February 11th, 2009
The
Zambezi River, with its 2,574 km length, is the fourth longest river in Africa
and the largest amongst those flowing into the Indian Ocean. Its source is
located in Zambia then flows through Angola along the border between Zambia and
Zimbabwe up to Mozambique, where it finally flows into the Indian Ocean. This
river hosts a wide variety of animal species. Hippos, crocodiles and monitor
lizards can be found in many areas of the river. There is plenty of birds, such
as herons, pelicans, African fish eagles. The woody vegetation along the coast
gives rise to numerous species of large animals such as buffalos, zebras,
giraffes and elephants.
I'm
getting psychologically ready to deal with today and tomorrow's wild
adventures. We will canoe on the Zambezi River for 60 kms, and the area is
surrounded by crocodiles and hippos. I'm scared and I confess it to Chris (our
guide) but he tries to reassures me by saying there's nothing to worry about.
Each canoe carries two passengers, food, two tents, a few chairs etc.. Each person has a bucket to be filled with personal stuff, each canoe has three holes in which we can put the buckets. We keep canoeing for more than two hours then we have a break for lunch and a nap. We go back to sailing and we keep so for another couple of hours then, at the end of day, we decide to camp on a desert island. I caught sight of around 15 hippos but the guide tells me that as we are not too close to them, they won't attack us.
Each canoe carries two passengers, food, two tents, a few chairs etc.. Each person has a bucket to be filled with personal stuff, each canoe has three holes in which we can put the buckets. We keep canoeing for more than two hours then we have a break for lunch and a nap. We go back to sailing and we keep so for another couple of hours then, at the end of day, we decide to camp on a desert island. I caught sight of around 15 hippos but the guide tells me that as we are not too close to them, they won't attack us.
 |
| The desert island where we camped |
Everything
around is totally wild. I'm filthy and sunburnt but this place is just so
gorgeous.
While Bianca is cooking pasta (terrible! weird because she is usually a good cook) the guys, including the guides, are playing soccer-volleyball.
I think, I keep thinking, today is February, 11th. Every time I look at Shanghai I wonder how they could call a black man Shanghai, a Chinese name. Shanghai is a Chinese name). He's the handyman and he always remains aside, even when we are eating. You can easily understand he's used to a totally different treatment.
Chris catches sight of an elephant from the distance. I'm sure tonight I'll be sleeping like a killer, with one eye open.
At night I can hear the hippos grunting but I'm so tired that I am sleeping like a log, certainly not like a killer!
While Bianca is cooking pasta (terrible! weird because she is usually a good cook) the guys, including the guides, are playing soccer-volleyball.
I think, I keep thinking, today is February, 11th. Every time I look at Shanghai I wonder how they could call a black man Shanghai, a Chinese name. Shanghai is a Chinese name). He's the handyman and he always remains aside, even when we are eating. You can easily understand he's used to a totally different treatment.
Chris catches sight of an elephant from the distance. I'm sure tonight I'll be sleeping like a killer, with one eye open.
At night I can hear the hippos grunting but I'm so tired that I am sleeping like a log, certainly not like a killer!
February 12th, 2009
Zambia, Zambezi River Today is a day plenty of emotions.
When I wake up I feel sick, it seemed to be strange not to have caught any
illness yet, since the sanitary conditions in which we are eating are quite
objectionable (they wash the dishes with the Zambezi's water). However I go
to-and-fro the bushveld 3 or 4 times with my shovel and matches. This it
because we have to bury our poo and then burn the toilet paper in order to
safeguard the animals, especially impalas and antelopes because our poo would
kill them. I take two tablets of Dissenten and then I feel better all day long.
This is incredible how this drug can save me every time I travel!
We keep sailing for at least 4 hours and nothing special happens, I almost enjoy it and I relax. We stop to have lunch at a seasonal closed lodge and we spot a hippo just out of the water eating some grass. Meanwhile Shanghai is sleeping under a table!
In the afternoon two episodes I will never forget take place.
The first. The "two ladies" are too close to a hippo and it gets angry. It opens its big mouth, grunts and finally goes underwater. Chris understands it's a clear warning of an attack and shouts "It's an attack, goooo!" We start paddling as fast as possible for at least 300 metres, I'm so scared. Everybody at the end, but only when totally safe, start teasing me because I was almost gonna cry with fear. Assholes!
Second episode: Chris decides to proceed on a canal because he believes it's typical and exciting. I ask him it there was any chance to meet a hippo.... As soon as I was asking that question, a large hippo appears right in front of us. Everybody stopped, but not me 'cause I'm in the canoe with the guide, I would say unfortunately in this case. So we go ahead. This is because the guide has the task to protect everybody's security. We slowly approach the animal. Chris makes sounds and beats his oar onto the water in order to scare the huge animal. But it doesn't seem to be working, and it's actually the animal itself that scares me and keeps grunting totally annoyed. So we head back and get on the old way but in the meantime another hippo appears just before us. And yet another group. How many of them?!? Oh my God I was in a canoe and I kept saying "please, please", even though I had no idea who I might be talking to at that time.
We keep sailing for at least 4 hours and nothing special happens, I almost enjoy it and I relax. We stop to have lunch at a seasonal closed lodge and we spot a hippo just out of the water eating some grass. Meanwhile Shanghai is sleeping under a table!
In the afternoon two episodes I will never forget take place.
The first. The "two ladies" are too close to a hippo and it gets angry. It opens its big mouth, grunts and finally goes underwater. Chris understands it's a clear warning of an attack and shouts "It's an attack, goooo!" We start paddling as fast as possible for at least 300 metres, I'm so scared. Everybody at the end, but only when totally safe, start teasing me because I was almost gonna cry with fear. Assholes!
Second episode: Chris decides to proceed on a canal because he believes it's typical and exciting. I ask him it there was any chance to meet a hippo.... As soon as I was asking that question, a large hippo appears right in front of us. Everybody stopped, but not me 'cause I'm in the canoe with the guide, I would say unfortunately in this case. So we go ahead. This is because the guide has the task to protect everybody's security. We slowly approach the animal. Chris makes sounds and beats his oar onto the water in order to scare the huge animal. But it doesn't seem to be working, and it's actually the animal itself that scares me and keeps grunting totally annoyed. So we head back and get on the old way but in the meantime another hippo appears just before us. And yet another group. How many of them?!? Oh my God I was in a canoe and I kept saying "please, please", even though I had no idea who I might be talking to at that time.
 |
| Goregeous Zambesi River |
We're safe.
We arrived at our camp, I take a shower and then I try to relax and think the worst part of this trip is over.
I had not taken in consideration the night, which in terms of danger, is maybe going to be even worse than the one before. In fact last night we were on an island and we could meet a few animals, tonight we are in the middle of the savannah and the animals can approach us. Aside from the usual hippos, I can also hear the roar of some lions and the trumpeting of elephants at close range. And I forgot about the hyenas. I'm visibly frightened and Bianca proposes Chris, the expert guide, to sleep with us. I accept with pleasure even though both of them snore like dormice. At last I understand that Bianca's kindness was only due to the fact that she too scared, too. And you know, if a guide believes it is really dangerous then yes it's completely normal you have to be scared, too...
February 13th, 2009
Zambia, Zambesi River
I wake up very early and everybody after me. The night has gone quiet well and also the latest of perils has been avoided.
At 8am after loading everything on the boat we start back canoeing and, in a couple of hours we cover those 60 kms we had done in two days. t didn't seem to have sailed so long! We can spot a few elephants and many many hippos, fifty in all in these two days. Not bad I guess.
I wake up very early and everybody after me. The night has gone quiet well and also the latest of perils has been avoided.
At 8am after loading everything on the boat we start back canoeing and, in a couple of hours we cover those 60 kms we had done in two days. t didn't seem to have sailed so long! We can spot a few elephants and many many hippos, fifty in all in these two days. Not bad I guess.
 |
| The Zambezi River populated by thousands of hippos and crocodiles in the water and huge mammals on land |
We finally get
back to the Lodge Gwati where I pitch my tent once more. We give a good tip to
Shanghai. I was told he won't even be paid for having come along on this
excursion. Basically he works as a slave for a pitiful amount of food and he
hopes that some generous tourists might leave some tip: poor guy! Today he
finally changed the shirt he had been wearing for two days and he's wearing one
with two holes in it. So I gave him one of those I had brought for the poor.
We have lunch at the lodge bar and then we have a whole afternoon to do whatever we want. I relax by the pool.
We have lunch at the lodge bar and then we have a whole afternoon to do whatever we want. I relax by the pool.
Keep reading... My travel story continues in the next post!
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