In which I don't know I have another encounter

Trip Start Aug 22, 2010

Trip End Sep 11, 2010

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Where I stayed

Kakomarara Camp

(Chirundu hotels)

Flag of Zambia Zambezi River, Lusaka, Zambia
Monday, September 6, 2010

A better sleep last night, then up with the others at 6am. A few pieces of toast, done in the frypan, and some teacoffee, then packed up camp and we were off. Into the swing of it now, paddling slowly and letting the current carry us down. We passed under a big bridge joining Zambia and Zimbabwe, and saw big trucks trundling across and a lot of foot traffic, people with day passes crossing from Zim to Zam for work or shopping. Didn't see anyone crossing the other way! Some gorgeous houses perched on the banks, green lawns, decks looking out over the river. There’s our Africa House, Sue!!

Later we passed into narrow channels, one of which we had to back track as it got too shallow and we kept grounding. TK says it’s because it’s Monday, and the Kariba Dam hasn’t been opened for all the electricity needs along the river. Tomorrow the river level will be higher

"The Africa House"

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As we were passing along one of these narrow channels, we went over a kind of a smooth bump. I didn’t think anything of it, other than perhaps we’d passed over a rock under the water, but TK asked me later if I’d been afraid. Of what? I wanted to know - - it had been a hippo coming up underneath us. It changed its mind, apparently, and sank again, with me none the wiser.

Because of our back track, we floated past a herd of elephants we would otherwise have missed, munching on grass at the river’s edge. We got too close and the bull gave us a mock charge, flaring his ears out and staring us down. It was very exciting. Later we saw more, and rafted up to float very slowly by. We were lucky to see them cross the river, right in front of us, five or six of them, holding their tails up high so crocs couldn’t grab them.

We spent so much time watching the elephants that TK said we weren’t going to make it to our camp by dark, so we took Plan B, which is Kakomarara Island, again surrounded by snorting hippos. Chicken stew for dinner, bed @ 9.30pm.

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