Livingstone -> Choma -> Mazabuka -> Kafue -> Lusaka -> Chongwe -> Rufunsa -> Luangwa
Distance & time taken
696 km
10 hrs
Accommodation
The Bridge Camp, Luangwa River (www.bridgecampzambia.com)
+/-2km off the T4 between Lusaka & Chipata before the Luangwa bridge
Trip Notes
No need for an alarm clock today, we were awoken shortly after 05h30 by the German cyclists packing up for their next leg to Botswana. Made coffee, had a light breakfast & we were packed & ready to go by 08h00.
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| Reception of Zambezi Safari Lodge |
Trip to Lusaka took a lot longer than we planned due to road conditions & regular police checkpoints. The road had very little traffic until we got to Kafue then it picked up with the traffic from Zimbabwe heading north to Lusaka & beyond. We almost never made it after a dickhead driver almost hit us head on just outside the village of Batoka. He never straightened up after coming around a bend & thus headed, at speed, towards us. As there was a turnoff coming up on my left & the Pajero appeared to be heading straight for it, I edged over into his lane. When I was fully across the road, he realised what was happening & jerked the wheel straight as he passed us on the left - this was closest I have come to a serious accident in 32 years of driving.
I planned to stop off in Lusaka at the Manda Hill Shopping Centre to catch up with the Woolies guys as well as call Megan from Shoebill Campsite in Bangweulu to confirm camping for the balance of the week as we had decided to rather head north first then come down the escarpment to South Luangwa. Firstly, I could only catch up with the Stanley (Visual Manager) as the rest of the team were out of the store. Then, Megan let us know the bad news that we would not be able to camp at Shoebill as the area was still flooded but if we had a ground tent, they could make a plan - unfortunately, we only have the RTT with us.
So, standing in the mall, we had to make a snap decision as what to do next - stay in Lusaka at the Pioneer Camp & head to South Luangwa tomorrow or get as far as Bridge Camp at the Luangwa River & make tomorrow a shorter trip. We decided to head out to Bridge Camp but first, we needed to find diesel which was a little troublesome as the Engen service station I remembered from the last trip, was under new management & had no stock of diesel yet. After checking the T4A map on the Garmin, we managed to get diesel at Mount Meru service station on the way out of Lusaka on the T4 in the direction we needed to travel - east. The first part of the journey was very busy & we only managed around 70kph. As the road opened up & there was less traffic, I lifted the pace so as not to get caught out driving at night. We eventually got to the Bridge Camp after sunset, managed to get a reasonably flat campsite & paid our dues for the night.
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| Bridge Camp campsite |
When we were chatting to the owner whilst checking in, we found that he was originally from Cape Town, 3kms from where we stay. He left Cape Town about 12 years ago to start the Bridge Camp. This is a very rustic venue & the campsite is very rudimentary but the ablutions rated in the top half of our list of venues we stayed at. There are 2 showers & 2 toilets all with ample space to change & lots of packing / hanging space for toiletry bag & clothes. The hot water is stoked by a donkey which the staff keep going from early in the morning so we had ample hot water for our shower. The drawback for camping here is firstly that you camp right next to the road which is reasonably busy throughout the night & secondly, there are no demarcated sites with very little level ground. This is definitely a 1-nighter & don't arrive too early as there is not very much to do except sit in the pool or have a drink & appreciate the view.
Once we had set up camp, we had a chat to our neighbours, Trevor& Vicki, who are Australian but currently live in France either on their barge or in their cottage in the south east of France. They have led a very interesting life in that they have been travelling around the world for the last 20 years, initially on a yacht & now regular trips around the world. They were en route to Malawi & then on up to Tanzania on a 3 month trip around southern Africa.
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| View from the pool area overlooking the Luangwa River - Mozambique across the river & road heads down to the border with Zimbabwe |
Costs for the day
| Accommodation | Bridge Camp |
ZMW204,00
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| Diesel | Mount Meru Lusaka |
ZMW600,00
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