We packed up early and walked up to the offices to pay, hoping for an early start. No such luck, we were greeted with coffee and chocolate cake (I hadn’t had breakfast yet) and eventually left ¾ of an hour later. We really didn’t mind, besides it’s not every day you get home made choc cake for breakfast. Nanzhila Plains will never hit my list of the top 10 camp sites to visit but the hospitality we received from Brad, Ruth & Steady made the stay worthwhile. I think that this camp and area must be absolutely stunning in the dry season once the grass is short and the water not so spread out.
We headed north along the same sandy and potholed roads for 2½ hours to the Musa Gate. For anyone visiting Southern Kafue, I would suggest you do so in the winter. The vegetation, although luscious and in great condition, offers very little opportunity to see game in the rainy season.
From Musa we headed up to the Itezhi Tezhi Dam (pronounced Itchy Tetchy). We were aware that there was an options of 2 resorts with camping facilities in the area. Here all camp sites are attached lodges, bungalows or resorts; it makes no difference how smart or run down the resorts are, the going rate is around $200/person, so camping is certainly a cheaper option.
The first resort we came across, we enquired about their camping facilities and they informed us that the camp sites were much nicer at the resort next door – it still amazes me how honest Zambians are. The camp site at New Kalala is certainly stunning and we are the only ones at the resort tonight. We have set up camp on the banks of the water with a view of this massive expanse of water in front of us and what looks like deserted islands in the middle.
Once camp was set up, we headed into Itezhi Tezhi town, we had been told to visit Melissa’s store for fresh bread and produce (the frozen salad had now passed its use by date). We crossed over a newly built dam wall, obviously built for hydro electric purposes. The town seemed to be divided into 2 sections; the one on the top of the hill for ZESCO employees (Zambian Energy Corporation) and on the low road, the locals live in a mixture of huts and semi built structures. In neither section could we find Melissa’s or any other shop we felt worth stopping at.
Back at camp we just sat and admired the view and tranquillity of the lake; a row boat crossed into the middle for a night of fishing. We eventually moved up to a bar/restaurant area for a drink and to watch the sun set. The bar is set about 20m above the lake, which was as smooth as glass. This place must have been a top holiday spot in its day and still has an old colonial feel to it. Although it is clean and well kept, it definitely is from a bygone era.
We felt a bit braaied out, so we used our frozen tomatoes, onions, peppers and some homemade chilli sauce (supplied by Brad) to whip up a spaghetti arabiatta on the camp fire. To all of Gray’s braai buddies – I promise he hasn’t gone all soft on you (or maybe he has chosen vegetarian pasta over a chunk of steak). Our issue at the moment is trying to sort out how to cook for two – we are kind of over catering but we will get there – and just as we do, there will be 5 of us again.
Viewfrom our camp
Fishing on Itezhi-Tezhi
Sun set andcamp fire
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