Our trip to Nsobe was lovely. We left on Saturday morning and arrived late that afternoon. We would have arrived sooner, but we missed the turn off and so ended up going through Ndola to get there. Which in a sense was not too bad, as neither of us had been there and it was interesting to see it through the car windows. It is definitely a bigger place than Solwezi and has far more to it, such as shops etc.
Our first stop on our trip was in Kitwe. We went to Whimpy's, which is a fast food burger joint. Oh how wonderful to have fast food! The kids literally jumped out of the moving car, when they saw a playground attached to it as well. So we enjoyed a nice lunch and play before getting on our way. We then came across a detour which took us down a dirt lane with a hundred other cars and so we were detained a while in that. While we were patiently waiting to go, someone decided to be cheeky and over take all the waiting vehicles on the left. Well Karma came back to bite him. We passed said vehicle, now dry bogged and stuck for goodness knows how long. I am sure it would have taken them longer to get unstuck, than it would have taken if they had have waited patiently like the rest of us! it is the same everywhere you go.
After about our 15th police check of the day, we arrived at Nsobe. A haven of green lushness in this dry and dusty place. We headed straight to the bar for a drink. As they were not selling wine, I am now a dear friend of Redd's, a lovely tasting South African cider. It was so relaxing to sit on the bank of the dam and watch the sun set. As we were heading down to dinner we were told the giraffe were close, so we went to have a look. How wonderful to see the giraffe walking calmly by. They are such big beautiful creatures.
Our room was simple but comfortable. The only big problem for the weekend was that we often had no power, only candlelight. This is not really a problem for those who are prepared. We however have no torch and only had the one candle in the room. So after a quick shower by candlelight it was into bed and sleep. Thankfully, the room had lots of blankets as they are all open to the elements. They are thatched and are not fully enclosed due to the high temperatures in summer. Thus, they get cold over winter. I enjoyed snuggling down under the blankets, but did not enjoy being constantly kicked by Laura, whom I was sharing a bed with.
The next day after breakfast, we were told about the snake and bird sanctuary so headed there for a look.It was wonderful for the kids. They got to see bunny rabbits and guinea pigs, real local wild life .Lol. They also had some beautiful African birds and turtles. As we were walking around we saw the giraffe again as they had just been fed and so were able to get a real close up view. The owners put out some feed for them, which helps with their nutrition in a smaller environment. We then headed back to the snakes. Phil and Tom were so brave and held a snake. We could not believe that Tom held one, as he is usually more afraid than Laura. But he was so excited to hold the Variegated Green snake and so proud of himself. I held a baby Nile crocodile called Fiffi. Very fierce name, and the kids had a pat. We then headed out on a self guided game tour. We came across the owner walking his 2 Labrador's and his tame Serval. It's funny seeing a wild animal as such playing with the dogs. We then came across some Sable Antelope, which are absolutely beautiful. I can see why people like to have them as trophies. We did not see much else that we haven't seen previously, but it was lovely to get out and look.
Lunch consisted of Implala chops. Very nice I might add. Then Phil and Laura had a sleep whilst Tom and I tried our hand at fishing. We bought a couple of bamboo rods and some worms and hit the water. We caught 2 small fish and released them back to grow up. That night we had Venison stew, which was beautiful, Laura loved it.
On Monday, since it was a public holiday, saw a big influx of locals and tourist to the place. It was crowded. I unfortunately woke up with a problem tummy, so headed back to bed while Phil took the kids to breakfast and then on another game drive. Kids are not the best people to take on a game drive as their loud voices often scare animals away. Especially our two! On their return I felt somewhat better and went out to watch them in the canoe. Phil had a lovely time with the kids out on the dam. I was not so confident to take them out. We had life jackets, but they were not the best fit and I did not want to tip the canoe. It seems my fears were not silly. That afternoon a 23 year old local Kitwe man drowned, when he tipped the canoe and could not swim. He was out with two others and a 2 year old. Luckily the mother was able to keep herself and the baby afloat as the father did also. Unfortunately for Sage, he drowned with the water only centimeters from his head. Such a shame and a waste. If only they had worn their life jackets.
That afternoon we went out searching for Zebra. We had not seen any and were determined to find them. We searched high and low with no success. Phil however got to see some Sitatunga, which he was thrilled about. Another lovely dinner and then to bed early with no power.
We hit the road for home on Tuesday and this time managed to find the correct way home. We were driving along when we came across the Chimfunshi (chimpanzee orphanage) turn off. We decided to go in and have a look. We drove in and paid the fee, then headed off to see the chimps. They are a lot bigger than you expect. I was thinking we were going to see these gorgeous little monkeys, but my gosh they are big. My size, but shorter in the legs. When we saw them, they were just finishing lunch and one decided to throw some of its food at me. The kids thought this was hilarious. Then they started to make their big monkey noise and Laura got completely scared and wanted to go straight back to the car. Thankfully, she and the chimps calmed down. Some of the situations these animals have come from is atrocious. People buy them as pets and then realise they grow up and can't be controlled. One was in the circus for 26 years and made to do all sorts of non-chimp things. They looked so sad. We then went to the rehabilitation area. This is where others are free to roam in the wild. They are still behind fences, but no cages. Chimpanzee's are not native to Zambia and so cannot be released into the wild. But at least they have a safe place to live for the rest of their lives. Which apparently is a long time, as their lifespan is similar to ours. We met the owner and had a lovely chat to her and she gave us a book that she wrote about her hippo that had died recently.
From there we headed home. We only just made it too. As we were entering Solwezi, we realised we were low on fuel. The first station had no fuel and the only one in town that did had a queue for about 1km. Thankfully, we needed diesel and everyone was waiting for petrol. We managed to sneak in. Another car tried it, but they wanted petrol. I honestly thought a riot was about to occur.They very quickly went to the back of the queue. The rest of the drive went ok.
The kids are doing really well on the long drives. We have no dvd player for them and no music. So it is pretty boring and fights do occur, but they really are doing a great job.
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