Lower Zambezi National Park

After a traditional full size English we met up to head off on an exploration of the Lower Zambezi National Park. First we had to get some local currency which is rougly 8800 to a pound so the maths was little hard!

We fueled up with diesel and off we went in search of the Zambezi National Park. On the map this borders with Zimbabwee in the middle of the river. The map makes the journey look simple! Little did we know.





After nearly a 2 hour drive through a few small towns and long open roads with very little traffic we turned off to a dirt road. At the start it said 22Km to the Mukawba Gate to the National Park. Despite being a dirt road it was a good one. We soon reached the gate where we had to pay for entry. They charge based on country of origin. We were all classed as $30 entry fee. So between us we managed to cobble toegther enough dollars to get in. I had $40 which I carry in case of emergencies and used it all up.




Once into the park the road continued to be well maintained for the first few km then gradually got worse as the amount of traffic using it decreases. You can see from the pictures and video the sort of track it was.

The fella on the gate said it would be roughly a 3 1/2 hour drive to do the 80Km to the Zambezi river. To start with we thought he must surely be wrong as we made great progress.





Soon our progress slowed considerably as we skidded about on loose rocks and gravel on very steep slopes.

Before long we were rewarded with some fantastic views.




After a bit more uncomforatble driving we had a "comfort break" and I walked straight into a huge spiders web and the massive yellow and black spide was just inches from me. It must have been 4 inches across.



We were glad we had eaten well at brekky. This is well off the beaten track. We didnt see a single person or sign of people for nearly 6 hours.

A bit further on we could see the flood plains of the Zambezi valley in the distance. Sadly it was too far. If you look carefully in the picture you can see the Zambezi River. We had already been going 3hrs and only had covered 65Km. It was getting late and the fuel was heading towards half full our point of having to return the way we had come. We already knew we'd have to drive part of the way back down the tracks in the dark as it gets dark by 6.30pm here.



We pressed on for a few minutes more in the hope we may see something spectacular and we sure did! Hovvering above were 10s of vultures. We stopped and photographed them. I wandered down the track a bit further and could smell death. Just off the road was a huge corpse being pecked by the vultures. It was an elephant. Its tusks removed. What a gruesome sight it was.




We pushed on a bit more and decided it was time to head back. It had been a great day, we'd had nothing to eat but a few peanuts and fruit strips LaRhea had purchased at the garage. 3 hours later we arrived back at the entrance and headed back here to the comfort of the hotel, hungry and tired but thrilled to have experienced the bush.