“This F#%KING F#%KER is F#%KING F#%KED!” I read that years ago in a climbing magazine and it pretty well sums up today. To begin with Kafue National Park is not near Kafue. Not even in the same direction. And Winston didn’t have a clue. So after backtracking to Lusaka and fighting through the snarled traffic of New City Market it was after noon, we were still in Lusaka and Kafue National Park was still 200 km away.
That hardly mattered. The place Sharon booked us, Kiambi Lodge, isn’t in Kafue after all, something we didn’t realize until we reached the spot on our Lonely Planet map where she said it was. It’s in Lower Zambezi National Park, 125 km on the other side of Lusaka. Now it was 3:30 – too late to go back. Poor Winston was stressed to the max. He was also low on fuel and out of money. A F#%Ked up day for him, too.
We were lucky to get a chalet at Mukambi Lodge for about the same price as Kiambi. And since we hadn’t paid for Kiambi, only Sharon’s commission, it was another break. We advanced Winston enough money to get back to Lusaka and pick us up on Sunday and tried to settle in. Mukambi is beautifully perched on the Kafue River with comfortable chalets. We’ve paid for full board and will cherry-pick our activities rather than book the entire package; maybe a morning birding trip on the river or a walking safari. The baboons are jumping from limb to limb in the tree in front of our chalet while the local warthog is on her knees munching grass. And Connie and I are sipping cold adult beverages waiting for our blood pressure to return to normal.
The beer and a nap set things right. The lodge has several common areas; a bar with a fireplace, two well appointed decks overlooking the river, a pool and an elegant dining room. Our “chalet, a spacious thatch-roofed rondaval, is quite nice – en-suite with a comfy canopied queen bed. One of the staff came with a flashlight to escort us to dinner. Walking alone at night is a no-no; you could become dinner! Elephants, lions and leopards are occasional visitors. Dinner is a one size fits all affair served at candle-lit white linen tables. The food isn’t as good as at Liwonde but the service is wonderful.
