After breakfast we headed into town (town is the main road, Mosi-oa-Tunya Road) to buy supplies for the next leg of the journey north. We had done a reccie earlier on in the week and discovered the Shoprite Checkers far superior to the Super Spar, it was actually better than a lot of the Jhb Checkers stores. This was not exactly a month end shop; we purchased meat for a few nights and some fresh fruit and salad. The problem being storage, our fridge/freezer can only be one or the other, so if we freeze the meat, we freeze the lettuce. Oh the dilemmas of being a cook in the bush.
We then made a stop at the local craft market for Robs to buy her Zambian bracelet, before heading off to Livingstone Airport. At the entrance was another ‘more than giant size’ statue of Livingstone, this time with Susi and Chuma, his trusted aides and guides by his side. Wherever you go in Livingtone there are these huge statues of the man. Robs was flying back home so she could attend bush school with her classmates, for three weeks, in the Waterberg area. My wonderful sister would be meeting her at the Airport and looking after her till her departure on Sunday. Thanks Juls and Ads for taking care of her, the school lifts and everything you always do for the kids. She was sorry to leave; she has a wonderfully adventurous nature and was upset about missing out on the rest of Zambia and Malawi. However, on the flip side, she was excited about going to bush school and it will be good for her to see her friends after being with the two old farts for the past 3 weeks.
After booking her in, we had a coldrink in a rather run down ‘restaurant’ and then waved her good bye as she disappeared into the departure area. I feel like I have lost a limb. I really miss not having all 3 kids around. Gareth, with his big bear hugs, always so willing to help me and his dry sense of humour, plus he can cook up a pretty decent meal these days. Kirst, who just takes over with her ‘bigger than life’ personality and wicked sense of humour. I even miss her ‘attitude’. Robs is kind and gentle, always thinking of others but a bit like the Duracell bunny, always on the go and keeping us in tow.
So here we are - Darby and Joan for the next 6 weeks. Besides the odd week here and there, this is the longest stretch in 21 years that it’s going to be just the two of us. I joked with my friends before we left - that we would either come back divorced or like Dr and Mrs Livingstone. In hind sight, I think David Livingstone traipsed around the African jungle for 27 years to try and escape from the dog ugly Mary Moffat. Hopefully, we will survive and return as good old Mr & Mrs Morrison.
Gray dropped me off at the Waterfront to sort out washing and admin (I managed to get the washing done, for a reasonable fee – my nails have just recovered from the last encounter with Mama’s washing powder). He then went back into the township to visit his bush mechanic mates; they had some final touches to make on the car (new universal joints or something). Then he went to sort out the Comesa insurance, a 3rd party insurance for Africa. We could only do the first leg, from home to Zambia, in S.A., the rest had to be done in Zambia (this saves us sorting it out at each border post).
On his return, we decided to visit the ‘Mosi-au-Tunya” Game Park (clearly everything around here is named after the falls), about 1km from the Waterfront. It was a stunning little park, reminding me of the Okavango in Botswana. We saw 3 monitor lizards and a croc lying in the road in the first 3 km. Besides lots of general game, the bird life was amazing and we both had fun trying different settings on the camera. This is the one ‘tourist attraction’ which is not advertised but well worth a visit.
After dinner we sat on the banks of the Zambezi, sipping Amarula on ice – “ life is kak in Africa”.
Livingstone & Co
Good bye Robs
Monitor Lizzie
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