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.

From Lugenda back to Pemba

Our flight was scheduled for 9.30am but at 7.30am it didn’t look like we were going anywhere. It had rained through the night and it wasn’t letting up. We were all resigned to the fact that we would be spending another night in the bush. The pilots’ however thought differently. Both of them turned up in full uniform and were eager to set off. They weren’t about to let a little rain put them off. So off they went in their wellies to check out the airstrip and check with the manual to see if it could be done (really reassuring). We were still not convinced and were quite happily snuggled up in the lounge and Carrie was busy making pancakes for us all. But then the pilots radioed in that they thought they could do it. Determined little buggers these pilots. So off we hurry gathering all our kit together whilst stuffing a few of Carrie’s pancakes in as we flew out the door. We then started our march to the airstrip. We were a sight. It was still raining and the puddles were deep, my one wellie went under so I had one wet sock but apart from that I managed to stay pretty dry. I had my backpack on and I was carrying Dave’s laptop but we all stayed pretty dry under my poncho.
We made it to the runway and I was starting to doubt the pilots’ sanity, for it was muddy. Still determined we loaded up and got on board. When I wasn’t mentally questioning the intelligence of the pilots I did take a chance to look round the plane and it was much nicer than the one we flew in on. It was the Air Caravan and it was about a 12 seater with leather seats, which were fairly comfortable. Strapped up and safety demo over we were ready to go. Engines were roaring and I was thinking this is just mad and then……nothing. We were stuck!!

We all climbed out and the boys pushed the plane out of the rut. Once back in the plane we started taxiing down the runway. We got all the way down and just as the pilot tried to turn the plane round we got stuck again. So we all climbed out again but this time it didn’t look so good. We waited for Andy and the camp staff to walk up from the other end of the runway as they could see we were stuck again and were going to need their assistance,

Well they tried in vain. This plane just didn’t want to budge. First they tried digging the wheel out with the little pick axe kept in the cockpit, but still nothing. Someone was sent into the bushes with the axe to chop down some wood to create something to lever the wheel out. This also didn’t work. Finally Andy sent someone back to the camp for a spade and a jack. When he got back they got to work again. They had to be careful not to damage the wheel as that really would have been disastrous. I sat back and watched.

But thankfully after two hours they managed to roll the plane out.

It had stopped raining by now but the clouds had got pretty thick. I was hoping the pilots had memorized where those mountains had been because they were gone now. Undeterred the pilots straightened up and were ready for action. It was at this point where I thought we all must be mad for trusting these clearly deranged people at the helm of the plane.

Oh well we were up in the air now so there wasn’t a lot I could have done about it. We took off straight into the clouds and it showed how skillful these pilots actually are because they couldn’t see a thing outside their windscreen. The rain was coming down hard and we were surrounded by white clouds. It was very bumpy but thankfully I didn’t feel as ill as I did on the way out.

The clouds finally cleared and we landed safely back in Pemba. We were dropped off at Dave’s beach cottage and with a quick turn around we were soon our way to Club Naval at the Pemba Beach Hotel for a chicken burger and a fanta, complete with ice cream. It is much more humid in Pemba but a rain cloud moved in making the temperature drop. We went to the Black Foot backpackers that night to watch some Super 14 rugby and have some pizza. There’s nothing more enjoyable than doing normal things when you haven’t done them for a while.

The plane has just arrived to take us home tomorrow.  I can hardly believe it's finally here as they've been umming and arring about sending it all week.  I was almost beginning to think maybe it would never come and I was going to be forgotton about up here.  At least I would have had David with me who has been an angel over the last couple of weeks.  He's had the patience of a saint looking after me.  Thank you Dave!!

The tractor was sent off last week to a different camp and still hasn't returned so Andy, Carrie, Dave and the rest of the staff have gone on a Livingstone style expedition to bring back all the cargo from the plane.  I volunteered to keep fort here at the lodge.  I'm a wimp I know.

We'll be leaving for Pemba in the morning and I should be feeling relieved but the truth is I'm going to miss being here.  It has been a great experience to be so detached from the rest of the World for a couple of weeks.  You get a chance to take a good look at yourself as there is plenty of time for reflection.

My adventure is far from over though.  This little trip in the Niassa Reserve was just the start, a test to see how I would fair for the rest of the year.  Well for one I haven't turned tail and bolted, which is my usual routine.  That gives me some hope that I may get through this.  One thing I've learned is that I'm the only one who can put an end to my fear.  Familiarility of the bush will only help me so far I will have to do the rest.  I have to want to stop being afraid and put an end to it.  I'm guessing this is easier said than done.

As we were walking back to our tent last night we heard a very strange noise that neither of us recognised.  Dave thought he'd heard it before but he couldn't place it.  It sounded a bit like a dog yawning.  Andy informed us this morning it was a palm civet, which lives in the trees.  It must have been in the tree behind our tent.  If we hear it again tonight we're going to try and find him.

I was almost hopeful I'd be able to sleep the whole night through last night but no it seems I've picked up a habit of waking up at least three times through the night.  What was annoying last night was that it was nothing in particular that kept waking me up.  Oh well it's our last night here tonight so I've still got one more chance to try and sleep one whole night through in the bush.

I woke up again after being rudely kept awake for most of the night.  A storm hit just as we were going to sleep and the lightning was awesome.  As the storm passed we could hear hyena again and it's amazing how innocent and friendly their yup yupping sounds.  It's hard to believe that they've got one of the most powerful jaws in the animal kingdom.

I finally drifted off but woke suddenly to a loud growling noise coming to the right of our tent from the staff quarters.  Whatever it was it did not sound very happy.  Dave thought it could have been a honey badger, which despite it's cute name is an extremely vicious little animal, left alone by most of the big carnivores.  However the staff said that there were civet tracks outside their home this morning so it was probably just two civets having a fight.  If you've ever heard two domestic cats fighting, triple that and you are close on imagining the racket that kept me awake last night.

We had a monkey in the kitchen today.  After lunch I went to take some glasses back to the kitchen and just as I got to there I thought I saw something moving through the mesh door.  I went back to get Carrie and Andy as I was pretty sure it was a monkey.  I stood well back as Andy went in after it with an umbrella.  Carrie held the door open.  There was a lot of shouting from Ady and banging from the monkey as Andy chased him round the kitchen and the monkey kept climbing up the shelves and knocking things onto the floor.  Finally Andy made contact with the back of the monkeys head and with that little tap he scooted out of there pretty quickly.

I keep meaning to say that our little tent which we have called "home" for the past two weeks is actually called "Pitta" and no that is not after the bread as I first believed but after the bird!!  Oops.

Something set off the Samago monkeys last night as they kept me awake with their screaching.  They were making the most unusual noise, which sounded a bit like wood being hit.  We also heard hyena last night so maybe that was what was making the Samangos restless.

I'm trying to think of ways to make myself more comfortable here so I've been busy in the kitchen over the last couple of days.  First I made chicken stock, then I moved on to jacket potatoes and then yesterday afternoon I made a peach upside down cake.  I thought it was working as yesterday I actually agreed to hold a baby lizard and he was tiny and very cute as he must have only just hatched.

I also killed a scorpion this morning.  But Dave took me out for another walk and although I went further than my personal best of 200m I only made about 300m before I wimped out and Dave had to walk me back again.

Dave just stopped some local fishermen and we went through their catch and found a silver catfish, which Dave wanted to save.  He put him in the little bit of rainwater collected at the bottom of the pool to revive him while I went to get a bowl for him to live in.  Just as I came back the fish, which we've called Bob made a dart for it into the depths of the pool.  The pool water is very muddy and it was very funny watching Dave trying to find Bob but also trying not to slip on the muddy bottom, also dodging dead frogs, which were floating on the surface.

He eventually caught him and he is now happily swimming around a plastic tub.

                                    

The fishermen then went off to find 2 other fish, which Dave asked for.  I think we're going to have to turn our bath tub into an aquarium.  They returned with just the one, which was a Livingstone's Bulldog who we have named Dave after Livingstone himself.  Instead of using the bath tub we have released them both into the pool now and they are getting to know one another.  There are quite a few frogs living in there and some tadpoles, which I hope we get to see them develop before we leave.

There's no such thing as snakes!!

That's what I keep trying to tell myself anyway.  I've been quite good over the last week as I haven't seen a snake I'm starting to believe there really is no such thing.

However this morning Andy found one by the kitchen, which means I probably would have walked passed it when I went to make the tea earlier.  That thought alone makes me want to vomit.  The boys wanted me to go and see it and even though it was a baby one I just wasn't going to budge.  If I'd seen it I know I will start believing they exist again and I willl start thinking they are everywhere again.  My toes are starting to curl up at the thought.  My feet are hanging off the bed at the moment as they are dirty but all I want to do is curl up into as tight a ball as I can so I can protect myself from everything.  I fear I'm starting to lose the loose grip I had over myself trying to keep it together.  I'm very much missing the small comforts of home, which I so often take for granted.  Like a relaxing hot bath or the choice on the shelves at the super market, like a big juicy steak.  Starting to feel a bit like Alex the lion in Madagascar when everything he looks at takes the form of a big steak!!

Rain, rain, rain

I woke in the middle of the night to more rain and thunder, which sounded like it was just above us.  I then woke in the morning to see it hadn't stopped all night and it looked like we were now on an island and our tent a castle with a moat surrounding us.  The river has been going up and down since we got here but it has risen again after all the rain. 

We're expecting more storms over the next few days.  These storms are awesome,  like nothing I've ever experienced before.  The claps of thunder when above us feel like the World is breaking in two.  Andy is getting us prepared in case the river floods again.  We have moved everything in our tents up to the top shelves.  I keep a pair of wellies and my poncho by my bed at night in case we need to make a quick exit.

When the river flooded last time they hadn’t had any rain and the river was about a meter lower than it is now. It flooded because of rain further up stream. So we are on constant alert for further flooding.

I woke up very tender and bruised from the tractor ride.  Despite the incredibly loud frogs singing outside our tent, I'd slept very well.  Sufu brought us some hot water to make tea with.  He'd boiled it over a wood fire so the tea had a smokey taste to it.  It was a only 7am but it was hot with the promise of getting hotter so we decided to get off as soon as possible.  We walked back to the river with Januario and pointed out lion spoor. 

The spoor led straight from the river so the lion had swam across and headed towards camp the previous night.  Dave believes it was either a female or a young male.  They don't tend to have big prides here in Niassa, the average pride being about 3 or 4 lions.  About 80% of lion cubs don't make it to adult hood.  The terrain is tough here and you get a few lone lions around.  There are few plains game here for the carnivores to eat as the grass here is sourveld, which to me looks lovely and green but apparently it is not so nice tasting and without the nutrients which the sweetveld has. 

Education over lets get back to my story!!

Sufu poled us back across the river and we continued our journey.  I took one look at the tractor and I was not looking forward to getting back up there but was desperate to just get it over and done with.  I managed to place myself more in the middle so I didn't bang my hip too much against the frame.  I also noticed Dave kept putting his had over the bolt, which was doing me the most damage, to protect me.  The tsetse flies were worse on the journey home, when I was brave enough to let go of the frame it was to try and swat them off me.  I don't really know why I bothered as the tsetse fly is immortal!!  Once back at Lugenda I was so tired and thirsty and was so thankful for a hot shower.  It's amazing how comfortable Lugenda feels since that trip on the tractor.  I even walked back to my tent barefoot without even thinking about it.

To Lusinge and back

I almost had my first wobbly about going over to Lusinge.  It was raining yesterday and I was thinking that maybe I was off the hook, but as the rain let off a bit Dave decided we had to make a run for it before it started raining again.

I was still a bit shaken after the lion incident the night before so was feeling I didn't really want to be going to a new place.  Dave was very understanding and said that I didn't have to go if I didn't want to, obviously that had the affect of getting my arse in gear as I wasn't too keen on the idea of me staying in the tent here on my own.  He said I wouldn't be able to get shampoo in though as we didn't have enough space plus the generator wasn't working over at Lusinge so they'd be no running water, so it would be washing in a bucket.  I decided to have a quick shower before we left and whilst washing my hair I gave myself a stern talking to.  I told myself to buck up my ideas and at least try not to be such a wuss.  I got out the shower and plaited my hair like a proper little campaigner and by this time I was feeling a bit better about our little trip to Lusinge.

This didn't last long and about a hundred yards down the road I was really regretting agreeing to come along.  I just wasn't comfortable on my perch on the side of the tractor, I kept feeling like I was going to fall off as my feet couldn't reach the floor to help balance me.  Dave asked Sabiti (the tractor driver) to stop while we re adjust my seating.  Instead of sitting beside Sabiti I was now behind him and facing backwards.  I was in a firmer position but I really did not want to fall off from here as I would have gone straight under the cutter.

So hanging on for dear life we were off again.  I couldn't look to my left as I was scared I was going to head butt the metal frame I was hanging onto.  I started thinking I do hope my travel insurance covers me if I lose a tooth.

The comfort aside I did start to enjoy my game drive on a tractor.  However the roads were tough going and a couple of times were non existent as the water which had come down from the mountains was like a river running through.  The first one we came to like this, Dave waded across to see how deep it was and it came just above his shorts.

They decided the tractor would make it so Sabiti raised the cutter and Jose (the scout who'd been riding on the cutter) stood up behind him and they crossed.  I'd decided not to go across with the tractor but seeing it cross so easily I was doubting my decision.  Dave had volunteered to give me a piggy back across.  I managed to stay quite dry except a small patch on my bottom.  It was quite hard going for Dave though as he had to hoist me up really high and the water was flowing very fast.  Safely on the other side we resumed our journey. 

The distance between the camps is about 25km and it took us about an hour and three quarters.  Despite being on a tractor we did manage to see a fair bit of game.  We saw an ellie quite close to Lugenda and then a family of Water Buck, of which the male was stunning and even David said he would be a great trophy, which means a lot as these hunters are very fussy.  We saw a few Impala, some Kudu cows and a Saddle billed Stork, which was very cool.  We saw a few troops of baboons, which are much more yellow than the ones in Natal and if you're wondering why I don't have pictures of any of these it was because I didn't dare take my hands off the tractor frame for the fear of falling out.  We then saw the biggest elephant I've ever seen and even Dave confessed later it was the largest he's ever seen.  Dave ran off after the elephant with my camera and his rifle (only for protection) shouting for me to stay where I was.  He got quite close to the bull but he wasn't too happy about Dave being there, which he showed by flapping his ears a bit.  He then just strode off.

                                        

David reckons the tusks were about 80lbs each.

Just before Lusinge we came across another river, which isn't usually there and Dave wades across to check its depth.  This time they decide the current is too strong for the tractor to attempt to cross and we will have to get a canoe across.  We park up the tractor and unload and just when I ask where are we going to get a canoe from, one appears.  The staff at the camp had heard the tractor and come to help us across.  Dave introduced me to the two guys.  The first, Januario who is the major-domo at Lusinge and was wearing the most ridiculous tiger print cowboy hat, where he'd got that from I'd no idea; he was a very friendly, happy man.  The other guy who was to pole us across the river was called Sufu.  We just smiled at each other after the introductions as neither of us spoke the other's language.  Once across the river we had about a 15min walk back to the camp and I was so pleased I'd borrowed Carrie's wellies as I felt much more confident walking through the bush in those.  

Finally we got to the camp and I was so grateful for that cup of tea.  The journey had been worth the effort as the camp although more rustic than Lugenda was beautiful and so peaceful.  The staff brought round a bucket of water from the river to our tent for us to wash from.  I was so pleased to be able to wash off the mud I'd collected from our trip that I didn't mind the bucket. 

                                          

We brought over some beans and meallie meal for the staff and a selection of tins for ourselves.  For supper we had noodles with baked beans and tinned cocktail sausages.  An interesting combination but I was so hungry I didn't care.

There were a few strange insects in our tent, which Dave identified as Whip Scorpions, they looked like a cross between a scorpion and a beetle.  Safely snuggled up under our mosquito net we were both wondering why we weren't that tired.  Dave looked at his watch and realised it was only 6.55pm!!  That was probably why...

Ok so it wasn't the hippos who kept me awake last night but the King of beasts himself.  Yes a lion graced us with his presence last night.  So you can imagine how much sleep I got.  At first I was very excited and thought it was pretty awesome as he was very close.  Dave said he would probably roar again so we waited.  Every single muscle in my body was taught.  I eventually got neck ache but was too scared to move in case he was sitting outside the tent waiting for that move and then I thought him roar again as my senses were on standby for any sound or smell.  I thought it sounded more distant; until I realised that the sound wass coming from much closer to home.  In fact it was David snoring!!  I suppose the seasoned hunter can be a bit blasé about a lion in camp.  Dave stirred and said he heard the lion again far to the right of camp.  But I think he was just saying that so he could disengage himself from my clinging form.

I drifted in and out of sleep for the rest of the night but woke up a couple of times paralised with fear and drenched in sweat.  I woke up one time dying for the loo so I woke up Dave and asked me to escort me.  He held the torch while I did the quickest wee ever.  Finally morning came.

We woke this morning to more rain, which means our trip to Lusinge has been postponed for the time being.  Apparently the lions are a bit more familiar over at Lusinge, they walk inbetween the tents and around the camp regularly.  So after last night I'm not looking forward to going.  Although I'm not brave enough to let Dave go and stay in the tent on my own so I guess I'll have to go.  The rains letting up so I guess we'll be leaving soon.

The bull hippo has returned as the river is so high.  He's been around all day.  We spotted him having breakfast around the edge of the island this morning.  And I've seen him a couple of times through out the day.  It's dark now but we just heard him in front of the lodge so we went down with our torches to see if we could see him.  Unfortunately our beams aren't quite long enough.  But just as turned around we heard him come up to the surface and we just caught him with the edge of our beam.

Lets hope he doesn't run into another bull and keep me awake all night again.

The river is very full now, all the sand banks have disappeared and only a tuft of grass is showing from the island in the middle.

We had no water this morning so I had a big panic as my hair desperately needed washing.  It was beginning to resemble a birds nest more and more.  Luckily the water situation has been fixed now so I am no longer expecting to hear a chirp from my head any second now.

The monkeys and I are getting along a lot better now.  They don't run away when they see me now and I'm holding all my reserve together not to run away when I see them too.  I'm even getting to recognise some of the troop.  There's one without a tail, which I call Stumpy (until I find a better name for him although that seems to have stuck).  There are a couple of youngters, which are very cute and there's one who is still being carried by his Mother. 

Vervet monkey with her baby

When they're on the ground she puts him down and lets him play.  He is very tiny.  I saw him jump onto a low branch yesterday, which he just swung from because he didn't know what else to do.  As soon as they go up a tree though his Mother tucks him under her belly quickly and bounces away with him.  Their tails twisting around each others.

Another beautiful sunset over the river this evening. 

I actually managed an afternoon nap today, I'm really getting into this bush camp living.  It actually poured down with rain so there was nothing else to do but camp out in the tent for most of the day. 

The tractor still hasn't returned so I'm saved one more night!!

Firstly I'd like to make clear that these geckos are bigger than any I've ever seen before. 

I don't know about me ever getting used to these slippery little things but they are definitely getting used to me.  This little lizard just appeared on the back of the sofa next to me and jumped down onto the cushion in front of him.  He then wriggled across the sofa turned his nose up at a dead moth and carried on hunting.  He then jumped down onto the floor and scurried along the edge of the sofa so that he was almost at my feet now.  Dave then came in and I showed him and he told me to leave him alone!!  What did he think I was planning on doing?  Honestly if it came any closer I was ready to pounce in the opposite direction.

Dave and I just went for a walk to look for birds (I know a real twitcher now aren't I).  Have you ever tried to walk quietly in a pair of flip flops?  It just doesn't work, which is a shame because we only got a glimpse of a retreating Bushbuck doe who had been scared off by the advancing flip flop.  The great thing about all this mud around is that it's a great mold for footprints.  Dave pointed out the spoor of a genet, a civit, the bushbuck and a porcupine.  The porcupine was much bigger than I expected.  I left a footprint of my own just to confuse anybody else who came across all the tracks.

Green (red billed) Wood Hoopoe

We saw a lot of Green Wood Hoopoe, which we get a lot of in camp.  They're very cool as they hop around the branches and when they go down to a lower branch it looks that they are falling but it's all carefully planned.  They are very noisey birds, they sound a bit like dogs squeaky toy if you ask me but very funny noe the less.  I then spotted another bird to the right of the Hoopoo (for a hunter Dave has awful eye sight) so we got the binos out and he identified it as a African Cuckoo.  He was very chilled and I think he even turned round so we got his better side while we were taking pictures of him.

African Cuckoo

We had left over pancakes for breakfast today.  I don't know if I've ever had left over pancakes before, usually my brothers scoff them all up.

It's very peaceful in camp today, mainly because the monkeys seem to have gone out for the day.  A couple of local fishermen have just gone passed in a dug out canoe looking very idyllic.  It is amazingly beautiful here.

We sent someone off on the tractor yesterday to go and cut the grass at an air strip at the next village along.  The next village is about 30km away and through the thick bush you can imagine he's not back yet!!  When he gets back Dave and I are hitching a ride with the tractor and going to Lusinge, their hunting camp, where we will be staying for a couple of nights in a very small portable tent.  Which means I have to leave the comfort of my tent here.  I'm almost hoping the guy on the tractor has got lost somewhere.  I don't mean that, it would be quite interesting to see another part of this area and get out the lodge for a while.  Just a bit worried about having no shoes.

It's silence again in camp (well as quiet as it gets here with a whole choir of crickets chirping), the monkeys are all tucked up away in their branches.  Dave and I have just got back from a very little walk just around camp as we were getting a bit of cabin fever as we've been hanging around the lodge all day.  There was a lot of screeching going on from a tree the other side of camp so we went to investigate.  We got there just in time to see the Vervet monkeys fleeing.  We have two gangs of monkeys living either side of us the Vervets, which are very cute and curious; live to the front of us and the Samangos live to the back of us who are much more skittish.  They make the strangest noises and the two troops don't get on so they are often fighting.  So I got to see my first Samango monkey today and they are very similar to the Vervets but they're slightly darker colouring than the Vervets and they have beards!!

Vervet monkey

We've just had pancakes for supper, which were very nice but all I want is a big juicy steak.  I've probably only gone about a week without a steak but it's amazing how much you want something when you know you cant have it!!

We just had lunch and it's very easy to get complaisant about where you are when you're sitting in a comfy arm chair and just chattering away.  So I picked up the plates and walked back to the kitchen  and just as I walked out of the lodge I almost stepped on a gecko.  I was so lucky I didn't drop the plates.  I could see he was more scared from the funny little wriggle he did as he didn't know which way was safest to go.  I made it safely back to the kitchen and after putting down the plates, took a deep breath.  I am getting more accustomed to them, as in I don;t mind them so much sitting on the walls of the tent anymore but they do still make me jump when they surprise me like that.

This place is full of scorpions.  We put the lounge back to order today as everything had been packed away after the flood and I was brushing the seats so we could put the cushions down and Andy (the manager here) got me to stop because he's spotted a scorpion.  Now I thought they were baby scorpions we keep seeing but apparently they're fully grown and they're nastier than the big ones.  We then had a very funny scene of Andy first chasing it with his pliers from his leatherman and then Dave with his knife; and do you know what the little bugger got away.  Well Dave thinks he got him just before he went in the hole so if he is still alive he hopefully wont have a tail.  Dave also sprayed some Peaceful Sleep in there so I reckon he's a gonna.

I actually killed one myself yesterday but before you start thinking that I bravely stood and fought the thing, without running off screaming in usual Immy manner; I did it by accident.  I trod on him, completely flat as a pancake.  So not quite a courageous hunter yet.

This place was flooded a couple of weeks ago and I mean with about 5ft of water, the fridges were floating in the kitchen; but not because it had rained here but further up river.  Finally the rain has arrived and you could see this wall of darkness swiftly moving towards us so we were all stations go with battering down the hatches and gathering in all the things we had drying out around the camp from the flood, and yes it's a nice release from the heat.  That breeze is lovely but already I can see the sun and blue skies close behind the dark clouds, our breather will be over and the suffocating heat will return.

Sitting here in the lounge at the lodge drinking tea reminds you of the colonial days.  I almost feel as if I'm one of those adventurous British campaigners who travelled into the heart of Africa in their ox-wagons, but maybe without their courage and tenacity.  I mean what a schlep aren't we lucky that most of these camps are already set up so we don't still need to bring all the equipment with us.  Their tent was probably not that dissimilar to mine and looking at the old pictures they took all sorts with them like writing desks and four poster beds and trunks of clothes; as one of those Victorian outfits would probably fill your back pack now.  That's what really gets me is their clothing.  I'm wearing a pair of shorts and a vest each day and I know it's not a nice topic but I'm sweating all day long.  I cant even imagine how they got through the day in this heat wearing full skirts (with petticoats) and long sleeve shirt and socks and boots.  I bet they actually wore tights as well, insane!!  Let us say I am extremely thankful for their persistance and dedication, which led to the disovery of the interior of Africa and which developed into the safari industry as it is today.

I've been on a few safaris around Africa but they were your usual drive through the gates and when you spot an animal if you were to look the other way there would be a few more vehicles behind you also watching the same animal.  They're still a great experience as you get to see plenty of animals but it does feel a bit like you're just driving round a big Longleet. 

Here it is different, as I said before, our flight from Pemba to Lugenda was pure bush the whole way.  Lugenda is situated in the Niassa Reserve which is pretty much as far North as you can get in Mozambique, the Reserve borders on Tanzania.  It covers 42 000 square kilometers and is twice the size of Kruger National Park, in South Africa.  Because of the late war in Mozambique, the safari industry is fairly new here but with careful conservation the animals are slowly and surely coming back to the area.  But the animals here aren't used to people and cruisers driving round so they're very skittish.  Not like Hluhluwe, in Zululand where the animals actually look like they are posing for your camera.

This is one of the reasons why I'm a bit scared about being here, these animals are completely wild.  Coupled with the fact that they have a big problem with man-eating lions in the area.  No it maybe wasn't a good idea to watch "Ghost in the Darkness" before we came out but I did.  Even though it is a ridiculously cheesey movie it still makes me very nervous when I walk back to my tent at night.

A Walk in the Bush

Ok so I decided to go for a walk today with Dave as he has to scout out the area for snares.  Dave told me to bring some comfortable footwear, which were well worn in; and he actually picked out this old pair of trainers from the back of my cupboard when we were packing my bag.  Well I put them on today and just when I was thinking they were a good idea as they felt like slippers; the plastic that went across the top of the shoe snapped off on both shoes.  Never fear, Dave was on hand to fix them with a couple of cable ties fixed together. 

We were both thinking he was pretty clever and we started off on our walk.  So we got passed all the tents and a troop of monkeys and Dave gave me a pet talk on how to use the rifle in case of emergency and to stay close to him and keep my eyes open.  Well I went a few more spaces and then my nerves got the better of me.  It's the long grass that does it, I'm just petrified I'm going to stand on a snake.

So Dave walked me back passed the troop of monkeys and I walked the rest from there on my own.  David must be exasparated with me but I thought I'd done pretty well at least I can walk back and forth from the tent to the dining room on my own now, which I couldn't do yesterday.  We're just going to have to take baby steps.  Or we could have done if my whole shoe hadn't fallen apart on the way back to the tent.  Of course I'm relieved but I also feel a bit guilty because I really should try to get used to walking around the bush.

Dave got back from his walk and he said it was a good job I hadn't gone with him because the bush was over 10ft high and he almost ran into three ellies.  So he decided to come back and he was really itchy from the buffalo beans.  So I don't feel so bad about not going.  He also said that the ellies were on their way towards us so I got quite excited about that.

After an hour of waiting we decided to go and see if we could meet the ellies on their way.  We took our cameras and Dave took his rifle and this time I was a bit braver and went a bit further out of the camp and I was only wearing flip flops.  I decided that if I kept on talking and asking Dave questions I would forget about being scared.  It worked to a certain extent.  We found leopard spoor, which was very groovy and ellie foot prints. 

We saw a red bishop, which is a cute little jet black and red bird and Dave was telling me all the different birds by their calls and I'm starting to learn some of them.  So I was starting to feel a lot more comfortable being in the bush.

Then suddenly we heard a deep flapping sound fairly close by.  Dave then recognised the sound of the ellies passing wind!!  Dave didn't want us to get stuck on the wrong side of the ellies when he knew I was nervous so we back tracked towards the camp.  Dave stopped by another grassy path and signalled for me to wait there while he went to investigate.  He then got all excited and came back for me because I wasn't very keen to walk through the long grass on my own and then I saw this little bull  elephant and I forgot about the grass because he was pretty awesome and so close.  He had small tusks, which Dave guessed were about 15lbs each and he was about 10years old.  He was very nonchalant just munching his way through the day.  We didn't hang around to see the others as they were moving very slowly through the thick bush.  It was also getting dark so we decided to head back.  On our way back the monkeys were being rounded up by their elders for bed as they roost in the trees at night.  You can hear the little ones nattering away until you hear a loud bark from the troop leader and then silence.
There were a couple of hippos yawning away in the river as we passed and we even had a scorpian in our bathroom when we went for a shower.  So all in all quite a lot of animal activity going on today.  By the way David quickly dissected the scorpian so hopefully I'll be able to sleep tonight.  Oh and I almost forgot we saw a Leguaan, pronounced Legovan, which is Africaans for Water Monitor.  Very creapy looking thing but thankfully it wasn't very big.

My first night in the bush

Now everyone always talks about how quiet and peaceful the African bush is.  People outside of the UK always assume that if you're from England that means London and they think you have traffic loads of sirens and trains going passed your window every night.  Well I'm from Norfolk and the nights there are as silent as they can be.  Let me put it this way; they're a damn right quieter than the African bush!!  

I woke up thinking I'd made it through the night.  I soon realised that I'd probably only been asleep for a couple of hours.  Seeing as we'd only gone to bed at 8pm this would only make it about 10pm at night meaning I still had to try and get another 8 hours of sleep before the sun came up.  I may have succeeded if it hadn't been for that blasted cricket.  After about an hour of his chirping I wanted to go outside and strangle the bugger.  I was then awake to all noises and when everyone else is sleeping even the smallest of sounds seem to be twice as loud at night.

I then spent a fitful night drifting in and out of strange dreams, which was probably due to the malaria tablets.  I was actually very disappointed that it was nothing interesting keeping me awake until around 3am  when I heard this huge grunt.  In my dazed state I was hoping it was a lion but Dave who had also been woken by the sound confirmed it was two hippo bulls having a scrap.  I thought, finally a bit more interesting than the infernal chirping of that cricket.  But they were so loud as they must have been in the river just in front of our tent and after a few hours I was wishing they'd get over their differences and leave me in peace.  I eventually dozed off and may have got an hours sleep before the sun came up.  And not really ready to spend another day in the bush but I had no other choice.

First day in the bush

The great thing about Africa is that an afternoon siesta is advised as it is too hot to do anything else during the mid day heat.  Although I still find it hard to sleep during the afternoon it offers me a great opportunity to hide away in my tent for the afternoon.  I'm a bit aggitated because Dave caught a gecko in our tent earlier and tried to make me hold it and I just froze, it's tail started thrashing and it just reminded me of a snake and I literally couldn't make myself take a step towards it.  Dave has gone off to see if he can help fix one of the cruisers so I'm trying desperately to calm myself down again.  Finally I go towards the toilet as I just cant keep it in any longer.  Now I'm taking really slow steps and I flick on the light really quickly and just as I let out my breath this gecko darts out from under the sink to go under the bath.  I didn't scream.  I cried.  So I go and lie down again and by now a whole troop of monkeys have moved in and are sitting on top of the tent and throwing things at me and one even throw himself at the door.  Thank goodness they cant turn the handle.

I'm still quite worked up when Dave finally comes back to the tent.  He reassured me that the monkeys weren't actually throwing things at me but munching on the fruit in the sycamore fig trees above and just dropping the bad fruit or the rind of the ones they were eating.  So Dave finally calms me down again and persuades me to leave the tent and we go and sit on the deck by the main lodge to watch the sun set.  It is stunning here so I start to feel a bit better again.

We watched two hippos swimming up stream to find somewhere to come out over the river to graze all night, the monkeys had finally gone to roost so after supper we went back to our tent to sleep.  The generator, which amazingly is running again after being fully submerged under water goes off at 8pm so we keep early hours here, which suits me perfectly.

So at the end of the day I am still alive but then statistically that is hardly surprising as I've spent most of the day hiding in my tent.  I've achieved my first day in the bush and I can actually go into the bathroom without flinching now as Dave has reassured me that my gecko friend is not as ferocious as I thought.

From Pemba to Lugenda

We arrive at the tarmac where the planes arrive and depart (as you can hardly call it an airport), early bells on the morning of Saturday March 6th 2010.  Like all logistics in Africa there has been a mix up with the planes and instead of the Caravan taking us up to Lugenda we are to go in the little 206, which is a 6 seater (including the pilot).  This means that the 12 bags of maize and beans we'd got to bring up for the staff at the camp will have to be left behind until the next flight comes up on Wednesday.

Luckily there are only 5 of us flying up so we can still get all our luggage in.  I'm not a nervous flyer but it's not very reassuring once you're wedged into this little tin can for the pilot to start telling you that they are a few problems with this plane and that it will be touch and go if we'll take off as she doesn't like carrying too much weight.  I start rummaging round for my safety manual, after not finding it I look to my right to see I'm right on the exit and I just lift up the handle to get out.  Safety demo aside we head off to the runway.  Our take off felt a bit like a mini metro trying to over take a ferrari but eventually our nose was in the air and thankfully the rest of us followed.

Once in the air all my worries were forgotton as the view from these little planes is amazing.  We flew over Pemba Bay, which is the 3rd largest natural bay in the World (so I've been told) and that beautiful Indian Ocean was winking back at us as we flew by. 

Once over the bay all we saw for the next hour and a half (and we flying extrememly slowly) was bush.  It's amazing there is just nothing but thick bush everywhere.

I was really looking forward to getting a good view of the camp and the Lugenda river, which the camp is on as we flew in to land but due to thick cloud cover for most of the journey I'd left my stomach behind somewhere close to Pemba.  So all my concentration was on the horizon and trying to keep the rising chunks at bay.  David (my boyfriend) took over as camera man.

Safely on the ground we awaited our transport to take us to the camp.  Two weeks ago the Lugenda river flooded pretty much destroying the camp we were about to stay in, including the generator and two Land Cruisers.  So I wasn't surprised to hear that familiar sound of the John Deere approaching to come and pick us up.  We had to do twp trips of which we were the second.  So we sat on our bags under the wing of the plane to escape from the sun, which was burning down hard on us.  Finally loaded on the tractor with David sitting on the cutter behind and the pilot and I perched on a mud guard either side of the driver; we set off for camp.

Now considering the flood I was half expecting to be sleeping on a roll mat in the mud but thankfully they'd managed to clear up a lot of the damage and we were staying in one of the East African tents, which is stunning.  We have an en suite bathroom complete with shower and stand alone bath, 4 poster bed and a dressing table!! 

So I'm starting to relax a bit and even start believing that maybe I can do this.