Zambia World Wide

We left Kitwe early on a Friday evening and arrived at our campsite just after dark. At the campsite some-one had built a frame-work from tree branches, so all we had to do was pull a tarpaulin over the frame and we had a tent. By the time we had unpacked the gear it was getting quite late, so we collected some wood from around the camp-site “which was fun for the children” and got a good fire going. After we had cooked and eaten our evening meal it was time to get the children to bed. After the excitement of the day it was difficult to get them to stop nattering and go to sleep, however after many threats they were quiet. The rest of the evening was ours’ we could now relax by the fire and make plans for the following day. Next morning we launched the boats, had breakfast and then set out to explore the dam. This was the first time we had been boating on a lake or dam where the trees were clearly visible above and below the surface of the water. It was quite an experience, also a little eerie as we made our way through the channels between the trees. It was also a little strange watching the tops of the trees sliding beneath the hull as we passed over them. About halfway along the dam we saw a large hill rising up out of the water, since it was about lunchtime we decided to make for the hill and have our lunch there. We moored the boat and decided to have a wander round, there was something different about the surface of the hill. There was no grass or vegetation of any kind, and although it was solid rock, it was not a type we had seen before. We were by now familiar with most types of rock found around Zambia, but this was different to any rock formation we had seen in the past. It was rough and came away in flakes as we walked over the surface. We picked up one of the flakes and after studying it for a while, realised that the hill was Mica which is used in industry as an electrical insulator. Mica is not just an insulator, it is also heat resistant which is why it is used so much in domestic appliances and also in industry. Although we had used mica, we had never thought about where it came from or how it was formed. Like many materials we had used in the past we had just taken it for granted.

We did spend quite a bit of time fishing, but as usual caught very few. We are still the world’s worst or unluckiest fishermen. On Sunday afternoon Keith wanted to see how fast his boat was and how tight it would turn. He went out onto the dam by himself, he then proceeded to go up and down the dam, making tighter and tighter turns at the end of each run. After a time it became obvious that he was getting carried away with excitement as by now the turns were so tight the boat was in danger of capsizing, something had to give. It did! The clamps holding the engine to the transom gave and the engine flew through the air in one direction, while the boat was travelling in another direction. Finally it disappeared beneath the surface by which time it had travelled some distance. Could things get worse, of course they could! It was quite funny to be honest, there was Keith racing up and down the dam, then suddenly sitting in the middle of the dam with no engine and no means of getting to the bank. We went out and towed him back, he then decided that he knew where the engine had gone down and wanted to dive for it. The water was not very deep, only about 20 feet however it had gone down in an area full of submerged trees. Our main concern was that by diving for it he might get caught up in the trees and be unable to free himself. However he was determined to try and find it, we took him out in our boat and he started diving and looking for his engine. We did insist that he took a 6mm nylon line with him so that if he ran into trouble he could pull on the line and we could go down and assist him. Although Keith made quite a number of dives he was unable to find the engine, although the water appears quite clear from the surface at that depth it was very murky with little visibility, it was an impossible task. Mita Hills was also the first place we saw a Fish Eagle, they are about the same size as the American Bald Eagle and look superb in flight. It is quite an experience to watch as they swoop down onto the water and then fly up with a fish in their beaks. There are many Fish Eagles at Meta Hills, they could often be seen perching on the dead branches of the trees, waiting and watching for any movement in the water which might be a fish. The Fish Eagle is the National Emblem of Zambia and it was nice to see them in the wild. It is only now, having seen them in the wild that we can appreciate just how awesome and beautiful they are.