Liuwa Plains - Going home was also fun

The Liuwa Plains were now done at dusted and it was time to make our way home. We got a good start in the morning to arrive in Mongu at around lunch time. Although I’ve glossed over it, the trip out of the Plains was as much “fun” as going in. If possible, the roads seemed to be even worse – maybe we were going against the grain. After a couple of wrong choices on multiple choice tracks, by the time we got to Mongu I was starting to suffer from a serious sense of humour failure.


Anyway, we made it to Mongu in one piece and decided that, as efficient as the Mutoya Camp was, that we’d rather give it a miss and make it as far as we could in that day without ending up driving in the dark. So we gave it horns and headed for Sioma Camp (courtesy of T4A). The road from Mongu to the Kalangola ferry also felt worse than on the journey to Mongu. It is possible as we had had fair bits of rain since our arrival. However, after all of these roads, the one from Kalangola to Sioma (which we had also traversed on the way out) seemed almost like a highway.

We drove passed quite a storm on the way, with the most magnificent rainbows. The non-die-hard campers were starting to think the chalet route again. Upon arrival at Sioma Camp (http://www.siomacamp.com/) negotiations were quickly dispensed with, over a beer, and chalets were chosen. This was made easier by the fact that the actual campsite had suffered some storm damage, as had the reception and bar. But probably even easier by the fact that it had been one helluva day. 294 Km in nearly 11 hours – going pretty much as fast as we possibly could – with limited stops. At the same time we arranged for a trip to the Sioma Falls, which were nearby.

That night we again ran into Francois and Charl of OpenAfrica (http://www.openafrica.org/ ), and spent a really interesting evening discussing the Plains, Zambia specifically, their mission and Africa in general. This brief encounter reiterated my earlier impression – this is something worth keeping an eye on.
The day had been hectic, so the get together wasn’t that late. We retired to our chalets, with satin sheets and pillows – and quickly got rid of them. Satin in the bush is just so wrong – can’t imagine what they were thinking.

After Popa Falls in the Caprivi, I was hoping that the Sioma Falls were something more. It was quite a boat ride there, with a drop-off and short walk for the boat to traverse the rapids, and then a longish walk later to get to the Falls themselves. The advertised “20 minutes to the Falls” was considerably longer, and the walk conveniently never mentioned. Be that as it may, the falls were a revelation and definitely worth the trip. In fact, if you’re in this neck of the woods, they’re a “must do”.

After everyone photographed them from every angle we made our way back, had a swim in the Zambezi and a very near mishap in the rapids. Thanks to the pilot it was negotiated with just a few raised pulses and no other harm done.

There were a number of lodges along this stretch, many of which appeared to be abandoned or falling apart. This was borne out by feedback from locals who said that Gavin Johnson (of Transvaal, Sharks and Springboks fame) was really the only person managing to make this stretch work as a tourist destination. We would also argue that Kabula Lodge was working, but not making a mint.

Although Sioma Camp has all of the right ingredients, sadly, our experience there would suggest that they too will follow the route of the others unless something is done. (Anybody want to buy this with me?)

After that, a short trip to my personal favourite, Kabula Lodge, passing by the boom, now unmanned as it was a Sunday. Go figure 

Fuel was starting to get a bit tight at this stage, but it looked as if all of us would make it to Katima the next day.

We celebrated our return to Kabula with a few beers. We had chosen to camp in their stunning grounds this time. A word to the uninitiated, putting up a dome tent while marginally under the influence is not a quick affair. Simon and Ted (who were in a chalet again) did little to help the situation while they watched – preferring a few words of encouragement mixed with derision.

We went for a short fishing excursion to try to relive the glory of the earlier part of the trip. We managed to hook absolutely nothing – my record is intact.

The next day we made our way out of Zambia. I, personally, felt very sad to be leaving the Zambezi Valley. You feel almost as if you’re leaving a part of yourself there – to pick it up when you come back. There seems to be an acceptance that you will do so. It is such a beautiful part of the world and has so much going for it.

That’s it then – leaving Zambia and retracing our steps via Katima, refuelling there with some relief, via a quick stop in Kasane and over-nighting in Elephant Sands and then Kwa Nokeng – boring tar all the way to home. Border stops all the way were a breeze and accomplished with the minimum of fuss. The only change was carrying a monumental hangover from Elephant Sands to Kwa Nokeng – a very heavy extra passenger. This was the result of over doing Simon’s “Mafunyane Xmas Party” with a few other travellers.

Now for my impressions and observations;
Zambia
Bearing in mind that we only did the very West of the country, bordering on Angola, this shouldn’t be considered as part of the definitive guide to Zambia – and should be recognised as my own humble opinion. This area has got 4 major things right; the absolute beauty of the place and its surrounds, the friendliness, industriousness and hospitality of the people, the cleanliness outside of major centres and their cell phone network. It appears to be incredibly poor, but you could pick up a signal in the most unlikely places – including the Sausage Tree in Liuwa.

Much of the industry, or lack thereof, appears to be driven by the state of the roads. There is just no easy way to get to this part of the world and very few other vehicles are seen. Those that you do see seem to be Government Department vehicles, or road works / aid vehicles - many driven by Chinese - they’re everywhere. Initial impressions suggest that the state of the roads is as a result of laziness and lack of foresight. It is not! When you see what the effect of water is on the flood plains, and you see the absolute lack of resources in this area, you begin to understand why they are that way. The hardship and lack of opportunity that the state of these roads imposes on the people suggests that they would have it another way if possible.

Barter is more popular than money in this area. Most people would prefer to be paid in goods than money - because there is nowhere for them to spend it. The cost of transport to shops would be prohibitive. We heard the story of 2 young men walking 65 km’s to buy something. They then had to get back.

But there appears to be something even more disastrous. Being in rural Africa you really become aware of the effect of Aids on this continent. We saw very few people between the ages of 18 and 40, and some of the smaller towns are nearly empty. It is estimated that between 50%-60% of the people have Aids. Given this situation we were very surprised by the lack of clinics and health services in the region. They only appeared to be available near the major centres. Given the state of the roads, they will have no effect on the rural people.

Despite the apparent poverty, or more correctly, the lack of means, we never felt unsafe or threatened in any way – even walking around in Mongu. It puts our own country, where crime is blamed on apartheid and poverty, in a very negative light. Despite the fact that there are huge power lines in the country, none of this seems to make its way to the rural people. They have to fend for themselves and draw water from the rivers - and they're happy. Makes you wonder about our service delivery protestors. Maybe the bush makes people happy?

Other than in the Liuwa Plains there was no game!! And Liuwa plains could have supported a lot more than it does. No monkeys, no baboons, no buck – and so on. My guess, and it might be the wrong one, is that the locals eat bush meat as a dietary supplement. This spells disaster if they’re trying to attract foreign tourism. Foreign tourists want the Big 5. What is heartening is the land that they’re putting aside for reserves and the work that some international organisations are doing to try to reintegrate game into the area – it certainly lends itself to this. The trick will be to show the communities that it is in their interests to work with these initiatives – and that is part of where Open Africa comes in. (if you do nothing else – read the “Founder’s Message” http://www.openafrica.org/page/about )

This made absolutely no difference to my trip. I had an adventure and saw the Wildebeest gathering – anything else would have been a bonus.

Would I go back to visit this part of Zambia? In a heartbeat – I loved it.

The Trip
I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of the trip, despite the roads. However, if I went back to Liuwa Plains it would have to be part of a longer journey. It is worth seeing, but I doubt that I would do that as an only destination again. Too much hard work for 4 days.

Our end itinerary was right, and I don’t believe there are too many changes to make to that for the trip to work again.

In the beginning I missed the trailer. Upon reflection you could pull a trailer there, but I don’t think that I would – if that was the only destination, or unless the stay was longer. The vehicle, campsites and packing worked and got easier as we went along. It is not as easy as the trailer, but it’s definitely manageable. Some stops for lunch were probably not as hygienic or aesthetically pleasing as usual, but they worked. The dome tent worked like a charm and I will never contemplate the purchase of a rooftop tent. From my point of view it unnecessarily restricts your movement, particularly when you’re in one place for more than a day.

The only things that we had to top up on were bread, beer and whisky. All to be expected, so no loss. I would plan my fuel for a little more leeway than I did.

Simon was a great guide again and his food kept us going. I will travel with Mafunyane (http://www.mafunyaneadventures.com/), Ted and George again. They really added to the texture of our trip. I certainly know more about birds, from Kobus and Debbie, than I did before.

 

Dave, despite your nervousness in the beginning and the fact that you caught the Tiger you were a great co-driver. I thoroughly enjoyed having you along for the ride. We had great fun and many many laughs and irreverent moments. If I’m ever in need of a co-driver again, I’ll have no hesitation in calling.