Zambia

Kapishya / Shiwa Lodges, Shiwa, Northern Zambia

We were en route to South Luangwa National Park in northern Zambia when we fell upon a place called Kapishya lodge, along a 32km rough road off the main highway. And how grateful we are that we visited! The ride in resembled something out of the shining. It was late when we arrived at the gravel track and dark. But we finally got to the lodge where we were met by the lovely owners Mark and Mel. Mark offered us a cold beer and we got chatting. Turns out he is the grand son of the famous British eccentric Sir Stephen Gore-Brown who came here in the early 20^th century to set up his English idyll deep in northern Zambia.

The beautiful entrance to Shiwa House.

He established Shiwa house (still used as an upmarket hotel today) and maintained a sizeable estate centred around a beautiful lake, complete with crocodiles.

Cool memorabilia!

Mark established the beautiful Kapishya Lodge on the bend of a river nearby. And the best bit? It has its own natural hot springs. Sulphur free and bubbling away, we spent hours just lazing in the late afternoons and early mornings when

it was cool and crisp enough to take full advantage of the warm waters.

My kind of place..!

The food prepared by Mel was spot on, the ambience of the place was serene and you simply couldn’t beat the hospitality offered.  If you’re ever in the area, make sure you stop at this spot but be warned, you’ll stay longer than you’ll plan for!

South Luangwa National Park

South Luangwa has to be one of the most enchanting game parks in Africa. The diversity of the flora and fauna and the spectacular driving through the park is almost unparalleled, bar maybe for the Masai Maara or Serengeti.

A lone hippo contemplates life..

One minute you’re driving through lush forest, the next you’re wading through a river or traversing a dry sand river bed a hundred metres long. It’s a great experience. We entered the park from the north, following a hair raising descent of a huge escarpment. Himba was tested to her limits!

Camping at the park gate, South Luangwa.

Keeping the lions away!

We spent a happy two days driving around the park. Most of the animals are concentrated along the still flowing river in the south of the park so we concentrated our game drives there. We came across this pride of lions pretty soon on after a tip off from a game ranger.

Lazy little (big) cats..

This is the most exercise this cat did for most of the day..

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But the absolute highlight for me had to be an encounter we had with a leopard. We had been looking for this, the most common of all African cats for some time. South Luangwa is the place to see leopards we were told but despite looking in every tree in Zambia we hadn’t come across one to date. Perhaps we should have been looking on the ground! After another tip off from a ranger we started searching the bush in a more remote part of the park and came across a clear fresh leopard kill hanging in a tree. We looked around for some time when suddenly our hearts stopped when we came across this fellow lying on the ground about twenty feet in front of us!

That's a good looking cat..

We must have sat there for an hour before we could bring ourselves away. She was completely unphased by us, probably as we were alone and Himba’s colour camouflages us well into the lush green bush.

Grooming time!

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But let’s not forget the other characters of South Luangwa. It’s always easy to concentrate your mind on the big five but it’s the peripheral animals dotted all over the landscape that make this place so special.

This has to be one of the cutest families out there!

Everyone loves a good elephant.

Fighting for their right.... to party..

Doesn't he look like he's up to something!

What you looking at..!

I’ll definitely come back to this park!

A lone impala waiting to be eaten..

Victoria Falls National Park, Zambia

Everyone has heard of the mighty Victoria Falls and I was hoping it wasn’t one of those hyped up tourist attractions. And my oh my it wasn’t! It wasn’t just about the falls either. The rafting is best in class globally, the wildlife rivals that of some game parks and the chance to swim in the Devil’s pool on the edge of the falls was sublime.

Admiring only a small section of cataracts at Victoria Falls.

So after a quick tour of the falls, we met a local guide who said he’d take us to a better viewpoint. We followed and he didn’t lie! We spent the next hour walking, wading, scrambling through pools to get to the famous swimming hole right on the edge of Angel falls, one of the many cataracts. This was the view we got from the top!

Just a couple of the many cataracts of Victoria Falls. Stunning.

We then scrambled further and got to the Devil’s pool, a swimming spot only available when water levels are low enough to stop you being launched over the side of the falls..

The edge of the pool hides over 115 metres of sheer drop over the falls!

And where there is danger, there is usually the opportunity to do something stupid. Naturally we took part. Jumping into a pool which feeds into a waterfall which falls 115m at Victoria Falls is exhilarating, even if you forget your swimmers…

Jumping into the Devil's pool! Woohoo!

Some other pics!

National parks are not just for humans..

The volume of water from a single cataract was ridiculous.

Rainbow falls (original naming). With a permanent rainbow it is sheer beauty.

Rafting the mighty Zambezi river, Victoria Falls!

If you ever feel like throwing yourself head on into an extreme sport then try rafting the class five (and six!) Zambezi river. You start rafting at the base of the Victoria falls themselves at a place called the boiling pot..

One of the rapids had a five metre wall of water. Let me put that into perspective. We were cruising along, riding up and down some smaller rapids when we came round a corner, dipped down into the trough of the rapid and then faced up to see what looked like a solid wall of water two storeys high in front of us. The raft simply disappeared as we got swallowed up by the rapid. How we made it through I will never know but what a rush!

Check out these series of photos and accompanying videos. And to think these weren’t even the worst rapids. Each rapid has a couple of photos to walk you through the sheer terror.. I was sitting in the front right for most of the day. You can just about make out my blue shorts in some of the rapids, especially in the one where I’m thrown from one side of the raft and enter the water first on the complete opposite side! Should make you laugh…

Rapid Four, Zambezi River

So it starts well....

This first one is a small miracle. How on earth did we manage to get through that when we were effectively completely under water save for our guide’s helmet!

It was around this point I started to worry ever so slightly..

And then guess what happened next……

Somehow we emerged unscathed. Although frightened.. very frightened..

Rapid Five, Zambezi River

Strong start going into the rapid. That wouldn't last..

So things started to get a bit wet..

Take a look at the second to last picture and have a look at that angle. It could only have been the beer and BBQ that we all had the previous night that kept the boat down!!

How does this thing not flip? Answers on a postcard..

But we survived. Just..

Rapid Seven – ‘Gulliver’s Travels’, Zambezi River

This is only the start of the rapid!!

This one is simply amusing. Watch the sequence and then in the second to last picture notice how many of us are holding onto the ‘oh shit’ rope, as it’s called in the industry. Unfortunately for us it was of little help and we all drank a fair few litres of fresh Zambezi!

Washing machine; cycle 2..

Oh dear.

There's not much chance of coming back from here but look at the dedication of the team to stay in. Inspirational or sheer terror. You decide.

Rapid Eight – ‘Midnight Diner’, Zambezi River

Another strong start. Nothing to worry about on this one, surely?!

I'll be honest and say we didn't expect that to happen..

Or the flipping waterfall..

But we somehow survived the onslaught and emerged victorious... and wet... very wet.....

Rapid Thirteen – ‘The Mother’ Rapid, Zambezi

But none compared to this evil beggar..

Well, they weren’t wrong when they called this the mother rapid. We came into it slightly side on which didn’t help, especially when I got completely smashed in the face by a wall of water a couple of metres high..

We almost look like we're enjoying ourselves at the start of this one..

Notice my positioning at the beginning of the rapid at front right. Then notice progressively the shift in my seating right up until I’m the first to be thrown over the entire raft and into the water. It didn’t help further that Conor and me got smacked immediately by the boat and sent under it for a few seconds. Well at least it will give you all a laugh!!

First sign of trouble; about thirty litres in the mouth..

And the migration begins. I was originally sitting at the front right.

Somehow some of our team survived!

Take a look at the video version and see if you can spot the moment Conor and I get smacked in the head by the boat. Also, have a look at how much time we involuntarily spend under water during the escapade!

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In summary, rafting the Zambezi was about as much fun as you can have with your clothes on and to be perfectly frank, we needed a bloody good wash!

Micro lighting the Victoria Falls

I decided to do a micro light flight on the last morning to get a fuller view of the falls. I’ve never been in a micro light before and didn’t realise how skimpy the little contraptions are but I’m hooked on them. They are zippy, open enough to really feel the wind in your hair and incredibly manoeuvrable, allowing a graceful flight around the falls.

First view of the spectacular Victoria falls from a thousand feet!

It was funny to see all of the rapids that had threatened to kill us only a day before so vividly from the air!

The falls and the first part of the gorge we rafted, all in view.

Zambia is simply a stunning country and I couldn’t recommend it enough. The people, the national parks and the spectacular sights are all wonderful and in very differing ways. It’s always sad to leave a place you connect with but we still have three more countries to get to!

COMING UP NEXT!

Botswana!

Chobe National Park

The famous elephants of Chobe National Park.

The Okavango Delta

The Central Kalahari Desert