Trip Report #23 (22 - 24 July): KKKKKold Kafue

Zambia really is expensive.  And this view is echoed by locals and fellow tourists alike.  I can speculate about the possible reasons for this i.e. landlocked status, high custom charges/import duties as we have already discovered, high influx of international tourists and expats paid in Dollars, but whatever the reason/s, the costs are high and it is getting to our dwindling budget. 

We camp in Kafue in one of the very few affordable lodges/camps North of the main road to the Western Province.  We target the North as it offers more open plains and the opportunity to see Cheetah, Wild dogs and scenery that differs from what we have seen so far. 

The Mayukuyuku camp comes recommended by Flatdogs and has great facilities (camping and otherwise), a glorious setting on the bank of the Kafue and is completely empty due to late cancellations (fortunate for us, less so for the camp).   It is located in the National Park itself and park charges for the duration of our stay exceeds the total costs of our three night accommodation, game drive and drinks at the bar. 

We are spoilt rotten with our dishes being done for us, fire made for us and laundry done at now additional charge.  Most impressive though is the environmentally conscious operation of the camp.  For the first time we are obliged to separate waste and see evidence of waste reclamation and renewable energy sources everywhere. 

The 0600 game drive happens in blistering cold weather as we set out (again) to see wild dog and cheetah.  The wild dogs, cheetah and most possibly the late  cancellations are smarter than we are and stay in bed this morning.  We do however see lion, elephant, chameleon warthog  (they are distinctly dusted by the colourful soil of their burrows ), an African Finfoot, a corpse of a porcupine and a variety of antelope. We are also introduced to the notorious black cotton soil that makes this area so very inaccessible during the rainy season. 

We do not recover from the chill in our bones till midday. 

Mainly because of the weather we decide against any other activities (more morning or evening game drives, safari walks or boat rides on offer) and we spend the remainder of the day and the next lazing around our riverside campsite from sun spot to sunspot.  We are in good company with a pair of crocodile on the opposite bank, a pair of Cormorants and a pair of Egyptian geese on the little island opposite us doing the exact same thing. 

Pss, we are finally up to date with our blogging.  If only we can get these blogs loaded.  Only satellite phone reception here.

M-L