Zambia Safari 4 : South Luangwe

Zambia is a very poor, sub-saharan African country. It is enjoying some economic growth off a very low base but outside Lusaka it's very undeveloped. In bigger towns you may be able to pay for fuel with a credit card or find an ATM but it's advisable to carry enough cash in USD to cover your expenses.  And you may well need your jerrycan of extra fuel. You'll need to be pretty much self sufficient with regard to food and drinking water.  Distances between National Parks are far, road travel is slow and it's obviously safer to tour in a group.

We left Kafue via Mumbwa, heading towards Lusaka. There are no highways or ringroads, so punching though the city slows you down. 

We drove all day to reach Chimwemwe Lodge in Petuake. It's a very long way,  but they do have cold beer and steak and chips in the striplit dining room. And oddly the Rythymic Gymnastics World Champs on the TV. No soccer?

After some shopping for veggies in the market, we head off to Wildlife Camp in South Luangwe. There's no camping and only  one lodge inside the national park, so most guests stay in surrounding lodges. Wildlife Camp is very good. We had a wonderful riverside spot and there's a great pool and bar. The main lodge is about 500m along the river and their bar has WiFi. If campers want WiFi or lodgers want a swim, the barmen radio each other to check there are no ellies or lions along the path and then you're free to walk. Ellies and hippos do come through the camp, so you need to be careful when heading to the ablutions at night.

Entrance into South Luangwe is USD 75 per day for 2 adults and a car, which is pretty expensive. It is a most beautiful park with lovely rivers and lots of beautiful trees. The birding was amazing and we saw quite a bit of game but no cats. Road conditions can be tough and off the main arterials you're not likely to see another car. Once again, like in Kafue, it feels like you have an entire national park to yourself. And that's so rare on this crowded, crowded planet. There are no facilities inside the park, like ablutions or picnic sites or restaurants and the bush is pristine. 

Exhale! The hippo in the water with the bird on his back, chomps water lilies and I am happy. No Yoga needed!

Zambia Safari 3 : Kafue National Park

Monday 15 April
Once into Zambia it's only just over an hour to Livingstone. Take the T1 to Kalomo where you branch off in a Northwesterly direction to Dumdumwezi , the Southern gate of Kafue National Park.Through town the road was so bad we wondered how we'd make it but it improved and in fact long stretches of road are currently being graded and resurfaced. There's no stop / go control on the bits of road under construction so you just squeeze past the massive grader while it ploughs huge piles of gravel into your path. 

At the gate you need to pay all the park fees upfront in USD cash. It's not cheap, about 60USD per day, all in for 2 adults, a car and a caravan.

It's a fairly good dirt road north inside the park to headquarters and we were only held up for a bit by slightly agitated elephants in our path.

The last 29kms are very sandy 4x4 only tracks. We arrived at Hippo Bay Campsite to find the bathrooms under construction. The campsite gets flooded in the rainy season and when the water level drops maintenance is required before the camp opens to visitors. Although the park received very poor rain this last year, much needed late rain had slowed down building progress. We camped at the sister property Mokamoya Lodge on the lawns overlooking the lake. The lodge was also under construction, due to reopen on 1 June. 

16 and 17 April
What a stunning place! Puku and Lechwe and plenty of birds at the water. Game drives along the lake were stunning. We saw plenty of hippos, elephants and buffalo and we did find the lions we heard roaring at night. 

Beware, away from the water and especially in long grass there are tsetse flies. Lots and lots of the evil little buggers. In these areas you have to do game drives with your car windows shut and carry a giant can of Doom and a flyswatter in the car in case one gets in! 

They cling to your car -  as if they have suckers on their feet - and if you get out before they've dissapated you'll be dancing around like a swirling dervish in a mosh pit to avoid being bitten.

It rained a few times -  one night, too hard for a braai - so I made tuna and cheese sandwiches inside the caravan and ventured out with an umbrella to deliver them to Danie and John in their tent, " like Mary Poppins " according to John.

18,19, 20 April
A few hours north, we spent the next 3 nights at Casabushi Camp, set on the Kafue River. The owners, Andy and Libby are the most wonderful hosts and their camp is awesome. We had the best site, a secluded riverside spot away from the other Easter weekend campers. Casabushi wins a prize for the best campsite bush bathroom in Africa!

We had a few wonderful river cruises but game drives were rather unsuccessful due to thick bush and long grass. Some tracks were closed.  Due to late rains driving through the notoriously sticky blackcotton clay was not advisable.

By now the 4 of us are so enjoying our camping. John makes us coffee every morning and does all the dishes. Danie and I share most of the cooking and Neil relaxes; well he does pour wine and make fires. And comes up with dessert ideas!

Zambia Safari 2: How to cross the border at Kazangula

After hours of research and a major runaround in Joburg as well as almost 3 hours to get 2 vehicles with trailers through the Kazangula Ferry Border Post, here's the latest update. April 2019.

Checking Slip Stolen Status

Before leaving SA you must get an Interpol Clearance for all vehicles.

This is a  SAPS form, form 21. It's not available to download.

The only place we found where you can get it is at the Langlaagte Vehicle Testing Station. Take your ID, original vehicle papers and the vehicles. Drive in to the testing station and drive to the back of the car park, turn left through the gate and park outside office 2. The chaps will check your papers, check the VIN on your car and issue the form. Take this along with original vehicle papers and other necessary documents if your car is financed or borrowed. We also get proof of insurance from our insurance company but have never been asked for this at any border.

Kazangula Border

1. From Kasane, Drive past all the trucks queueing back for Kms, up to the border gate.

1.Exiting Botswana is simple. All passengers' passports stamped out at Immigration and  then get a Temporary Export Permit for your vehicles and trailers from customs.

( You will have to show the receipt for for RTP, MVI and NRF Burs issued when you entered Bots.)

We took 40 minutes because their computers were down.

2.Drive through gate and down to ferry jetty. Staff will direct you onto the ferry. Drivers only in the car. Other passengers on foot. Paid ZAR 220 for bakkie and trailer at booth on ferry. 

3. Drive off ferry on Zambian side. Park outside Immigration building. All passengers to get passports stamped into Zambia at Immigration Office. Make sure you get correct number of days and entries.

4. Interpol counter, in same building. They ask for your Checking Stolen Status Form and go outside with you to check vehicle VIN. They pass info to next counter. Fill in Register.

5. Customs counter. Next to Interpol counter. Checks vehicle papers and goes outside with you to inspect vehicle. May ask you to open caravan, boot , fridges etc. Issues you with CIP form.

6. You need to buy Third Party Insurance. TIP touts in car park arrange this for you. Staff warn you not to pay anything more than the ZKW 262 to these guys. We did however, find Andrew most helpful in taking us from office to office and tipped him 5 USD in the end.

7. Building behind Immigration is Customs. Officer at desk, takes CIP form,  Fill in Register.

8. Outside this building is an ATM that takes international cards. Draw Kwatcha.

9. Back into customs building to queue for Emissions Tax Certificate. Called Toll Receipt.Only KW accepted. Price depends on distance you will be traveling in Zambia and car's engine capacity. We paid KW200.

10. Temporary Import Permit. Another Office, Another Register, Another form. This time paid in USD only. 20USD per car..

11. Council Tax. Another office. ZKW 30. Get receipt.

12. Tout staples all 4 receipts/ certificates together, sticks TIP disc in your window and gets your forms check by gate officials. We were waved through. Make sure you keep all this paperwork safe!!

13. Usual customs limitations for alcohol etc apply but we were not checked anywhere.

14. Botswana is very fussy about meat imports from SA due to the Foot and Mouth outbreaks. Fridges and freezers are checked at the border. Cooked meat is fine though.

We were also stopped at various vetinary check points and checked, eventhough it's not supposed to be a problem when travelling South to North.??

Zambia Safari 1 : Botswana first

After a few days in Joburg, we were back at the farm, packing and sorting the caravan for Zambia 2019.

Luckily, we had a fun weekend at the farm too, a farewell for Tommy and Mandy.

leaving Maizefield

Tuesday 9 April 

After meeting Danie and John in Modimolle, we head to Matamba Bush Camp. It's a lovely place for the start of any trip heading through Botswana, a night to get everything sorted.

Wednesday 10 April

Drive to the Platjan border. Easy, peasy through this border. We head to Molema Bush Camp in Tuli Block. The private campsites on the Limpopo river are really great and they do also have some bungalows.

Thursday 11 April

You can self drive, it's strictly 4 x4 though, but we opt for an organised game drive with a guide the next morning. We had almost given up tracking the lions and stopped next to the river at Eagle Rock. I asked if I could jump out of the vehicle for a wee. Just as I was about to climb down, KB, our guide decided to check first. Next thing he comes running around the bush, white as a sheet,  "There's Lions! " Two big males behind the bush I was going wee behind! That was a close shave and I suddenly didn't need to go so urgently. It's a stunning place and we will be back.

Friday 12 April

It's quite a bit of driving to Elephant Sands, outside Nata, another favourite overnight stop when heading north.

Saturday 13 and Sunday 14 April

The campsite at Chobe River Lodge, just outside Kasane, is also on a river and some sites are nicer than others, so it's the luck of the draw. The great thing here is that you can use all the hotel facilities and the pool deck has awesome sunset views over the river. Order you GnTs from the bar and it's easy to stay from lunch till dinner.

The other highlight is a cruise on the Chobe River for game viewing and birdwatching. The lodge had some bigger booze cruise boats. The upside is the comfort and bar service, the downside can be the noisy co-passengers. Stay a few nights and switch it up with a private boat cruise and a game drive into the Chobe National Park.

Amazon Adventure

We flew to Manaus and spent 2 nights at the wonderful downtown oasis, Hotel Villa Amazonia. We needed a chill day and we got it. Let's face it, Manaus is just another ugly, Brazilian city that doesn't warrant much of a stop. They are trying to gentrify the colonial centre but we were done in an hour or 2. We did enjoy dinner at Caxiri Manaus and on the second night we ate at Fitz, our hotel's on site restaurant.

Finding the right Amazon tour is tough. Many of the lodges closer to the city aren't even in the jungle anymore and lower end boat trips have you sleeping in hammocks or pitching tents.

In the end we paid quite a bit for Juma Jungle Lodge but it was worth it. Boat, Bus, Boat to get to the wooden lodge,  built on stilts in the river.  We loved our room and the view. The food was good, as were the cocktails. We did our birding and sightseeing trips by boat, loved seeing the river dolphins, including the pink dolphins and enjoyed more piranha fishing. The jungle walking was also good. The tour to a cultural village was condescending and we skipped the night caiman spotting trip. Back to Manaus for a night, then on to Sao Paulo and back to Johannesburg.

Foz Iguazu and the Pantanal

We hit the road again, this time heading towards Foz Iguazu. We stayed overnight in Fransisco Beltao at the Palace Hotel and arrived at Foz Iguazu by noon the next day. Once again, the downtown had no appeal at all. We stayed at San Martin, the closest resort to the National Park. Very nice, with grounds for a bit of birding and a good pool. And buffet meals! We survived. It's super value at less than 100 USD per night.

Early next morning, we walked up to the falls. It rained on and off all day. The whole place is super touristy and it gets crowded so we were lucky to arrive early. You catch a bus from the entrance to the Falls, where there are various stop offs. Most people follow the same route, so we did the opposite and virtually had the Falls to ourselves for the first hour. These falls are truly spectacular, not as high or as wide as Victoria Falls but with many cascades.

 Viewing platforms allow you to get very close. When walking along the paths against the flow of tour groups got too crowded, we bailed and headed up to the Belmond Hotel. This is an iconic, old hotel with wide verandahs and comfy cane furniture. It's the only hotel within the National Park park and a room would have set us back over 500 USD a night. We drank great wine and had a lovely lunch on the terrace, watching birds with a view of the falls in the background.

On 15 March we drove to Bonito. This is a town that offers lots of adventure activities and is popular with backpackers. We enjoyed the birdwatching, especially the parrots and toucans.

After a night in Miranda, we were to transfer to Pousada Sao João for our Pantanal Safari. Being the wet season, we expected a 4x4 but instead were met by a lady in a VW Polo, who already had 2 tourists in her car! We loaded up our SUV and followed her all the way to Passo de Lontra, in the Pantanal. We were left here to wait for the Pousada truck, which we then followed all the way to the farm. There's a major drought this year, so the roads were easily passable.

The Pantanal is really beautiful. It's the largest wetland in the world, about the size of Germany. It's a protected wildlife area with strict conservation rules but all the land is privately owned ranches. 13 million head of cattle are farmed here. Some ranches, like Pousada San João, where we stayed are tourist lodges. A 3 or 4 night stay includes game drives and walks, boat cruises, horse riding, night walks and piranha fishing. Home cooked meals are provided and luckily we had our own wine with us. 

The bird watching was awesome, the capibaras and caimans were plentiful but the rest of the wildlife was quite scarce.

We drove back to Sao Paulo with a stop in Presidente Prudente.