The week we spent in Livingstone with our girlfriends and other friends from home was great, it was good to see everybody again and catch up a bit.
We went to the Zimbabwe side one morning and visited the town of Victoria Falls. Things seem to be slowly getting back to normal that side, but the desperation of the people is still evident. Street vendors try to sell the normal curios and trinkets, but are desperate to get hold cash and offers ridiculously low prices for their wares. While we were there we went for a drink at the magnificent Victoria Falls Hotel, one of a few enclaves of luxury and affluence in a country still reeling from the economic crises brought about by the ludicrous behavior of its leaders.
While strolling past the entrance to the falls on that side, we saw two Zimbabwean woman running as fast as they could – it turned out that there was an elephant in the vicinity and the next thing we knew a big bull crossed the road right where we passed a minute ago!
On another day we visited the falls from the Zambian side. The Zambezi River is extremely full at the moment and we were soaking wet within minutes of entering the gates. The massive clouds of mist from the falls forms a spray, at some places it comes bucketing down as if you are standing in a massive rain shower. The falls were beautiful as ever to see though and this time it was a completely different experience from the previous time I saw it during the dry season one September.
We also tried some of the local cuisine in Livingstone restaurant catering for the local market, but this was an experience that was unfortunately not up there with the rest of what we have experienced in Livingstone. Awful food and no cutlery were just a bit too much to stomach. Fortunately we were able to visit an Italian restaurant called Olga’s on another occasion and this was great. The restaurant is run by volunteers who are training local kids in the restaurant industry. The net result is that you do not only get great Italian food and friendly service, but also an opportunity to support the local community.
All in all we had a great time in Livingstone, the only thing that was a bit irritating is that everybody tries to take advantage of tourists. I think local people in general sometimes underestimate the intelligence of travelers and I do not only find it dishonest and immoral, but also highly offensive.
On Monday 26 April the last of our friends left and by Tuesday we were finally back on the road again after our long rest. It was tough enough to get back on the bikes, but we had not even left town when Lodi’s bike gave us trouble again, which delayed our departure for another hour. The road from Livingstone is a nightmare at the moment due to roadworks. For the first 50 km we mostly had to make use of a detour which runs parallel with the main road and this road is terrible, especially on a bike. After that the road is great – brand new and smooth. This road, like so many others in Africa, is built using funds supplied by China. This might come at a high price to all the countries involved in similar projects in the long run, but only time will tell.
We reached the town of Zimba after our first day back on the bikes and spent the night in a dirt cheap guest house there. Considering the price we paid – it cost us less than R 20 per person – we could not complain about anything but it was still an interesting experience to say the least. The rooms were clean, but there is only one communal shower and toilet for men. Running water is only available in the morning, so we each got a bucket of water to wash with, but at least we were able to get clean somehow. Staying in place like this is certainly not always the ideal, but somehow it ads a lot to the whole trip. It is good to see and experience how local people live and do things.
Early the next morning g we were on the road again and from the start the persistent headwind that we had since the previous day were right in our faces again, making life difficult, especially since the landscape was quite hilly again. We struggled all day and by late afternoon reached the town of Choma, where we found a deserted campsite and pitched our tents for the night. The only sign of life was early the next morning when a lady came to collect the camping fees.
Our next planned stop was about 105 km onwards at the town of Monze. We stopped at a small settlement called Batoka about 30 from Choma for a rest and a Coke. We found a bustling street market with woman selling all sorts of vegetables, fried foods and dodgy fish and meat. Just as we left the town we saw a road sign indicating a lodge at Lake Kariba 68 km to the south. Within a minute we made up our minds to take the detour to the lake, we were not planning to go there but though we might as well go there since we were so close now. It turned out to be a great decision. The road to Sinazongwe was one of the most beautiful we cycled on our whole tour so far. The road wounds through hills and savanna forest and was mostly downhill, which made it even better.
We reached the lake and found a campsite right on the edge of the lake, where we spent a leisurely day before getting a lift back to Batoka on an old truck the next day. From Batoka we continued towards Monze and spent a night at the beautifully kept Moorings campsite outside town. The next day we cycled to the town of Mazabuka, which was only about 50 km away. We decided not to spend the night there, but rather to push on and try to find a place to sleep somewhere along the road. About 40 km out of town we met to cyclists on road bikes, it turned out that one of them, Peter Chintu, is the Zambian national cycling coach. He invited us to come and stay on the farm where he works as a manager. The farm is called Mubuyu Farms and is owned by mr Willem Lublinkhof and his son Jesper. They are also the producers of Zambia’s famous Munali coffee. The Lublinkhof family is avid cyclists and took us in for two days, spoiling us in every possible way. Mr Willem Lublinkhof spent an entire day with us, showing us around and entertaining us with all his stories. He must be one of the most interesting and funniest characters I have ever met.
When it was time to leave Mubuyu farms we headed to Lusaka, one of the big milestones on our journey. We had a good cycle to Lusaka and reached the city just after noon. It is not easy to cycle in Lusaka, every roundabout is a lottery but we made it through in the end. We are hosted here by an Irishman by the name of Paul Langford-Johnson, who took us to town last night and showed us what Lusaka has to offer. From here we will be taking the Great East Road towards Chipata, our time in Zambia now slowly drawing to an end. We have now cycled over 3700 km, we have another 6000 to go before we will be in Cape Town again!
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