Lower Zambezi
Chapter one
Arrival and an afternoon on the river.
It’s an early morning start and I arrive at the airport with more than enough time to spare. The driver tells me I needn’t have worried. There’s no traffic and the airport will be empty. There are few flights departing at that hour.
I wander the departure hall, browse the stores. Passengers trickle in collecting in small groups near the gate entrance as we all wait for our flights. I try to guess who will be on mine.
When our flight is called we descend the stairs and through a door to the tarmac. There are nine of us: three Indian women, an Indian couple from Hong Kong, and four older women that I guess are from the States. We’re lead to a a small plane and given a brief safety announcement before we’re off.
It’s a quick 30 minute flight to Jeki airstrip in the National Park and we get our first glimpse of the river on approach. The pilot announces our position and tells us we may have to circle if animals are spotted on the runway. Today, there are none.
Everyone alights and bags are unloaded. The Indian couple are on their way to Lolebezi Safari Lodge. I tell them that I almost stayed there. When I was booking this last minute trip there were only two lodges available; unfortunately, had I chosen Lolebezi I would have had to curtail my plans.
I’m the only one to reboard. We fly along the river, skirting Zimbabwean airspace. It’s a beautiful stretch of Africa and I’m trilled to be seeing it from the air.
I’m surprised to find The Royal Airstrip is tarred. Later, Raphael will point out the homes of two rich brothers who have built a lodge along the banks of the river. It’s for this lodge that the airstrip is named, and who have paid for the runway surfacing.
It’s a 30 min drive to camp through thick bush. When looking at the maps of the camp locations I thought that it wouldn’t make much difference in camp location; it looked like the camp was just outside the park. However, as I’d learn, location does matter for how the vegetation has grown.
We strain to spot bush buck and impala through the trees, their brown bodies melt into their surroundings.
I’m welcomed at the lodge by two managers who help me get situated and suggest I head out for a cruise sa soon as I’m settled. They always want to get people on the water as soon as possible to get a feel for what makes this area so magical.
Almost before I know it I’m on a boat cruising up the river. We see crocodiles and hippos and elephants and warthog and impala and baboons.
We see a bunch of baby elephant. We elders circle and protect a baby elephant lying on the ground. We watch elephants by the water climbing the banks after they’ve drank their fill. A baby gets up and falls over. They all wait, encircling the baby as it struggles back up to its feet and lumbers off with their family.
We see hippos walking along the high banks looking for a place to descend, and then watch as they slide down the sandy bank into the water, dispersing the birds that have been perched upon their backs.
We see baby rhinos and pregnant elephants, all on the banks of the river.
Before I know it, the trip is over and we’re back at the lodge. Lunch is a buffet of BBQ chicken and chicken and mushroom pizza. I treat myself to a glass of sparkling wine and take a dip in the pool.
In the afternoon Leonard collects us to take us on our afternoon drive. We head out of the lodge and through the area around the camp. We’re outside the park and the area is owned by the local villagers. The lodges work with them on conservation efforts and we see elephants and zebra on our drive.
Raphael drives up a hill and stops for sundowners. I ask where the road leads and he says it’s possible to drive up and over the mountains and then onto Lusaka.
He prepares our cocktails and we gaze out over the plains towards the river and Zimbabwe on the opposite banks. It’s a quiet night and I bask in the stillness. The moon hangs bright in the sky, growing brighter with each passing moment as the sun leaves darkness in the sky. 🇿🇲
19 July 2024
