JOURNAL
THE GREAT LAKES OF AFRICA
I embarked on a 40 days and 40 night's safari trip through Africa. Driving my own Landrover Defender 110, 2.8, over 12 000km's. The route took me from Johannesburg in South Africa, through Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Tanzania, Malawi and Mozambique.
My main aim on this trip was to visit the five big lakes of Africa: Kariba, Mweru, Tanganyika, Victoria and Malawi. En route we passed interesting places like spectacular waterfalls; and did some scuba diving in Lake Tanganyika and searched for the wild chimpanzees in Mahale Mountain National Park; Serengeti and Ngoro Crater. We also followed in some of the footsteps of the legendary Dr. Livingstone and even re-enacted a little "movie drama" at the famous place in Kigoma in Tanzania where Henry Stanley went in search of Dr. Livingstone, presuming that he died of malaria, but eventually found him...... alive!
Primarily we stayed off the main routes and travelled through extreme remote areas, our trip to Mahale in Tanzania has hardly ever been done by car. This was adventure on its own......
In Africa one never travels alone..... In my team I had expedition leader; Christo Pieterse and also my oldest brother. With extensive travelling throughout Africa he has impeccable knowledge of Africa's ways' and culture. As logistics; Eddie Pieterse, my twin brother, the biggest Landrover fan in the world, who can fix anything from a flat tyre, side shafts, engines, to uplifting our spirits in the most difficult times. He even provided power for my hairdryer...... the best friend anyone can have on such a trip. As my "right hand man" in helping with absolutely everything, I had Petro Pieterse.
Mostly important for embarking on such a trip, one must have fully equipped 4x4's. Rigged with the best equipment. Of course, all our food was taken with us from South Africa. We had 650 litres of fridges on board. Travelling in mostly remote areas, one can never be sure of fresh produce such as meat, and especially water!
En-route:
And so the journey began........
We left Johannesburg, South Africa, aiming to reach our first destination within two days, Mlibizi in Zimbabwe, on the southern part of Lake Kariba.
With the past few years' political turmoil in Zimbabwe, tourism took a big knock, and 99% of the houseboats on Lake Kariba were inactive. We booked the Sea Lion, a Ferry that was lying dormant in Kariba's harbour for nearly 6 years. Great excitement from the owner of the Sea Lion as well as our crew, as we took the 2 day cruise from the southern part of Lake Kariba to the northern part at the small town of Kariba.
Lake Kariba is a large, man-made lake located on the Zambezi River, about halfway between the river's source and mouth, about 1300 kilometres upstream from the Indian Ocean. The lake lies along the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe, and serves as a hydro-electric reservoir. Lake Kariba was filled between 1958 and 1963 following the completion of the Kariba Dam, displacing large numbers of the local Tonga people.
The nearby Zimbabwean town of Kariba was built for construction workers on the lake's dam.
Lake Kariba is over 220 kilometres long and up to 40 kilometres in width. It covers an area of 5,580 square kilometres. The mean depth of the lake is 29 meters and the maximum depth is 97 meters. It is one of the world's largest man-made reservoirs. The enormous mass of water is believed to have caused over 20 earthquakes of greater than 5 on the Richter scale.
From Kariba our route took us through Lusaka, the capital of Zambia, pass Kapiri Mposhi where we took a right turn to pass the southern point of the DRC to the town of Serenje to lay at rest at Lake Bangweulu, one of the smaller lakes of Africa. The scenery that awaited us at this small lake could not be described in words it was so amazing - Cobalt blue water with a hazy horizon and small waves that breaks lazily over your feet. Here one can truly experience peace of mind.
Lake Mweru is a freshwater lake on the longest arm of Africa's second-longest river, the Congo. Located on the border between Zambia and Democratic Republic of the Congo, it makes up 110 km of the total length of the Congo, lying between its Luapula River (upstream) and Luvua River (downstream) segments.
On our way to Lake Mweru, we visited the spectacular Mambilima, Lumangwe and Ntumbacushi Falls, setting up camp at the Mumbulumba Falls. Approaching Lake Mweru, we were greeted by one local villager after the other. As soon as we stopped, we were swamped by locals, all in awe of me: this tall, blonde girl driving her Landrover. This basically forced us to turn south-east, away from the lake, where we ended up on a virtually unnoticeable road, wrapped around by trees like a tunnel, which led us to a much undiscovered Kabimwa Falls, the perfect spot for setting up camp. As can be seen, this part of Zambia is abundant with waterfalls...
Off to Lake Tanganyika, our destination will be Ndole Bay Lodge, situated on the southern part of the Lake. We enjoyed a much needed rest at Ndole Bay, exploring what the Lake has to offer. Going on a 15 metre, motorized, handmade "kiaat" dhow (boat). We scuba dived, fished and visited the Sumbu National Park and other local villages. One can easily spend a week here just exploring.
Lake Tanganyika, one of the biggest Lakes in Africa. With a length of 673km, a width of 50km and a circumference of 1828km it is the second biggest lake in the world regarding surface area, and the second deepest lake in the world after Lake Baikal in Russia. At its deepest Tanganyika is almost 1.5 km deep - the wind, more than the moon, created the tides. Interestingly enough, all those beautiful little fish in your home aquarium 10 to 1 comes from Lake Tanganyika. And of course, a very good business for the local population.
All in good spirits, we left Ndole Bay to visit the most spectacular of all Falls - The Kalambo Falls. The small road, riddled with potholes and dust as fine as powder, resulted in an average speed of 40km/h. After a bone shaking 400km's that took us 10 hours to complete, we reached the Kalambo Falls - but… it was worth it!
Kalambo Falls on the Kalambo River is a 235m single drop waterfall on the border of Zambia and Tanzania at the southeast end of Lake Tanganyika. The falls are the second-highest uninterrupted falls in Africa (after South Africa's Tugela Falls). Downstream of the falls, the Kalambo Gorge which has a width of about 1 km and a depth of up to 300 m runs for about 5 km before opening out into the Lake Tanganyika rift valley.
Archaeologically, Kalambo Falls is one of the most important sites in Africa. It has produced a sequence of past human activity stretching over more 250 000 years. It was first excavated in 1953. Stone tools, hearths and well preserved organic objects were found here including a wooden club and digging sticks and evidence of fruit consumption. Tools excavated from Kalambo Gorge have been radiocarbon-dated to be from around 300 000 BC, and the hearths indicate people were using fire systematically here some 60 000 years ago.
In 1964 the archaeological site was gazetted as a national monument by Zambia's National Heritage Conservation Commission.
The fall's cliff-face ledges provide nesting places and breeding sites for a stork colony.
It was now time to say our goodbye's to Zambia, but not without incident........
Reaching the small Zombe border post by lunch time, no immigration officer! We were informed that he had "retired" for the day....... In true African style, Eddie took our passports to Mbala, a small town we passed an hour earlier, where our passports got stamped and we were free to leave Zambia. At the Tanzanian side of the border, we were held up another 4 hours, finishing at 21h30. After negotiating with the Customs Official, he agreed that we were allowed to set up camp, right in front of the immigration building - Africa at its best!
Reaching Sumbawanga town in Tanzania, we stocked up on much needed cold drinks and the odd Stella Beer..... setting up camp at an old lapidated building. A bonus discovery was an old hand pump used to get water from a well, much needed to fill up all of our water tanks. This was also time to do some retail therapy - and enjoyed all the local handcrafts which included loads of colourful tablecloths.
Travelling along the Rukwa River, heading towards Mahale Mountain National Park, the inevitable happened....... a bad clapping sound on the right front suspension of Eddie's Landrover. We were forced to find a campsite on the banks of the Rukwa River. Our neighbours for the night were interesting enough a herd of Hippo's. After close inspection on the Landrover, the coil spring bracket had torned from the body. On a mechanical side for Eddie, nothing is a problem, therefore a grinder, drilling machine and flat bar - the suspension was fixed within two hours.
Our goal now was to reach Mahale Mountain National Park. Mahale Mountains is home to some of Africa's last remaining wild chimpanzees: a population of roughly 800 (only 60 individuals forming what is known as "M group"), habituated to human visitors by a Japanese research project founded in the 1960s. Tracking the chimps of Mahale is a magical experience. The guide's eyes pick out last night's nests - shadowy clumps high in a gallery of trees crowding the sky. Scraps of half-eaten fruit and fresh dung become valuable clues, leading deeper into the forest.
Even in Tanzania route indicators is not a big thing, and all that's left is to guess which turnoff to take, even with a map and a GPS. Then you are faced with the conditions of the back roads.... The road is completely inaccessible without a 4x4. With a landscape changing with every kilometre we travelled, we eventually ended up in a tropical forest. A single track rocky road that curves along the valley between the mountains. At 5km/h, this is true 4x4 territory. It took us 12 hours to travel 100km's! The unmistaken smell of the jungle with its' overgrown trees and little streams - and we were the fortunate ones - in the home of the wild African chimpz.
We reached the small town of Rukoma on the shores of Lake Tanganyika, with no further roads to Mahale. Christo arranged by satellite phone with the game rangers of Mahale, for a boat to pick us up the next morning to visit the chimpz.
We were collected at 7am together with the most beautiful sunrise over the lake and with high expectations for what lay ahead. The jungle we walked through, reminded us of what Africa probably looked like when Dr. David Livingstone traversed this land. Humidity was incredibly high as we walked under a canopy of trees. After a 2 hour guided walk, no chimpz in sight. Our guide received radio contact from other guides as to the exact spot to find the chimpz. Once again we were taken by boat to another part of the forest. It was like being in an episode of Survivor, climbing up the mountain with a 45 degree slope. It took a lot of willpower, and eventually we stumbled across the chimpz. WOW, sitting 3 metres away from us, there they were - one chimp was minding his own business, his mates swinging about in the trees. Truly unforgettable.
After arriving back at camp, we took the same road back, when the inevitable struck again on the appalling road...... Eddies' Landrover broke a side shaft. We were stuck on a narrow road on a pass. The decision was made that I would tow Eddie to more open and level ground, when my Landy broke a side shaft! We were forced to set up camp, and the guys all worked tirelessly until the early hours of the morning to fix both Land rovers. Petro and I took the opportunity to go "au natural" in a nearby stream. An African Spa at its' best!
The rest of the road back luckily went without further incident, and we were heading towards Kigoma, the famous town where Dr. Livingstone and Stanley met. For the first time in days we were all of a sudden faced with traffic again! Upon our arrival at Jackson Beach on the shores of Lake Tanganyika, we were greeted with the most idyllic beach. We decided there and then to stay for 2 days.
As the vehicles needed some serious maintenance, we arranged for a taxi to pick us up to explore the town and visit Dr. Livingstone's museum. Our taxi......... a small mini bus, fully furnished with faux leather seats, linoleum wooden floorboards and a sound system of note with Tanzanian hip hop music....... another African experience through the town of Kigoma!
The monument where the two 'Big Guys' met is actually very modest, and the museum has seen better days. There and then we decided to re-enact the historic occasion when Stanley met Livingstone with the historical words: "Dr. Livingstone, I presume?" The making of a Hollywood movie at its' best on a sandy white beach........
With everybody well rested, we took the road up north to Mwanza at Lake Victoria. Once again with awful road surfaces ahead, it was a race against time to reach the ferry crossing by 9pm. Alas, we missed the ferry by 15 minutes. We were woken by the scream of a Fish Eagle, and soon we were on the Ferry and on our way to Tuza Lodge, a small paradise on the shores of Lake Victoria.
Lake Victoria is 68,800 square kilometres (26,600 sq mi) in size, making it the continent's largest lake, the largest tropical lake in the world, and the second widest fresh water lake in the world in terms of surface area (third largest if one considers Lake Michigan-Huron as a single lake).
As this would be our furthest travelling point up north before we turned east, we set aside three days. For the first time in weeks we were spoiled by staying in beautiful en-suite bungalows, a rare luxury after spending weeks in tents.
With everybody at their own leisure, some went fishing, and true to being a woman, Petro and I opted for some shopping and visited the local markets. We all indulged in beach volleyball and lazily sipped on traditional cocktails whilst relaxing on the beach where we were entertained by the local Masai Mara dancers - paradise at it's' best!!!
Turning east towards another highlight on our trip, the Serengeti National Park. The Serengeti hosts the largest and longest overland migration in the world, a semi-annual occurrence. This migration is one of the ten natural travel wonders of the world.
As soon as we entered the Serengeti, we experienced the Wildebeest migration in the Western corridor of the park. Other game such as Elephant, Buffalo, Springboks, Zebras, Impala, Grants gazelle, Topi and various other common specie were on offer. We were fortunate to see a Leopard with a Gazelle kill in a tree, and a huge pack of Lion topped it all. The beautiful landscapes and scenery makes the Serengeti a worthwhile.
That night we shared our campsite with 8 hyena...... no one dared to make a "nature call" during the night.
We exited the Serengeti through the Naabi Hill gate and headed for the Ngoro Ngoro Crater. Suddenly temperatures dropped, and from an average of 40 degrees per day, it dropped down to 10 degrees. Camping on the edge of the Crater, 2600 metres above sea level, we froze our butts off! We woke up after a long and cold night, a strong wind still blowing. A quick roll call was made to establish if anybody wasn't blown away....... Going down in the Crater was an adventure on its' own - and that's another story!
Leaving the Crater and the cold weather behind, we headed towards Arusha and Moshi, home of Mount Kilimanjaro. Our luck ran out...... with Kilimanjaro within walking distance from us, it was soooo overcast and misty, even the locals had not seen the mountain for the past four days. We decided to push on towards Dar Es Salaam. For the first time on our journey, we travelled on the best tarred road since leaving South Africa. We reached Silver Sands campsite, approx 30 minutes drive outside the city, on a beautiful white beach, with Zanzibar lurking in the back ground.
We did the last bits of shopping for the duration of our journey before turning south towards Lake Malawi.
With the sun setting on the horizon, we spotted an old lapidated campsite sign, and decided to check it out.... what a surprise! It was an old Game Lodge and the people were very happy to see campers again, it had been years since they had visitors. There was no water, but the red carpet was rolled out, enjoying a night around the campfire, sitting on handmade furniture and sharing stories.
Leaving just before sunrise, we had a long road ahead of us to reach the Malawian border. Once we reached Malawi, we travelled from the northern point of the Lake along the western shore towards Monkey Bay, our destination at the southern end of the Lake.
Lake Malawi is an African Great Lake and the most southerly lake in the East African Rift valley system. The lake, third largest in Africa and eighth largest in the world, is situated between Malawi, Mozambique, and Tanzania. It is also the second deepest lake in Africa but its placid nature at its northerly shore gives no hint of this feature. The lake's tropical waters teem with more fish species than any other lake on Earth.
From Lake Malawi there was only one road to take, HOME!