Zambia experience on a budget
By Bryan and Anja Baker
Better late then never
It is about time to write down the experience of our last Zambia trip.
The excitement was strong, right through from leaving Perth end of May, to the last day we have had in Zambia. Flying from Perth to Johannesberg takes about 11 hours and in our case, it was a bit of a tight fit, as most of the trip was.
A stopover in Jo-berg can be an adventure in itself. We found the airport at Johannesberg is fairly large and interesting and definitely changed a lot since we have been there last. If you do not know your way around, it can be a little bit like a rabbit warrant. The shops offer a huge variety of items with toys, music, books, sweets etc. Anyone can find something to take home or to take along for friends. One business offers seated back massage. I took the possibility on our flight back to Perth. That was a great half hour. It felt great. Interesting is the offer to get hydrotherapy, an underwater massage where you keep your clothes on and stay dry. I was fascinated, just by looking at the “contraption”. Not easy to explain, I try anyway. It looks more or les like an ‘Iron Lung’ but see through. Looking through the window, which makes up the top half of the machine, we did see what looked like a huge big bladder. They use the same material for waterbeds, I think. So you slip inside of that, when closed it seals off. When it starts, there is this sprinkler system, which moves back and forth. Pity, I did not have enough money left to for a trial. I can imagine it feels just like mmhhh. I am sure, I will enjoy that next time. The eating-places and facilities are very clean. Staff is, as you might find in most of the Southern African countries, very friendly. That is our opinion. You can always find the odd one.
Accommodation at the Airport Hotel is good. The rooms are relatively big with ensuite. The price is similar to other countries. We paid a bit more then Rd 400 for a double room, no breakfast included, but tea and coffee and some snack available in the room. Next morning it felt like a treasure hunt to find our way back into the departure area. We made our way down with the lift and joined a long queue to go through the security check, just to find out we have to go back and down to Level one to get our seats for the connecting flight to Lusaka first. That is more a hassle then a real problem, as there is most of the time a nice person around, who will give advice or will show you the way. We must have been lucky in that regard.
After a little snack, we went on our way to find the gate for the flight to Lusaka. We still have had to wait more then an hour, and I was getting slowly to the point, where I really did not want to wait anymore. We have had to find a spot to watch the screens, as there are no calls for boarding the flight. There is the slight possibility, that I might have driven my ‘poor’ Bryan close to the edge, I apologize, Sweetheart. Boarding was fine, except, I mixed up the seats. That is just me, being impatient sometimes. However, it turned out to be positive. We ended up having interesting conversations with our neighbours. Bryan was talking about our plans to a Lady from the Lions Club in Lusaka, while I got some information about water pumps from a young man selling and looking after the service of pumps all over Africa.
Landing at Lusaka Airport felt like coming home to me. I know, I am a big softy, but I can’t help it, the ‘African virus’ got me in 1995 to be correct and it is there to stay. Coming into the airport, there was this young man holding up a placard with a name similar to ours. He realized we were looking and talking about him, so he approached us. After finding out we are not the people he is waiting for and everyone else from that flight has passed, he decided to ‘take us under his wings’. We went through formalities relatively easy, many thanks to our helper. Where is Stella? Does she still look the same? She found us just before deciding to leave, as she thought we might have missed the flight. For Stella, we hope she has a better and safer utility by now, then the one she drove to get us to places. Thank you Stella for taking the time and inconvenience with the two of us. We know you are a very busy young Lady. Being on a sort of a holiday it didn’t really bother us how we got around as long as we did get around from one place to another; but, poor Stella had to put up with that rattle and constant braking down for quiet a while. For some people it possibly would have been a nightmare. To cut the story a bit shorter, we got to Rita and Joe’s farm, in sort of good shape. Not much has changed in ten years time and we got even the same room then ten years back. What has changed? Rita has got many more geese, and it is breeding time. You might have guessed right, yes, the nights are noisy with breeding geese under the bedroom window. Never mind, we are lucky to know Rita, Joe and their family. Thank you for all the help.
We went into town by Taxi to get to other places. We have been very impressed with a lot of the quality of products. Some of the Avocado pears were huge, close to the size of a rugby ball. Let me tell you, the fresh produce in Zambia tastes much better then what we get here from most of the shops. From time to time, we are lucky and get some tasty fruit or vegetables, if we find the time to go to the weekend market. Most of the fruit and vegetable is imported. We would have loved to take some very tasty jams home. Apparently, there is a family business in Lusaka making jams and marmalades of very good quality. The ones we had on bread were delicious. Definitely, there is a good chance for expansion. I can hear Bryan saying, “Just wait till I get my hands into that Zambian dirt. There will be jams, chutneys and other goodies coming out of your ears.” Our three days in Lusaka went very quick. We were lucky to have Lucky (nice young man working for Stella), with us. He looked after us pretty well, keeping sellers of odd little bits and pieces of our back. We were straight away identified as visitors. Here I better put a remark in for Heather. Thank you Heather for the information and it was good to meet you in person. The same goes for Craig. If Craig still remembers, we were inquiring about a place called Mupapa. We have seen the place from a distance. The bus to Ndola had to stop at the weighbridge and looking out of the window to the right it is visible, and it looks great. Our GP Dr Prnich just came back from there a couple of months ago. Where was I, now? We walked down from Heather’s office to the bus port to find out time and price for the busses to Ndola, our next stopover. The bus port is amazing. Not much space between the busses and the gate they drive in and out, people everywhere. It is important to hold onto your luggage and bags, otherwise they go a different way then you want. We got there next morning, in time to catch the 8 am bus to Ndola. Our bus companies here in Perth would be more then happy to have so many people using the service.
The bus arrived in Ndola in the late afternoon. Not sure which way to go to get accommodation we just decided to take a Taxi to get to the nearest lodge, which was the Michelangelo Guesthouse or Lodge, which is also a very busy Restaurant. It was getting to the point, where I just wanted to have a nice meal and a good night rest, even if it is borderline with our budget. We found out it is advisable to have a mobile phone (or two) as the phone calls from the hotels are very expensive. On this trip, we have learned a lot as we went from place to place. We have had many lucky strikes, I must admit, and I am very thankful for that. Our friend in Perth, a young Mining Engineer (born Zambian) gave us address and telephone number of his family in Ndola. We phoned Mike (the Cousin of our friend) the afternoon we arrived and did see him just an hour later. Straight away, we knew it was Mike coming around the corner. He has the same laugh then his cousin, our friend. It was clear we have had to meet up again. With the night falling (and me getting tired), we promised to contact the family before leaving for Lusaka. We have had a tight schedule with visiting all the places and meeting the different Organizations to get all the information needed for our own project in mind.
In the morning, we contacted Peter Ravensdale from Zamaid and the Isubilo Resource Centre to arrange time for a meeting. Could not believe it, but the timing was just not good enough. We managed to get a Taxi to drive us to Isubilo, and - Oh boy! Do not assume the driver knows where the place is you want to go if you do not have the correct address. Actually if I look at it from a different point of view, we did have a scenic drive, which was quite good and did not cost that much. We got to Isubilo Resource Centre (the old Beer Hall on Mango Road in Chifuba). To meet Dr Andy Patching and some of the other Isubilo team members was important to us. The Isubilo project team is doing a fantastic job. People interested in knowing more about it can look up the website
http://www.isubilo.org/ . It was very fortunate for us to spend time with Andy. Thank you, Andy.
Sue, who is a RN from the UK and helping Isubilo frequently, took us to Lifesprings, where we stayed for four nights. Lifesprings Farm is just off Mushili Road before you get to the Army camp and is a working farm; producing commercial crops (Bananas, Eggs, raising Chicken, Rabbits and some other trial crops). There are some Double Lodges for tourists and a former farm building rebuild/renovated and remodeled for group accommodation and meetings. Volunteers for Isubilo pay a lower rate for accommodation. The lodges are spacious and have a very small ensuite; only one person can be in there at a time. Lifespring is also running a program which is called SOBIA (forgotten what the abbreviation means). Women from Kaloko and the surrounding area are getting help to start up small business, from learning the basics, doing the books and getting financial assistance. They have to sign a contract and pay the money back as they are able to do, making sure there is enough to keep going and feed the family. This is just another project that is functioning well. If someone is interested, the webpage is
http://www.lfzambia.com/We still wanted to go to the Northern Province, which is our main target in regards of projects. Everyone knows that schedules are not easy to keep to in Zambia. We were running late to catch the bus to Kasama. When we got to Kapiri Mposhi, the bus for Kasama had already left. Oh well, we took a Taxi to the train station, bought our tickets for the next train and tried to get to know a couple of other answers through people who were waiting just like us. Some conversations were quite interesting and made the about 4 ½ hours waiting time disappear a bit faster. The people from Lifespring Farm made sure we have had enough provision for our trip, not knowing how long it will take. Bryan phoned Father Kennedy from Kasama Archdiocese, to let him know what time we would arrive at the station, as he was going to pick us up. This train trip was definitely very interesting in the point of meeting so many different people, but 15 hours on a train which seems to have square wheels can become the most uncomfortable ones to even think about. It was strange to be ‘separated’ from Bryan for the time of the trip. Mind you, I think he needed to have that time off. On that train, the compartments were only for women or men. I did share with a young mother and her little daughter and two young women, before two more women joined at the next stop. There were so many stops, that I thought we would never get where we want to be. We survived and were happy (after traveling for about 24 hours all together) to get off the train at about 8 am next morning.
We met Father Kennedy and could not help it, but to like him straight away. He is the Pastoral Coordinator for the diocese. For the time of our stay, he did take us on as his guests. After dropping off our luggage at the quarters and a shower, we enjoyed a good breakfast and a bit of a chat. The few days we have had in Kasama worked out to be very informative for us. Not only did we see some good scenery, but also we have had a look at Chilubula St Fidelis Mission Hospital, a couple of other projects for the OVC and a visit to Mbala General Hospital.
Bryan was overwhelmed sometimes with the botanical side of our trip. On the other side of the boundary fence to the Archbishops residence, is this beautiful stretch of Bamboo growing. The poles are useful as material for furniture. Bryan was explaining that it is possible to use each one of those long canes to build a bed. Bryan wants to put the remark in that Ron can extol the virtues of Bamboo better then I. Next day we visited the St Fidelis Mission Hospital, Chilubula. There are about 13 000 people living in the catchment’s area. It is not an easy job for only 12 Staff. How long would our Nurses and Doctors be able to work under conditions like that? We wanted to know what the Hospital needs most, to function more efficiently, and received a long list. Some items we have already in stock, but they need a little attention (ordinary nuts and bolts need to be replacing with stainless steel ones). In many circumstances, it is not possible to transport a patient. The Hospital is lacking a safe Ambulance car. Looking at the road conditions it is understandable that cars break down frequently. It was good to see that the Staff of the Hospital is trying to grow vegetables.
Father Kennedy took us for a scenic drive to Chisimba Falls, about 35 km from Kasama. It is worthwhile to take time for a good walk through the area around the falls. Any photo enthusiast could take easily hundreds of photos there. First, we went to the weir above Chisimba where there is a beautiful view of the higher up fall. Somehow showing the beauty of the place in photos is not always easy. Walking through some wetland, Bryan got excited about finding some Chocolate berries. What is even better, they were ripe and yummy. He did explain it is not the Isupingo berry Vitex payos, but Vitex doniana. We followed the trail down to the bottom of the falls. By that time, I have had to be careful with taking photos, as my supply on film was diminishing. What a beautiful place (if you love rocks and water as I do). “Climbing” up again you have to be semi fit at least; I was getting a bit behind, as I am slack with my breathing. Speaking of breathing, the views from the top of the falls are really breath taking, as you can imagine looking at the photos. Bryan did see Aloes in flower growing in the cracks of the rock wall a few meters away from the falls itself. He thinks of it as Aloe mzimbana, but the markings on the leaves are of a Milne-redheadii. Can anyone clarify this please, because Bryan does not stop talking about it? There is a small Gazebo at the gate, where visitors are able to buy locally made goodies for a very fair price.
Our next place of interest was Mbala Hospital. Just getting there, was an adventure. We left Kasama after breakfast. Kasama to Mbala is about 180 km, but it seemed to be at least double distance. Do not get me wrong I enjoyed the trip anyway, as I am a photo-fanatic, actually both of us are. Sometimes I think Bryan is getting a bit fed-up. Here we go again, “stop, look at this rock, flower, insect, tree….) you name it and I want to take a photo. That is not really the reason why it took a bit more time to get to Mbala. The roads are atrocious. In some of the potholes one could get lost. A billboard at the turn off to Mbala suggests that there might be a few good fishing spots in the rainy season along the road. I wonder what kind of fish would be in there. After taking some more photos, we went to the Sisters who run the school and then went to the Hospital to introduce ourselves and inquired about seeing the Hospital’s Management. As one might expect, come back later, what we did. It was anyway lunchtime. After finishing our lunch at the Missions place, we went back to the Hospital. Displaying patience is worth a lot. We did get our tour through the hospital, of course with the Manger. We did explain that we really wanted to see what the needs for improvements are, instead of letting us guess and organize the things they do not need. I must admit, they did show us a few “bad” things (which we really wanted to see for documentation), and I am almost certain we have not seen the worst. The hospital was clean. A big problem we did see was the exhaust fans in the kitchen area were not functioning at all and the mould was building up badly. Although they did get nice big vats for cooking, only half of them were in working order. Due to respect, I do not want to say anything more about the conditions; but I am preparing a report, which will be available personally through me.
Something else of interest for the botanical minded people, we did see the biggest ever Kapok tree. I think you guess it right, Bryan spotted it. It would produce a lot of pillows, quilts and mattresses for the new born and smaller children.
We spent a bit more time in Kasama, which we enjoyed very much. The company of the Pastoral Coordinator Father Kennedy Seketa, who is a very nice young man with an open mind, was great. The last day we were just doing something ordinary, shopping, wandering around, talking with people, and we took more photos.
Each time we used the bus services, we were amazed about the fares. I must admit it was not always as comfortable as it ought to be for such long distances. Beside the train, we used the busses five times. Two of the trips were fine, without any problem, if you do not mind being squeezed in like a sardine in a tin. One cannot be choosy traveling on a tight budget. We still enjoyed maybe not every little bit but most anyway.
The next adventure was just around the corner in form of a travel on the post bus Kasama to Ndola. To travel on that bus you need to pay a small fee for the weight of your luggage. Boards replaced two of the broken windows. My seat was next to one of these windows. To make sure the board stays in its place, I decided to use my cardigan as a buffer. A couple of times I have had to push hard with my shoulder against the board to hold it in more or less in place. We survived. Some views of the Muchinga Mountains were just fantastic. There were many new places offering accommodation on either side of the road. It has changed since 1995 but it is still beautiful. Personally, I would have liked to go to one of the wildlife parks, but it just did not fit into the time frame. Maybe another day. That reminds me, we wonder if Peter Arnold is still at Sumbu National Park. On our trip in 1995, we stayed at Nkupi Lodge, Mpulungu, where we met Peter with a group of farmers coming from South Africa for a holiday. That was a good time. If anyone knows, we like to get back in contact with him. Back to the bus story. It was a nine-hour travel from Kasama to Ndola with the bus. As before, we booked into Michelangelo’s for a night again. The staff was busy setting up for a bigger group, so we thought we better get on with it finish our Dinner and Desert (you are not allowed to forget that), when people started to arrive. We did not believe our eyes, three people sat down and we were sure we know them. After putting the thinking cap back on it just sparked, John Enright from Kafakumba and his Parents. Before going to our room we went up to their table and changed a few words with them, hoping to see them a couple of days later at Kafakumba.
That is just another little thing we did not get the time for, a pity.
Next morning we contacted Mike and Mark (our friend’s family) and met them shortly after. The suggestion to take on another accommodation was more then welcome. Mark drove us to Fatmols Guesthouse in Kansenshi, which is a little bit older style and not as extravagant but does have nice big rooms, clean, well kept and not to small bathrooms (shower, toilet, hand basin) and huge cupboard space. All request were answered with, no problem. I did like their weekend uniforms and the girls phoned up the tailor. Did not take him long, we wanted the same material as the girls had, he took the measurements and unbelievably, within two days everything was ready. Amazingly, for a long skirt with top, a shirt for Bryan, and two dresses for our twin granddaughters and an outfit (pants + top) for the grandson, material, everything included for K 250,000 what a bargain. Another big plus, we saved K 200,000 per night. We stayed five nights that adds up to K 1,000,000. By the way, the Chef cooking is Yummy, especially the Samosas. It was a great time; we met people from the Roads Department doing work on the roads between Ndola and Kitwe area. That week at Fatmols was more or less a mixed week of wait/wait and running around from place to place. Salwa and Peter Ravensdale took us to their farm in Misundu, so we see what they are doing and to find out if there is anything, we can do. We were chauffeured around and we visited the Orphanage just a few blocks away twice. Second time we spend nearly a whole afternoon playing with the kids and finding out about the costs per child etc. The women at the orphanage are doing a very good job. In the backyard is enough space to grow a mix of vegetables and even for some fruit trees. While we were there, a man attended to some newly set up vegetable patch. Sadly, in the last newsletter we found that four of the smaller children passed away. Our last day we felt a bit overwhelmed, as nearly everyone came to wish us farewell.
We went back to Lifespring Farm Services for another short stay, to get more information of all the different things these people are doing. We met June, a young African woman with a Forestry degree and studying for her Masters, good on her, wish her well. During the next couple of days we did do a few walks through the bush land with June (and not to forget the farm dogs, BJ, Prince and not sure) to find out what and how much is left of useful plants, for food, fuel and shelter. We have had a great time. Lifespring Farms, as a team, have achieved a lot in a few years. Lifespring received their Charity status now, congratulations.
The worst bus trip to remember is the one from Ndola back to Lusaka. As usual, we were running late and it was not easy to get a bus, the better ones must have already left. After going back and forth in the bus, climbing over luggage and other pieces, we ended up sitting next to each other. Roadblocks were plenty on that trip and I lost count. That trip was a bit nerve wrecking. Then – just wait – about 50 km before reaching Lusaka, another road stop. No idea what happened, but the bus had to go of the road to stop. The time just did not want to pass. After several unsuccessful attempts by the driver to start the engine, we decided to get off the bus and try to get a seat in another one. Lucky, there was space on one, which followed soon. We explained to the driver where we wanted to go, as we were supposed to meet up with Stella or Joe, and it was getting late. Possibly, as you might guess, the bus did not go to Cairo Road. Next possibility to get off the bus, was a big Petrol station and my ‘eagle’s eye had taxis in focus. We quickly got out and took the taxi to Cairo Road to meet up with Joe before he left his office to go home. Big sigh, before waking up I did lose some of my paper work. We got our lift home to the farm, and I was buggered. Certainly, I knew, it would never get boring on our trip. What does not knock me out – can only give me strength. The last few days with good friends was just like salve, smooth and just wanting to come back as fast as possible. Actually, I would even take it that far, I did not really want to leave, and I think I can say the same thing about Bryan. Plenty of tissues went to waste on the trip back to Perth and we are already “homesick” again, just waiting for the tickets to arrive. The earlier – the better.
Until then we are stuck in working on the development of a project we have in mind for the Northern Province, to get the Fundraising License for Western Australia, packing things we have got for hospitals and other centers into boxes and drums. A leased container is on site, waiting to be filled with useful items. Dealing with Government Departments, if you do not know the right people, is as bad over here as it is in Zambia.
We have just released our new webpage. Our web address is
www.selfrelianceforzambia.orgBuilding a website is still new to me, please be patient. One of my problems are the Meta Tags, it is like trying to learn Chinese. Sure, you know what I mean. Hope you enjoyed sharing some of our travel experience and we will meet you back in Zambia. We definitely look forward to be there.
Now I would like to say again THANK YOU to everyone
Bryan for his patience with me, because I am not always the fastest (not to mention, my photos turn out pretty good, sometimes); Rita, Joe, Stella, Lucky and Matinta; Heather and Craig; Peter and Salwa Ravensdale; Eira and Andy Patching, Gladson, Barbara (Andy’s sister), Sue (Nurse) from Isubilo; Josie, Tony, Berry, Martin, David and all the staff from Lifesprings; Ruth and Alice (Nurses from hospitals in the North Western Province, close to the Congo border); the Staff of Fatmols Guesthouse in Kansenshi and some of their Patrons; Staff of the Transient Home (Zambian Childcare and Adoption Society); David from the hardware store in Ndola; Father Kennedy Seketa and Archbishop of Kasama James Spaita; the Sisters from Chilubula St Fidelis Mission Hospital; plus all the nice people we met - Thank you to everyone for the help, friendship and compassion for the cause. God Bless You All - Anja and Bryan Baker
