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When in Zambia …
The road from Sesheke (north shore
of the Zambezi opposite Katima Mulilo) to
Livingstone:
In June we travelled the Katima-Livingstone route
going through the top of Botswana and Zimbabwe. This
involved 6 border posts and R160.- in 3rd party
insurance in Zim.
This time we decided to boycott Bob Mugabe’s place
and went from Kazungula (Botswana) to Zambia using
the ferry at a cost of R110.-. The ferry looks quite
sturdy and will take three average length vehicles.
The road from Kazungula to Livingstone is only
spectacularly potholed in the first few kilometres,
requiring a bit of giant slalom driving or using the
well-developed track next to the road. Some potholes
are big enough to yield an echo. Thereafter there is
one police check and the odd large pothole, but a
decent speed can be managed. We travelled the route
in one hour and a bit.
The first section of the road from
Sesheke to Kazungula is, however, another story. We
did not witness this first hand, but a German
trans-Africa motorcyclist whom we met a few days
later had travelled that section (70-80 km) in five
hours – and he only had one wheel line to worry
about, not two.
We’d recommend the ferry crossing at Kazungula: it’s
R 50.- cheaper (unless you intend to go back that
way in less than a month), you get to show Bob the
finger and you save some border posts and passport
pages. And besides, there’s hardly any game in that
Zim park anyway.
Overlanding Camping Accommodation Zambia:
· Gwembe Safaris Campsite
(S16°48’24.5” E26°57’05.6”) – basically a converted
farmyard / campsite and costs US$5.- pppn. Gwembe is
situated south of Choma on the T1. Facilities
include hot showers and cold beers.
· Lusaka is supposed to have two
reasonable campsites just out of town (one to the
South, one to the East) but we did not stay at
either. The farmers in the area will put you up for
the night on their front lawn, but the one on whose
lawn we stayed still had leftover US$25.- invoices
from the solar eclipse (it was already dark and we
didn’t know there were real campsites 10 km further
up the road.).
· Forest Inn (S13°43’20.2”
E29°09’25.3”) – roadside campsite that has good
facilities including a restaurant. Situated on the
T2 in the Mkushi area. Cost US$5.- pppn.
· Kudalila Waterfall (S13°09’16.7”
E30°42’06.3”) – 15 km off the T2, no facilities but
a beautiful waterfall with spectacular surroundings.
A 20 minute walk gets you to the plunge pool at the
base of the waterfall. Cost K10,500 pppn payable to
the caretaker who stays in a village 8 km before the
falls.
· Kapishya hot springs camp site
(S11°10’10.3” E31°36’01.0”) – 35 km along a road
that is very rough in places but goes through some
beautiful forest and past an English mansion
completely out of place in NE Zambia (this mansion
will be turned into a lodge in the next year or
two). The camp site is next to a river as well as
next to the cleanest hot spring we’ve ever seen. The
water that bubbles out of the shallow, sandy pond is
clear, does not smell of sulphur and is pleasantly
hot that you can spend hour watching the African
night sky. Cost: $5.- pppn.
· Buffalo Camp, North Luangwa NP
(S11°55’24.4” E32°15’34.7”) – one of three camps
operated in N Luangwa (see the note on the Parks).
Simple but effective chalets that are rebuilt every
year from materials in the park. Beautiful view over
the river, plenty game seen and heard 24 hours.
Minimum stay is two nights. Cost: $50.- pppn self
catering, $200.- pppd full board + park fees. Must
be pre-arranged (mainly so you can get directions).
· Wilderness camp, Luambe NP
(S12°27’31.3” E32°08’41.2”) – unless you have
excellent directions and no fillings in your teeth
it’s almost impossible to do the trip from South
Luangwa to North Luangwa in one day and this is the
only campsite en route. On the steep bank of the
Luangwa River, it overlooks massive pods of hippo
that grunt all night. Cost: $5.- pppn + $5.- pppd
for being in the park.
· Flat dogs (= crocodile) camp
site outside South Luangwa National Park
(S13°06’05.8” E31°46’41.2”) – we went here because
everyone seems to go here (so we had to see what
it’s all about) and because it was the first sign we
saw. There are other options in the South Luangwa/
Mfuwe area as well. Also on the Luangwa River this
is a classic overlander stopover. Plenty of shady
trees, a pool and the most expensive beers we’ve had
to date, but the restaurant prices were good. The
pool comes in handy after a long hot day in a
vehicle. Cost: $5.- pppn
· Yellow chicken campsite – half
way between Chipata and the Malawi border. This
campsite comes in useful if the diabolical road from
Flat Dogs to Chipata takes longer than expected
(took us 4 hr 30 min for 135 km) and the next
campsite is in Lilongwe over 140 km from the border.
Zambia
National Parks
· Lochinvar is a part of the Kafue
flats. There is a massive lagoon that is worth a
visit. We saw masses of red lechwe and birds
(including both pelican species). The rest of the
park is a derelict of the pre-independence era and
has been poached to near barrenness. Any game that
is seen is very skittish. The roads are only barely
drivable in some places – must have a reasonable
ground clearance – and locals are often seen walking
through the park. The end of the dry season is
probably also not the prettiest time of year. The
good news is that an upmarket tented lodge
(US$280.00 - pppn) was opened a month ago and a
trust will be involved in managing the park. There
is much potential. Cost: $5.- pppd, $5.- pvpd.
· Kasanka National Park is close
to the DRC border. There is dense woodland, some
proper African forest and open plains with puku
everywhere like sheep. Currently there are two self
catering lodges, a campsite (where one benefit was
the first hot shower in over a week). We were also
allowed to camp at the Fibwe hide – a tree lookout
18 m in a giant Mululu tree from where sitatunga
sightings are almost guaranteed. There is a pontoon
crossing (unless you wish to wade or winch through a
1.6 m river with clay base) but heavy vehicles will
still get their tyres wet (pontoon’s made of 24x
44gallon drums), trailers don’t fit and a 130 Landy
may be a tight squeeze. The park boasts over 400
birds, including the shoebill early in the year and
is famous for the migration of tawny fruit bats
(over 0.5 m in size) during November and December.
Flip side is that it’s difficult to do a game drive,
drink beer and swat tsetse flies. We also did a
canoe trip up the river (no hippos but huge crocs
were seen). Costs: $10.- pppd
· North Luangwa National Park. We
went to this park because the road we’d intended to
take was impassable (see below). There are only
three camps that operate in this park and only
during the dry season from June to November. The
park and the few access roads are completely
waterlogged when it rains. Because of this the roads
are in shocking condition and you don’t just stumble
across these camps: 16 hours from South Luangwa, 7
hours from Mpika. Don’t even think about going there
without an expedition vehicle. Game walks are the
preferred game viewing mode (since the roads are so
bad) and you get close enough to buffalo, lion,
elephant and other toothsome creatures to have
adrenalin rushes right in your own undies. Plenty of
not-so-dangerous game too. It’s a real wilderness
experience not to be missed, but it’s not for
first-timers. Costs: $15.- pppd, $5.- pvpd (we felt
we should get paid to take our vehicle in here, but
there you go).
· South Luangwa National Park – by
the time we got here we’d seen huge amounts of game
and were not prepared to fork out another $25.- pppd.
Game is said to be as plentiful as the tourists
(some have told us this is a better park than Kruger
and the Serengeti, which takes some doing). The park
operates all year and there are enough all-weather
roads to deal with the rain. |
