Weekend Trip Down to the Lower Zambezi and Lake Kariba

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We had a week off this past week so we made the drive down south to the lower Zambezi and lake Kariba.

we started our trip camping on the lower Zam in a camp called Nsofu lodge. The place was beautiful, but the owner scared us a bit with stories of people getting eaten by crocodiles within just the last few weeks. Needless to say this made us a little worried about camping next to the clear crocodile paths that lead in and out of the water. Thankfully we did not have any close encounters (in the campsite at least).


 


After our first night of camping we went out for a half day of fishing, and probably about five minutes after we started I hooked this huge tigerfish. You may not be able to completely tell, but the teeth on these fish are quite terrifying to have anywhere close to your hands. After the fast start our luck seemed to have slowed down, we spent the next three and a half hours fishing but did not hook another fish. Though we did not catch any more fish we saw lots of elephants, hippos and crocodiles while out on the boat.



The next day we made the beautiful two hour drive through winding roads to the lake Kariba Inns. The views from the deck were stunning. I had been missing the ocean, and this section of the lake was so large that it made me feel like we were on the African coast or even in Greece.


   Our hotel was amazing with a set of waterslides, squash courts, pool tables, delicious food, and wonderfully cold AC! We took some time to find out how bad we were at squash, and tried out all of the waterslides. In the afternoon we took a boat ride around the lake to see some of the islands and also to see the large fishing industry.



The whole lake is full of net boats that catch tiny fish called Kapenta. Kapenta are small fish that can be found at most of the markets in Lusaka and probably throughout the rest of Zambia also. Netting Kapenta can only happen at night so in the evening your can see the hundreds of boats each with a fish light to attract the fish. For a while we were not sure if there was a town on the other side in Zimbabwe, but it was just the Kapenta boats lighting up the water. We also saw the fish farms for brim that feed Zambians year round.


 On Sunday we headed home and got there with just enough time to go to bed then head back to school on Monday. 

Drew update

Drew went back to the US with my mom to get his eye troubles fixed once and for all. Drew is going to Boston Children's Hospital, and for those of you who don't know, Children's is one of the best if not the best children's hospital in the world. So he could not be in better hands. As of yet they have not been able to find a diagnosis, but we are hoping for one soon so that we can have them both back in Zambia as soon as possible. For now they are catching up with friends and family and doing their best to brave the cold of Boston.  

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