Lodge Blog Archive A diary of happenings at Chanters Lodge, Livingstone, Zambia with reflections on Zambia and personal matters too.


MICHAEL AND NANCY GORNEAU

In yesterday's post I mentioned Mike and Nancy Gorneau who've been staying with us for a few days now. They've certainly taken advantage of everything Livingstone has to offer at this time of year, with the high spots being a half day's white water rafting, an early morning walking safari and a trip to the Falls where of course they got really wet!Mike and Nancy have a really nice blogspot: www.gilam0nsta.blogspot.com about their travels. Check the Pyramids in that great picture! Nancy just finished a teaching contract in Egypt where Mike wasn't working and she reckons he must have broken some kind of record in his number of visits to those great wonders of the world! Now they're off back to USA where the tables will be turned when Mike, an Accountant, goes back to work and Nancy has some well deserved time off!

It was a pleasure to host this delightful couple together with their nice friend Wendy an English girl, also a teacher and about to move to Amsterdam, lucky thing! We really hope they enjoyed their stay with us and wish all three the best of luck in the future!

Posted: 17 June 2008 at 05:14

http://www.chanters-livingstone.com/blog-archive.cfm?id=825

White Water Rafting, Zambezi Style

We got up and had another great breakfast and was picked up by the Bundu Adventure crew and brought to their head quarters. We switched to another vehicle, picked up 2 others, and drove to the river.

We went through some small villages and saw how the tribes still live. No electricity and no running water. They walk to the river and climb down 750 feet to gather water in whatever containers they have and lug the water back to their village. This is a repetive daily event that is the function of their lives. The water is plentiful but hard to access.


We drove through the farm area where they grew their own fruits and vegetables, and raised their own cattle-goats, chicken and cows. They had a school that was opened when the sun was shining because again no electricity so a rain day or a dark cloudy day no school. Better than snow days in the US.

The community looked very happy, healthy and enjoyed their exsistence. This visit ignited several conversations about how people live in different parts of the world or even in different parts of the same country. This village was 15 minutes from Livingstone and their lifestyle was 180 degree different. If the world economy is starting to slide and gas prices are soaring where would you want to be/live when life returns to "simpler times".


We continued our drive and passed a few mission workers on their way to services. They dedicate their time to "helping" the villages implement a project. The village chief selects a project that will keep the integrity of the village but will make life easy so they can focus on other things. One village had a well put in and saved time and lives as people no longer had to climb up and down the steep 750 ft banks of the Zambezi River.

We geared up and got ready to climb down. It was a slow climb down for some as the fear of falling over unnerved some.





We paddled hard and had smiles on our faces.

A successful rapid and we cheer the fact that no one fell out. Oh yeah it was a class 3 rapid.

We paddled a bit and decided to jump of the cliff on the Zimbabwe side of the river. None of us held a visa so we were really living on the wild side. Mike jumped off from the 2nd highest point.

Of course beacuse he did I had to...

Everyone else did the lower jump.

Now we are headed into the real rapids of class 4 and 5. Class 6 rapids are considered hazardous even for expert paddlers using state-of-the-art equipment, and come with the warning "danger to life or limb". While the Zambezi does have several class 6 rapids none of the rafting companies provide trips.

Here we are headed into the Terminator I. We sucessfully manuevered this rapid but did not have the same success in Termnator II.

The couple that joined us on the trip were interesting to say the least. They were well traveled and had 2 kids back at the hotel with the babysitter. He had rafted once before while she never had. She was not here willingly. He had given her some advice on what she needed to do if she gfell out of the boat. All of the advice was wrong (opposite what the guides had told us) but she followed his advice to the letter.

We all fell out in the Terminator and I end up under the boat. When I released myself I heard her screaming bloody murder as she was gulping down the water and choking herself. She was far from the boat and making no effort to get to it when Newman reached out and brought her to the side. The guide finally saw that she was going to drown and stepped up to save her. The boat was still upside down and 4 of us were bobbing up and down in the class 5 rapid as he dealt with the novice rafter. I am glad that I was not rafting the Penobscot River and fell out in the "Fist of God". He pulled her up on top of the raft and calmed her down. Once she was ready we had to flip the boat and that meant putting her back in the water. The guide was amazing and flipped the boat so she landed inside. We all settled back in and continued the trip. I could here her muttering that she was done and wanted to get out and back on land. We all told her it was easy from now on and no more big rapids....which we all thought was too bad.

A little warming up on the beach before we finished the last of the 15 rapids.

Full paddle ahead as we come to shore at the end of the trip.

We beached the boat and proceeded to climb the 750 ft out of the gorge. Again some of us were slower going up. It seemed the people who prefered going down merrily were not the same as those going up merrily. While others simply grumbled doing both.


They provided lunch for us and then we headed back through the villages.


I was a wee bit motion sick on the ride back so missed most of the sights. But I did open my eyes when we stopped to drop off the rafting crew. The crew were picked up from the villages and were paid at the end of each day. These men carried the deflated raft up and down the trail, inflated and deflated it, and carried the gear for the guide and assistant guides.

When we stopped to drop them off the village kids came running to the truck and were holding out there hands. The guides threw the empty water bottles to the kids and also the ice that was left over. I was wondering what they wanted with the empties and learned that they would carry the empties to the river to fill with water. I had one half full in my hands that I threw as well. As we drov off we could see the smiles on their faces.

It was a great day of rafting!

Sunset Cruise on the Zambezi

We settled into Chanters Lodge and sat by the pool to enjoy a Mosi and the sun. Cape Town was cold in comparison and the warmth of the sun was very welcome. We enjoyed some French fries and onion rings and Newman her omelet. 3:30 came and we headed to a sunset cruise on the Zambezi. Bundu Adventures setup the cruise for us on the new boat the "Lady Livingstone". There were about 20 people on board the yacht that could have fit easily 150 people. There were three decks and a full staff on board. Angelina was our bar mistresses and Frederick our knowledgeable guide for the night. We had the local South African beer Castle and chatted with the two women from Holland that were currently living in Mozambique.

We set on our way and saw some different birds, some beautifully colored dragonflies; red, blue, and green. We were served cute little snacks and later small little chocolate balls and learned about the Zambezi River.

It is the 4th largest river in Africa and the longest flowing into the Indian Ocean. It is a natural divide between Zambia and Zambezi. There are crocodiles along the shore as well as families of hippos in the river. On either side of the shore you can happen to see elephants, giraffes, impalas, baboons, vervet monkeys, a wide array of birds, and zebra. We certainly heard a hippo long before we saw one. There were a few hiding behind a tree and further downstream 5 or 6 playing in the water. The people on the top deck saw elephants so we headed up there to see those too. There were at least 3 babies with them. Back on the main floor on the bow we saw a monitor lizard, Egyptian goose, and some crocodiles.

Newman was inspired by the animal print furniture and her cat like personally came out.

Mike and Newman play the drums. African drums were musical instruments, ceremonial objects and means of communication.

The sun set beautifully in a typical African fashion and we were all thrilled to be in the heart of Africa. The Euro cup is on tv and so after the cruise we headed back to the Lodge for a meal and the game. Highly invigorated and looking forward to our walking safari in the morning.

Chanter’s Lodge

Richard Chanter is from England and has been living in Africa for about 30 years working in the service industry. His wealth of experience and knowledge led him to open his own place 10 years ago. With a piece of land he built a restaurant and 3 room-lodge. He has grown the lodge to several rooms with a staff of over 12 including a gardener and a wonderful wait staff.



We always felt welcomed and Richard checked in with us after every adventure to make sure that we had enjoyed ourselves. The restaurant had a wide variety of foods from chicken, fish, to local cuisines for the brave soul to try. The bar was a fully stocked bar which included Castle and Mosi beer for Mike and I and Malibu and coke for Newman.



The grounds were well kept and a refreshing change from the browns of Egypt. There were variegated trees, Mango trees, bougainvillea, and many annuals.



There was a local friendly pup that loved to be petted.


The pool was ice cold but it is winter here after all. The weather was perfect for us with warm days and cool nights.



Our stay was better than we had hoped and was well worth it. It was an easy walk into town to see the curio market, museum, and local happenings. The town is under road construction and lost electrical power but Richard had a generator so we were never without. The free WiFi was great too.

The babao tree was really fascinating to us. Of course there is a legend behind them but first some facts.

The babao trees store water inside the swollen trunk, up to 120,000 litres to endure the harsh drought conditions particular to each region.

The Baobab tree is a strange looking tree that grows in low-lying areas in Africa and Australia. It can grow to enormous sizes and carbon dating indicates that they may live to be 3,000 years old, though this is impossible to verify as the wood does not produce annual growth rings.

One ancient hollow Baobab tree in Zimbabwe is so large that up to 40 people can shelter inside its trunk. Various Baobabs have been used as a shop, a prison, a house, a storage barn and a bus shelter.

Baobabs are very difficult to kill. They can be burnt, or stripped of their bark, and they will just form new bark and carry on growing. When they do die, they simply rot from the inside and suddenly collapse, leaving a heap of fibres, which makes many people think that they don't die at all, but simply disappear.

The fruit is extremely nutritious and is known as sour gourd or monkey's bread. The dry pulp of the fruit, after separation from the seeds and fibers, is eaten directly or mixed into porridge or milk.

The tree is used for medicinal, nutritious and household purposes. The locals respect the tree and are amazed how different it looks in different seasons. From dead in the winter to vibrant in the summer.

The Upside Down Tree is what the locals call this tree. This is the tree which many African peoples believe to be the home of their ancestral spirits.

The Bushman tells us the 'Great Spirit', Gawe, gave all species of animals a tree, except the hyena. "Stop stealing and be good and I will give you a tree," said the Great Spirit. But the hyena was angry and refused to change his ways. The Spirit gave him a baobab plant, the last one. The hyena was so cross he took the seedling and planted it upside down--with its roots sprawling in the open sky. Hence the baobab is still called the upside down tree.

Another legend describes what happens if you are never satisfied with what you already have:"The baobab was among the first trees to appear on the land. Next came the slender, graceful palm tree. When the baobab saw the palm tree, it cried out that it wanted to be taller. Then the beautiful flame tree appeared with its red flower and the baobab was envious for flower blossoms. When the baobab saw the magnificent fig tree, it prayed for fruit as well. The gods became angry with the tree, and pulled it up by its roots, then replanted it upside down to keep it quiet."

For loads more info this is a good site.