Kiambi Safari Lodge

Some friends from Siavonga told us about this lodge right on the Zambezi River. We opted for the tented chalets, and they were better than what we expected. The food was the best part for Kelsey (as usual), and all of us enjoyed the 7 hour game cruise. Getting there was bit of an adventure. Once we came to the border of Zimbabwe, we were supposed to take a gravel road to the left, but we could not find the correct road. After asking for help, we were pointed in the right direction. This road took us to the river crossing, where we drove onto a ferry which carried us across the Zambezi River. That was fun!

We didn't go into the Lower Zambezi National Park, but we drove the boat all the way to its border, about 60km down river from Kiambi. We could say we were inside Zimbabwe, since the middle of the river is the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe. It was such a beautiful boat cruise and we saw lots and lots of hippos, crocs, elephants, and the occasional water buck and impala. The most exciting part of our game cruise was finally seeing the buffalo. Now we have seen 4 out of the Big 5. Just the leopard remains to be seen.

Once we got to the Park and turned around, we found a shady place to park the boat and eat our lunch. I think the lodge thought we were eating for 10 by the amount of food they packed for us. Once we began our trek back up river, we were warmed by the sun and the kids fell asleep on the boat. This was such a neat experience to see the animals in the water and on the banks of the river, and be so close to them in their natural environment.

We stopped off at a fishing village camp on the way back and were able to talk with the people in this village. They come to the river's edge and camp for about 2 weeks while they fish. They then go back to their village or to the city and sell their fish. They had make-shift huts and dug-out canoes along the bank of the river. There were about 30 families living in this village, and the head man told us that the nearest church was about 12 hours away (by foot, of course). As Ricky was talking to them, they thought we were coming there to build a church for them. We found out they live just nearby in a small village, but there's no church there. We encouraged him that we have missionaries working in that area, and hopefully, one day they will have a church.

I began talking with some of the ladies while Ricky was talking with the men. I found out that 2 of the ladies, Matilda and Rhoda, were from Lusaka. They sell their fish in the city market and just come to this village because they have family here. I told them I would try to come see them one day at the market. While I was talking, Kelsey interrupted me to tell me she had to go to the bathroom. I carried her into the bushes, and as she was doing her business, an elephant came just near us. I was saying, "Hurry up, Kelsey, there's an elephant right there!" The men were chasing the elephant away from the village, but we could see him through the bushes.

Our stay at Kiambi was very relaxing and enjoyable, and we would recommend this place to anyone. The staff was very nice and treated us like we were the only guests - well, we were one day! Ha! Right before our departure, we were asked by one of the staff members to make a delivery to his family back near Lusaka. His family lives at Mapepe Bible College just off the main road into Lusaka. They were calling him to tell him they were out of food, so he wanted to send them some money. We found his wife waiting by the side of the road, and when we pulled over she said, "You are the express!" Okay, so I guess we were like the delivery express vehicle. She was very thankful for our service and even invited us to her home. We declined seeing that we had just driven 2 1/2 hours with 3 kids in the back, and they were a little anxious to get home.
The drive to Lower Zambezi was not what we expected. I mean, the roads were actually paved without any potholes! It looked as if this project had just been completed since they were still in the process of painting lines on the road. That was another funny thing... the lines didn't make sense. We would see some solid lines with just white paint, and then, all of a sudden, there would be white and yellow painted lines in the center. There was no rhyme or reason for their painted lines. We watched them paint the center line by holding a rope at one end and painting along the side of the rope. They actually had a painting machine, but I have seen where they paint by hand, too. The scene was mountainous and very similar to our drive around the Blue Ridge Mountains back home. At one of the police check-points near Siavonga, the police officer was wanting to know about a church that he could attend. He said he came from a Baptist church in Mansa (north of Lusaka) and was very happy in that church. But now since he has moved, he is still searching for a good Baptist church to attend. He asked for prayer to find a church home. I wish we would have written his name down for you to pray for him as well, but you can just call him Chi (his name started with that).

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Just click on the slide show above to see all our photos from the trip. Hope you enjoyed reading about our adventure to the Lower Zambezi. We have great video too that I hope to blog later.