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July 3:
Sadly, we left our friends in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, and started
on the next leg of our trip, this time through Zambia up into Tanzania.
Surprisingly, we scooted through the Zimbabwean side of the border with
relative ease, and even managed to see a bit of 'The Falls' as we crossed
the famous bridge into Zambia. That border post, as usual, wasn't so easy as
the paperwork involved with taking a vehicle across into Zambia is
painstakingly slow!
After handing over our US$40 each for a double entry
visa, we found, once more, that the insurance office for the purchase of the
compulsory third party cover for the vehicle was not manned, so it meant a
stop in Livingstone.
All in all it took about one-and-a-half hours before we
could head off to our first overnight stop -
Fringilla Farm, some
500-kilometres north of Livingstone on the Great North Road. Normally we stay
in Lusaka, but this year we opted for the farm, only 45-kilometres from that
city.
Fringilla Farm is huge, with numerous different types of detached,
semi-detached cabins and rooms.
We were escorted to Geomin C, a large semi-detached cabin with an en suite.
by affable host George - an absolutely delightful, elderly gentleman (in the
true sense of the word) - who,
with his equally charming wife Minnie have run the farm for many years.
At
K220,000 per room per night, excluding breakfast, it is well worth bypassing
Lusaka just to spend a night at this beautiful oasis. The meals are
delicious, fresh vegies and fruit abound, all served by friendly and
efficient staff.
Place Fringilla on your 'must stay' list!!
July 4: From Fringilla it was on to
Serenje, a small town about three kilometres of the Great North Road, and
into the newly-opened Mapontela Guest House. As one would expect in
a new building, the rooms are spotless and thoughtfully laid out, all
opening onto a central bar area.
Unlike Fringilla, the welcome isn't as warm and friendly (even though we
have been staying in the old section of this complex for several years), but
it's the only decent place to stay in the town.
We thought K200,000 a night, excluding breakfast, was okay, that is until
the next morning when we discovered there was no water, hot or cold! This
has happened before, in the old building, but we thought that the problem
would, by now, have been overcome!
Basic meals at fairly reasonable prices are available in the, basic,
restaurant attached to the guest house. Again, you have no choice but to eat
there as it's the only restaurant in town!
July 5: A relatively short drive today
of 250-kilometres to Mpika - a sad, rundown and dusty little town. There we
stayed at the Mazanga Hotel, (phone +260 9680 3919) two-and-a-half
kilometres on the Chinsali Road, and found ourselves in the same room as
last year. This appears to be the 'luxury' suite, comprising a lounge
with television (one channel), bedroom and bathroom and costs K120,000 a
night including breakfast.
Whilst the Mazanga Hotel could never be given a star rating, the basicness
of it is made up for by the friendliness of the staff, led by Dora, who do
their best to make your stay as comfortable as possible. The 'chicken and
chips' menu is filling - if you don't like 'c and c', then you're out luck,
because that's all there is. And don't ask for toast in the morning because
their toaster blew up a couple of years ago and it hasn't been replaced!
It was good to relax for half a day in the quiet spot to prepare ourselves
for what we are certain will be the usual 'bun-fight' at the border posts of
Zambia and Tanzania.
July 6: No hot water out of the
taps this morning, but staff brought us a tub of water. That's one thing you
learn quickly in Zambia and Tanzania, if you ask if there is hot water, the
reply is usually, 'yes' - but it doesn't mean that your room is connected to
same!
And so it was on to the border and couple of hundred kilometres away. Things
had changed slightly - the Zambian side was worse than ever! One cannot
describe the pure bedlam. Our vehicle had to be left outside the post,
protected by an army officer complete with AK47, as the inside was
completely filled with hundreds of dust-covered, abandoned vehicles, along
with semi-trailers, trucks and hundreds of people. We finally managed
to push our way through to the immigration/customs' building (a shack) to
complete the necessary documentation. We then eased our way through to the
Tanzanian side.
TANZANIA |
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August 1:
Back in Zambia again after a
fantastic trip around Tanzania. Again, the border was chaotic, but it only
took us about an hour-and-a-half this time. We thought it would take longer
as, when we arrived on the Tanzanian side, there was a coach, loaded with
people going back into Tanzania. However, we managed to fight our way
through and go through all the vehicle paperwork again.
Today we opted to drive the 726km back to Serenje and the Mapontela Guest
House as we were anxious to get back to Zimbabwe for a very special
christening. Again, no water, but we're starting to get used to that. In the
few weeks we'd been away the restaurant had been refurbished and was looking
quite good. The menu was the same!
August 2: From Serenje it was back to
our favourite spot in Zambia - Fringilla Farm where we decided to stay two
nights after our long trip from Tanzania. Again, we were were welcomed by
George and Minnie and put in a detached cottage.
Having a 'sundowner', we sat with a group of young people who had fled
Zimbabwe and were making a new life in Zambia. The stories they told were
amazing and heartbreaking, but they are getting on with life and making a
future for their families.
George and Minnie's son, Andrew, who also lives on the farm, is full of
energy and hope for the future of Zambia, and has lots of plans for events
on the farm to make it a meeting place for the locals. As an aside, Fringilla is
also famous for its homemade sausages and pies - not to be missed.
August 4: With regret, we left
Fringilla, but it was also with excitement in that within a few hours we
would be back with our friends in Zimbabwe. But before our reunion we would
have to, once again, go through the dreaded border posts!!
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