sticky. South African girls seem to see it as an excuse to wear as short a skirt as possible and as low a cut tops as possible but all of this remains as tight as possible, which to me seems to defeat the prupose of trying to stay cool.

In Harare you have the disadvantage of having a deflated society, which has reduced the availability of fashionable clothing. Mixed in with this you have a lot of youngsters who have spent a few months or years in England and appear to have raided Topshop and New Look whilst they were there. I was very surprised to see a girl in pink tights walking through Borrowdale Village. Zimbabwe used to be known as the “bread basket of the World” so was largely a farming community, so to see a girl in pink tights in Harare is as strange as the same outfit walking into a local pub in Norfolk. I won’t say the Hoste Arms because more bizarre outfits have been known to grace the bar there. My Mother being one of them when she walked into the bar in a full length silver fox coat complete with hood; very extravagant for essentially a farming village pub but she looked fabulous. But then the Hoste is a bit more fashionable than your average village local. What I’m trying to say is that there is a time and a place for everything. Being fashionable or getting an outfit right has a lot to do with the location and environment you wear it in. Always dress for the occasion.

Easter Weekend

Our trip in Zim has been extended as Dave needs to do his advanced first aid refresher course next week; so we decided to go back down to the Valley again for Easter weekend for some more fishing. DK had also bought Kal a new rod and reel so we were both eager to try out our new toys. The guys were complaining about the roads being busy with Easter traffic, I think we saw almost 50 cars in 5 hours!! They’ve obviously never travelled anywhere in the UK that same weekend. It was a shame though because a lot were trailing boats so we new that the river was going to be busier than last week and we wouldn’t be the only ones there.

All the way along the road from Harare to Chirundu there are guys on the side of the road selling worms for fishing. One guy adverstised his worms as “Anaconda Worms” and another said his were “Puffader Worms”.

We kept remembering about the worms too late and missing the stops so by the time we stopped we were desperate. This guy didn’t even have a sign up he was just holding a box. We bought a box of worms from him for $4. The box was full of earth with what looked about 6 worms in it and the soil was looking very dry but they had to do.

We had been invited by Ben who is the new manager of the croc farm, which used to belong to Dave’s family; to come and stay in Dave’s old house where Ben now lives. When we arrived Ben wasn’t there but we were greeted by his “cook boy”, Levison, who was wearing his best suit and tie. We unloaded our kit and checked out the state of the house. Dave’s family had left the house three years previously and it had been pretty much left to rack and ruin. The geyser had fallen through the roof, which hadn’t been fixed so over three of the rooms there was no roof. The kitchen was crawling with ants and stunk of rat poison, which coated the edges of all the work surfaces. The cleanest part of the house was outside but the mozzies were terrible. The fridge was in one of the bedrooms which had a crust of bread on the floor in front of it which was crawling with ants. The two mattresses in that room were also covered in ants. To top it all there was also no running water. So you can imagine how excited I was about spending the weekend there!! For super we ate the tiger fish I’d caught the previous weekend and we toasted the Nyami Nyami in the hope of catching more fish in the days to come. The Nyami Nyami are the River God’s that the Batonka tribe believe were separated when the Kariba dam wall was built. Mr Nyami Nyami lives in the river and Mrs Nyami Nyami lives in Lake Kariba. After the wall was built the Batonka people believed that all the earthquakes caused by the land around settling from the pressure of the built up water was actually Mrs Nyami Nyami trying to break the dam wall to reunite with Mr Nyami Nyami. When you are on the water you have to toast Nyami Nyami if you want to catch anything.

Kal and DK had brought there own mattress with them and decided that the coolest place to put it was the lounge. We brought in the two mattresses from our room once we’d brushed off all the ants and we turned the lounge into a dormitory. Kal and DK had also brought there fan with them which was lekker to have on us.  Rodney who lives up in the main house heard we were staying and came to see us. He saw what a state the house was in and offered for us to come and stay with him. We were very keen but were already settled for the night. So we decided to move over in the morning.

We had a great day on the river catching 6 fish in total. I caught two, both about 1.5kg.

 DK caught 2 and Chooks and Kelvin both caught about a 3.5kg. Dave and Karen still hadn’t even had a bite and were getting very frustrated. We found a great place to have lunch on the river bank under a big Natal Mahogany, which was lovely to snooze under.

When we got off the water we headed straight for Roddy’s house to confirm it would be alright for us to stay. He was very pleased to have us so we went back to Ben’s house to pack up our kit and go back to the big house. I’ve never been more relieved. Our rooms at Roddy’s were en suite and air conditioned so we were all very happy.

We got invited up the hill to a party by a friend of Dave, DK and Kal’s who was also staying in Chirundu. Dave and I rode in the back of the Land Rover, which is great for game viewing from. We saw two elephants on the road on the way there and one on the way back.

Chooks woke us up with a cup of tea at 6.30am. We’d all been very keen to get up early the day before but when it came round to it we weren’t so enthusiastic. Especially after all those gin and tonics, I was feeling pretty sorry for myself.  Thanks to Chooks we managed to get ourselves together and were on the water by about 9am. The river was much busier than the weekend before, we very rarely looked up and saw than less than three boats riding on the same drift as us. Kal and Dave started to get desperate about having no bites and even gave Nyami Nyami a chocolate Easter egg.

We found a different place to have lunch, which everybody was so excited about I was very nervous as we had to walk through a bit of long grass to get to our pic nic area, which DK had set up for us. I was worried about about crocs and snakes so once I got to tarpaulin I based myself in the middle and didn’t move for a couple of hours.

Our day fishing wasn’t as successful as the previous day. After a few hours of being unsuccessful Kelvin put his rod in just to prove to us that there were actually fish there because of course he caught a 3kg fish. That was the only fish we got in the boat all day. I’d had a couple of bites but I couldn’t land any of them. The boys started calling me Immy Zzzzzz as I seem to have all the luck with the fish. Kal put up a good fight with a log but apart from that we caught nothing. It was still a beautiful day. Kelvin dropped us off at the pump house on the estate where we’d left DK’s Land Rover. On our way back to the house we saw another ellie, ran over a cobra and we saw a croc, which quickly escaped into a pan next to the road.

I woke the next day feeling much better and we all had tea watching the warthog and a troop of baboons who were playing by the pan in front of the house. After tea we hit the road back to Harare. The roads were busier than on our way down I think I counted at least 75 cars!! Zimbabwe has had toll roads now for a few months and they’re a bit of a joke. They consist of about 5 cones in the middle of the road, which are gigantic and a policeman standing there collecting your money. The toll costs 1USD and they give you a receipt. To be fair it is working because the roads are much better than when I came up in December.

We stopped off at Nandos in Harare which was just what I needed; I always seem to be hungry at the moment. I hope I don’t have worms!!

Shopping in Harare

The next day we left Chirundu. It was my birthday and Dave had promised to buy me a present in Borrowdale, which is the Kings Road of Harare. The problem is the shops there wouldn’t even rival the high street in Hunstanton. The best shops are hunting or fishing shops and seeing as I had the fishing bug we went along to Master Angler. Here Dave bought me a reel as he has a spare rod we can attach it to and a pink Bass Pro beer can cooler, which is so cool!!

From Harare we went onto Marondera as we were staying with DK and Karen at his Oupa’s farm. We stayed there for a couple of days and there house is so nice and homely. DK cooked a stir fry on our first night and Karen baked me a cake for my birthday. The next night we went down to the dam on the farm where DK’s Oupa has built a lovely thatched lodge and braai area. A couple of Dave’s rugby friends came over and we had a braai.  The sunset was spectacular.

The next day we drove into Harare again, which is only an hour away from Marondera but we’d had a flat tyre that morning.  Dave pulled a 4 inch bit of lead out of the tyre.  We couldn’t get the tyre fixed in Marondera as they had no power so we risked it and trickled onto Harare.  With the spare attached we could only drive a max of 80km/hr so it took us two hours to get there.  Luckily Harare had power so we dropped off the car and went into Borrowdale.  We stopped for lunch at Delicious, which is the in place to eat in Borrowdale as you can go on the internet there.  We then went into Feredays, which is a hunting, camping and fishing shop and has been around since the days of Frederick Courteney Selous. Because of which it is extremely expensive. Dave bought some gaters to go over his boots a leather bullet holder for his belt, which all came to 85USD.

After fishing we spent a couple of hours relaxing in the shade of a tree on the river bank, which was just stunning. There was no one else in sight just DK, Karen, Dave and I.


In the late afternoon we packed up the cars with food and booze and headed into Dave’s old estate to have a braai in the bush. We first went to pay our respects to Dave’s Dad who we’d laid to rest under a Baobab tree next to a beautiful pan with lilies; last year. Quite poetically a herd of elephant cows passed by on the other side of the pan whilst we were toasting Jon. They had two calves with them and one was very tiny. We then drove onto the boundary of the estate by the river and started a fire and watched the sun set. Dave stalked and caught a Nightjar and we hear lions roaring in the distance. I didn’t want to leave it was so beautiful. Unfortunately we eventually got chased off by the mozzies.

We drove back in convoy and Dave stood up through the sun roof with a spot light and we had a game drive back. We saw two male lions just on the side of the road so we drove into the bush and watched them watching us back for a while. Unfortunately it was too dark to get any decent pictures. They were young boys only about two years old. So they had a bit of a Mohican hair do going on. That was pretty amazing and topped a perfect day. I think I’m beginning to understand what makes the African bush such a special place. I’d been wearing my new Courteney boots so I was feeling much more confident and thought I was finally conquering my fears. However when we got back to the house there were two of the biggest geckos I’ve ever seen and all my previous worries came back. The geckos here are called Turners geckos and I’m sure they must eat small birds.

Turners Gecko

Dave was determined to catch one, which he did and the gecko wasn’t too happy about it. Dave told DK to put his finger in his mouth which he stupidly went to do then changed his mind last minute as the geckos teeth grazed his finger and drew blood. As DK pulled away his finger the gecko swung round and attached his mouth around Dave’s finger. The gecko’s jaws were so strong that they couldn’t get him to release Dave, in the end they had to use their knife to wedge the gecko’s mouth open so Dave could pull his finger out. We were all laughing because he got all that he deserved.

Jo'burg to the Zambezi Valley

We got off early as we had a long drive ahead of us.  We were driving up through Botswana, which depsite meaning we passed two border posts was quicker than going the busier route through to Zim.  In Botswana we had to stop by a "Botswana" sign so I can say "I'm in Botswana saving lives...do you?" from the Armstrong and  Miller show.

We stayed with Dave's Uncle in Bulawayo on the way up and Chooks gave me an early birthday present which was a pair of Courteney Boots so I'm so excited and ready to tackle the bush again in my Safari Boots!!

We continued our journey at some ridiculous hour the following morning and made it to Harare just about lunchtime.  We met up with DK (Dave's best friend) and his girlfriend Kal and drove on in convoy to Chirundu in the Zambezi Valley.  The drive up to Harare had been beautiful.  I've seen several amazing sunsets but sunrise is my best.  Especially over that characteristic vista of the Zimbawean midlands.

By the time we got to Chirundu the headache, which had been slowly growing all day had reached it's peak and once settled in the chalet at Tiger Safaris I went straight to bed.  The next morning I was informed I'd missed a great night involving an elephant bull at the fence around our chalet and a crocodile in the pool, where Dave and DK had been swimming.  

Luckily the croc was only about a meter long so the boys quickly caught it and released it in the bushes!!

We were up early the next day to make the most of our time on the river.  Now I've never even held a rod before so fishing is completely alien to me.  We spent a couple of hours on the Zambezi which is complete bliss as you don't see another human for hours.  Unfortunately we didn't catch anything.  I was later to learn that fishing involves a lot of sitting and waiting with not a lot of catching.  Later that afternoon Dave's cousin Lesley, her boyfriend Peter and another family friend Uncle Mike arrived.  We spent a couple of hours lounging around the pool, which is very hard to relax in now that you spend the whole time on constant look out for other crocs.  Well I did anyway everyone else was very blasé about the fact that a croc may slip in while we're not looking.

At 3.30pm we headed back to the boats with a cooler box so full I thought we would never get through it (how wrong was I).  We had two boats and spent the whole afternoon catching up and enjoying the amazing view and of course a few beverages.  We spent about an hour very close to a pod of hippos, which I could spend all day watch them.

 

We were after the famous Tiger Fish but it was getting close to home time when I was beginning to think they were another Zimbabwean myth.  We spent half an hour fishing for Bream off the edge of the river.

                                               

                                            

We were typically split one boat for the boys and us girls were in the other. My about 4pm Kal and I had become more interested in our drinks and gossip so neither of us had a rod in. You can imagine our surprise when we heard that zzz zzz zzzing of the line running. We looked over to Lesley and there she was rod almost bent in half trying to reel this fish in. They put up quite a fight these tigers but Lesley professionally landed the fish and it weighed 2.5kg. So we were very proud and ready to get ashore to show everyone our fish and because unbelievable the cooler box was running low.

The sunset on our return to the chalet was beautiful. I can honestly say I cant think of any better place I’d rather be.

The boys were very impressed and the evening got very out of hand as the drinking increased. We had a food fight, which I ended up with 2 eggs cracked over my head, followed by a game of spin the bottle in the pool. So you can imagine the worse.

We weren’t so early out on the river the next day as we were all feeling a bit sorry for ourselves from the night before. We took 2 boats out again and the rest of our party drove through Dave’s old estate and met us by a tree on the river bank where we had lunch.

Kal, DK, Dave and I slept like children in the shade of a tree for a couple of hours and then we were back on the boat again late afternoon. It was a very unsuccessful day for all as we caught absolutely nothing. When we got back to the house Uncle Mike got out his guitar and we sat around the fire listening to him play until we couldn’t keep our eyes open any longer.

We decided to make a bet with the boys this morning after some typical male egotistical boasting so we were keen for a good day of sport. So far we had only managed to catch the one fish between us all so we were confident our luck was about to change. And boy did it change. Within a few minutes of casting my rod for the first time that morning we heard that zzz zzzing again. Now I’d caught a lot of reeds over the weekend so I wasn’t too confident that it was a fish but Kelvin pulled slightly on the line and confirmed it was a fish. Now all attention was on me all the girls quickly reeled in their lines and were focused on cheering me on. First I had to let him run with the bait for a bit and then on Kelvin’s sign I striked hard with the rod, I had to strike a couple of times before I’d hooked him. I had no idea that it was going to be so heavy. Those tiger fish are awesome they give such a fight. My rod was almost doubled over whilst I pulled and reeled away trying not to let the line go slack. Just when I was starting to think is there really a fish on the end of this hook he flipped up in the air in protest. The girls started cheering again as they could see it was a big fish. I was still reeling in and my arms were really beginning to ache now. Finally we could see him close to the boat and Kelvin dropped the net in and fished him out. I was very impressed, I was beginning to think this fishing malarkey was a waste of time but after that moment when I held my first fish I’m on for the competition.

Mine was a 3.5kg tiger fish, which I’m told isn’t too shabby for my first fish. My arms didn’t stop shaking for a good hour after from the adrenalin but my rod was straight back in after I’d bagged that. Lesley caught another one that day, which was even bigger than mine so we were ready to call it a day and compare, catches with the boys. Well the boys had caught nothing again so we won fair and square.

I am currently in Zimbabwe and I apologise for leaving you all on the edge of your seats as I haven't had internet for the last couple of weeks.  I will have to do a bit of back tracking to get you all up to date so you know how I ended up where I am.

Once safely on the ground at Pemba we stayed in Dave's beach cottage there for 5 days before flying out to JNB.  I think I should explain Pemba to you.  Pemba is supposed to be a bit more civilised than the bush but I've decided it is all a facade.  It was extrememly hot in Pemba far more humid than Lugenda and we spent most of our days out of the sun trying to stay cool.  This is quite hard with the constant power cuts so the fans and the water don't work so you find yourself being suffocated with the humidity with no relief not even at night.  There's poverty here but you don't find the people begging on the streets, which I have seen in other parts of the World and the people seem to be fairly happy and healthy.  Being on the coast they have an unlimited amount of sealife to eat and being tropical there are plenty of mango and cashew trees.  Most of the villages have their own fresh water well.  The villages that I've driven through are all very friendly and neat and tidy.  The villagers are quite house proud and several of the houses have fenced in properties with even gardens.  They're much nicer than anything I've seen in South Africa.

Pemba itself is beautiful, white beaches with big palm trees onside of you and tropical bushes and trees the other side of you.

If you look out to see you get that classic image of the Indian Ocean with the light blue Ocean and the local fishermen floating on their dhows.  Very idillic.  There is also the Pemba Beach Hotel, which although very expensive is at least nice to go and sit and have tea at.  Just as long as you have electricity!!

The hotels and restaurants in Pemba are very expensive so we tried to eat in as much as possible.  On our second night in Pemba we realised we'd left it too late to go to the shops as they apparently they close at lunchtime: so we had to make do with what was in the cupboards.  That consisted of a tin of sweetcorn and a tin of peaches!!  Now I've never been able to get out of the habit of having three cooked meals a day so you can imagine how hungry I was.  Dave who spends 8 months of his year in the middle of the bush is used to only the one meal, which would usually be beans and sausages.  Not wanting to complain I excepted my tin of sweetcorn very politely.  I was very relieved when Dave decided he did need a bit more than half a tin of sweetcorn to fill him up and we raced up to the backpackers for a takeaway pizza.

The next day was Sunday so there were very few shops open but we managed to find a tiny little local shop on the side of the road where we sufficiently stocked up.  That night we had again our beans and sausages, which this time we tried with pasta instead of noodles and the combination I think worked much better!!

We had a small flood the next day as there was a leak from the pipe behind the sink where I was washing up.  The house now stunk as we had old dish water over the kitchen and lounge floor.  My resolve was starting to give by this point and I was very ready to be back in a civilsed place with hot showers and running water and constant electricity by this point.

With only one day left in Pemba I was starting to feel a bit more relaxed.  Although Dave's house was sparce it was very sweet and you couldn't beat the view.  I had a bit of a throw back when trying to cook Dave lunch on our last day and nothing seemed to go right.  I'm quite a capable cook but I like to be in the comfort of my own kitchen.  All I had to do was boil some pasta to have with a tin tuna and sweetcorn but of course in Pemba nothing is easy.  Firslty I had to look for a saucepan and the only thing I could find was an old tin completely coated in lime scale but it had to do.  So I go to fill it up at the sink in the kitchen and I cant get the tap to work so I have to fill it up at the bathroom sink.  I then go to the electric stove and realise it's not plugged in.  South Africa and other parts of Africa have about 3 different plug sockets, which can make things very awkward.  I see that the stove plug is the wrong one for the plug socket so I go and look for an adaptor.  After all this I then cant get the stove plug to reach the socket.  I tried in vain to move the dresser which the stove was sitting on so in the end I just give up.  It shouldn't be this hard to boil some bloody pasta!!

Dave came back and asked me what was wrong.  After I'd told him the story, which I'd just told you he took me over to the kitchen sink and turned on the tap whilst pressing down on it and water spurted out.  He then led me over to the stove and moved the portable stove closer to the plug socket so you didn't need to move the dresser.  A bit of a blonde moment I'm afraid to admit to there!!

On our last day I was more than relieved to be leaving.  The electricity had cut out at 6am so the fan had stopped leaving the room unbelievably hot so I had to get up.  Dave had to go into town so I just packed up my things and tried to stay as still as possible so as not to make myself any hotter.  I was waiting for Dave to get back so we could go across to the tap behind his boss's house to wash from.  I was desperate to wash my hair as Dave had told me that morning that it looked like candy floss!!  I dragged him straight to the tap and stripped off and was so appreciative to feel the cold water over my skin.  I used a cup to wash my hair with and was very thankful to be leaving that day.

We then had one night at friends of Dave's family in Jo'burg and I was able to have my first hot bath in three weeks.  We ate a big meal of spag bol and salad and watched television.  It was even cold enough to wear tracky b's and a fleece so I was feeling much better.  Ready to start the next leg of our trip.