Back to reality today! We're in the truck before 6am, after breakfast & breaking down our tents. We've got 500km's to cover today, though we've been assured the journey should be easier than the big days in Tanzania. Today's main goal is crossing the border into Zambia, country number 4 on this tour!
After a nap, finishing off my book & a few uno games, we pulled up on the side of the road, under a tree, 20km's from the border crossing. Within minutes of setting up the tables a crowd of local village children were starting to gather. At first there was a few & they were shy. Soon there was about 20 of them yelling & fighting between themselves. Our tour guide told them to go & wait patiently at a distance from the truck. He explained that the kids near the border can become naughty & have stolen food, cooking utensils, items off the truck & thrown rocks at tourists. We felt very uncomfortable & guilty with them watching us eat.
They all looked to be healthy enough, some wearing nice clothes from having attended Sunday morning church, while others wore dirty old clothes. After lunch they all got a treat from our tour guide & told to go home.... that did not happen & they moved in around the truck fighting & yelling. One tried to steal a butter knife but was caught by Steven the driver. Some of them were quite rude & were demanding food, money or for women to lift their tops! Bloody boys!
The border crossing took about an hour, with only an exit form needed for Milawi & $50 US each for entering Zambia. It is by far the dodgiest visa stamp we've had yet! We entered Eastern Zambia at 2:57pm & were told some basic info from Jurumba.
Zambia was known as northern Rhodesia when it was colonized by the British. The independance of Zambia is still new & they are only now with their 6th president. The population is 14 million people from 70 different tribes with 80% of the population being Christian. We instantly notice that Zambia is obviously more wealthy than Milawi. There are lots of houses, roads, pavements & cars on the roads.
We arrive at our campsite around 5.30pm. We are staying at the borders of Luangwa National park. The campsite is right next to a river full of crocodiles & hippos. We are told to leave all food on the truck & not to leave our tents late at night because animals such as lions, hippos & elephants do come into the campsite. The campsite was really nice & it felt good to be so close to nature. We could hear & see baboons causing trouble around the campsite & in the trees above us. We got a very brief glimpse of the river while the sun was still out & though we couldn't see hippos close by, we could see their foot prints & hear them. They would continue to grunt all through the night & though we were super excited to go game driving the next morning, nothing could keep sleep at bay.
- Alli
After a nap, finishing off my book & a few uno games, we pulled up on the side of the road, under a tree, 20km's from the border crossing. Within minutes of setting up the tables a crowd of local village children were starting to gather. At first there was a few & they were shy. Soon there was about 20 of them yelling & fighting between themselves. Our tour guide told them to go & wait patiently at a distance from the truck. He explained that the kids near the border can become naughty & have stolen food, cooking utensils, items off the truck & thrown rocks at tourists. We felt very uncomfortable & guilty with them watching us eat.
The border crossing took about an hour, with only an exit form needed for Milawi & $50 US each for entering Zambia. It is by far the dodgiest visa stamp we've had yet! We entered Eastern Zambia at 2:57pm & were told some basic info from Jurumba.
Zambia was known as northern Rhodesia when it was colonized by the British. The independance of Zambia is still new & they are only now with their 6th president. The population is 14 million people from 70 different tribes with 80% of the population being Christian. We instantly notice that Zambia is obviously more wealthy than Milawi. There are lots of houses, roads, pavements & cars on the roads.
We arrive at our campsite around 5.30pm. We are staying at the borders of Luangwa National park. The campsite is right next to a river full of crocodiles & hippos. We are told to leave all food on the truck & not to leave our tents late at night because animals such as lions, hippos & elephants do come into the campsite. The campsite was really nice & it felt good to be so close to nature. We could hear & see baboons causing trouble around the campsite & in the trees above us. We got a very brief glimpse of the river while the sun was still out & though we couldn't see hippos close by, we could see their foot prints & hear them. They would continue to grunt all through the night & though we were super excited to go game driving the next morning, nothing could keep sleep at bay.
- Alli
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