Flatdogs Camp, Battle of the Dragons (Monitor Lizards in Love)

Elephant for Breakfast, Hippo for Dinner, Monkeys at Night

We arrived at Flatdogs around noon. We checked in at reception where they give you a talk about the animals that roam the area. They tell you these are not tame but are wild animals and should be treated as such. You should have no food in your tent and there is a area attached to the camp managers hut that has shelves to store things on and a refrigerator.

We tried out the platforms. They are built for a smaller tent than the one we have. The stairs seemed a little steep to me and one of the platforms had quite a distance between steps. We set up next to one of the platforms and positioned the picnic table so it was a barrier to the front of our tent. Each of the platform areas and many other areas have a picnic table and a concrete structure with a sink, light, braii pit and a trash can. Very nice.

One of the first animals we saw when we entered Flatdogs was a large baboon sitting on one of the tables checking things out I am sure. We got ready to cook our first meal only to discover the gas canisters we had bought were not the right kind. Rookie move on our part. Next time we will know to bring our stove with us to check out to make sure it has the internal threads. We are reduced to using our oldest stove that will run off any type of fuel. The bad thing about it is it is very noisy when running and so you do not get to enjoy the sounds of the bush!









One of the things we have discovered here is the electricity seems to go off at random times but since we have been here it seems to happen around the early dinner hour (6:00ish). We perservered and had a nice dinner. After dinner Robert was heading to the closest ablution block to us and saw a hippo out in the bush! He came back and used the one on the opposite side.

There are watchmen that wander around the area and you are advised to have them escort you to the restroom, your tent, the dining/bar area. We did that and in the night you are to holler "watchman" and one will hopefully appear to walk you to and from the toilet.

The next morning we got up and fixed coffee and went and sat down on the bluff above the water and enjoyed the hippo pods in the water and birds that were flying about and on land. What a great way to start our official Africa visit as far as I was concerned. As the sun rose higher we decided to eat breakfast. I walked over to get our food out of the kitchen area and found my way blocked by an elephant! I went back and got Robert and we enjoyed watching the elephant graze for awhile before wandering off into the bush.

One of the issues you have to grapple with when you go to Africa is what sort of anti-malarial pills you are going to take or are you going to try some sort of non prescription form of malarials. We have always taken some type of anti- malarial pill. This time we are taking doxycycline. It is a tough choice as this is an antibiotic, can cause you to be sensitive to the sun and some other discomforts. Robert has been feeling badly and he thinks the pills seems to be zapping his energy at this early stage. The bad thing for me is that you should not take your vitamins at the same time so trying to remember to take our vitamins is not going so well.

We did a little birding in the afternoon and then fixed our dinner and retired to the bar for a few drinks and visited with the couple that is running Flatdogs. We had an interesting conversation about the effort being made to try to protect the natural animal corridors that are left in the area. They also discussed the problems the villagers are having with some of the elephants especially roaming through and getting into their maize storage areas. One of the watchmen told us the story of a mother elephant and baby elephant that got into their maize beer and got quite drunk and passed out.

The next morning we woke up and started on our breakfast routine. About 7:15a.m. Robert looked up and out of the bush coming from the reception area wandered a hippo right across the path leading to the ablution block. This is why we wanted to come to this camp! The thing is it looks so calm and peaceful and then something like this or the elephant by the kitchen make you realize you are not alone here.

After breakfast we went back down to the bluff to watch the morning scene on the river and riverbank. This time we brought our spotting scope with us. Traveling on a budget makes you think about what you can do to entertain yourself and not have to go on a game drive every day. The spotting scope was a wise investment for us because we can see a great deal more using it. We were rewarded when we trained it on the bank on the oppposite side of the river. There was a mother hippo and her tiny baby hippo. The baby was about the size of her head. We watched it get up and walk around sticking its nose in indentions made by larger hippos and and then it wandered down to the water and sploosh, in it went! The mother came in behind it and we could see it lift it head up and swim about. We wish it a safe life.

Robert did a great deal of research before we set off on this trip and was in e-mail correspondence with the staff at Flatdogs. They had told him the village of Mfuwe did have stores where you can get supplies and actually have a meat shop as well. We did not provision up as well as we could have. Part of the reason was our journey we were going to be making to get here. I was not sure how well eggs, bread, tomatoes would travel so we did not buy them. Since our provisions were not the best, we were still tired from our journey we decided to order lunch from the restaurant.

The restaurant here at Flatdogs is first class. They have a wide and varied menu and have top notch service. They have several choices for breakfast, a snack menu and a nice full meal menu. The bar is also well stocked and seems to be able to make all sorts of drinks. We ordered take-away food for both lunch and dinner and they had no problem fixing us up!

For the birder, this area has a great deal to offer. In the short time we have been here, without really sitting for hours at a time, have seen over 30 birds we were able to identify. For the more serious birder, they would be able to spot more. We found a spot overlooking a small pond and were rewarded by a variety of birds. Later that afternoon we went back over to our tent area and were entertained by the vervet monkeys. They are quite amusing but you must watch out for them and the baboons as they will grab what they can! I was startled one morning while mixing our milk to look up and see a baboon very close to me. We were able to scare it away after it had grabbed up the coffee and then threw it down. That night the vervet monkeys slept in the trees above our tent.

This evening after we had dinner and were relaxing I looked up and there was a HUGE hippo 40 feet from our tent! We decided our best option was to climb the ladder and sit and watch from atop the platform. It did wander back into the bush somewhere, you never can tell and then Robert looked over his shoulder to see one cross the path between us and the ablution block, restaurant/bar area. What an experience these days have been!

Part 5, Traveling by bus Lusaka to Chipata to South Luangwa National Park; Places to Stay in Chipata and Mfuwe areas

Lusaka to South Luangwa National Park/ Mfuwe and Flatdogs:

(Note: We are just getting used to the mechanics of blogspot-- the pictures should be views bottom to top.)

As was mentioned to us, there are several places worth visiting in Zambia, but unfortunately it is difficult to reach them very easily travelling on a budget. Traveling to get to Flatdogs/Mfwe the cheapest way was by bus to Chipata and then on to Mfwe by minibus. Visiting with other travelers at Chachacha, the option of taking the Postal bus was brought up. According to this one traveler, it was dependable and a good way to travel.

We went to the Post Office and checked out the Postal bus. It was fully booked and so was not an option for us to travel that way. Another person had told us the Postal Bus was slow, crowded, and made many, many stops. So as information goes, much of it is in the eye of the traveler.

We next checked out the bus to Chipata. Going to the bus station is a trip in itself. The touts hit you the minute you enter the station grounds, hollering the names of places, busses and so forth. They are not deterred by a simple no, a forceful no, they just are not deterred. We had been given the name of a bus company by one of the employees of Chachacha and so we went to the Juldan Bus Company. There is still some confusion in my mind as to the correct name; because it also had the name Marks on the side of some of the busses and Juldan on others.

They had two buses heading to Chipata in the morning--one at 4:00 a.m. leaving from Freedom Way and one at 9:00 a.m. leaving from the main bus station. We had been told if you leave early enough you can make it all the way to Flatdogs in one day so we decided to try for the 4:00 a.m. bus. We arranged with the reception at Chachacha for a taxi to take us there at 3:30 a.m.

Got up early and were ready to go by 3:30 but no taxi. We are not sure what the glitch was; we had made arrangements to be picked up at the airport when we arrived in Lusaka and no problem there. I feel certain it must have been the early hour. At 5:00 a truck dropped a backpacker off at the gate, told us it was not a taxi and the night watchman offered to find us a taxi. Came back with a taxi and off we went to the bus station.

Be ready for the touts again. This time they run alongside the taxi and if they know where you are headed are running ahead leading the taxi to the proper bus. Since Juldan did not have a bus until 9:00 a.m., they took us over to a bus called Zambia-Botswana buslines. The ticket issuer assured us this bus did go to Chipata. Another word to the wise, lock your door, and if you have luggage in the backseat, lock that door also. While Robert was outside making arrangements, the back door opened and guys began to try to pull our luggage out. I won the tug of war with the taxi driver telling them I didn't want the luggage out yet. Finally all was settled, K115,000 per person to Chipata and K5000 per piece of luggage.

Another incident that happened while all this was going on, was our taxi driver was fined by the station security for parking in the wrong place. It could have been that, the fact he was not an official taxi, or just a new scam for the unsuspecting traveler. We paid the fine of K18,000 and got on the bus.

The bus was to leave at 7:30 so for the next 1 1/2 hours we watched the ebb and flow of the machinations of tout, ticket issuer, passenger, and who ever else was involved in getting someone on the bus! The bus left at about 7:30 and then we had a 15 minute stop to fuel the bus. Another thing to learn, when fueling the bus we all get off.

The bus is comparable in comfort to a Greyhound bus back in the states as far as seat room, etc. Except the seats are three across like on an airline. We were entertained by 'religious MTV' music and dancing most of the way but the scenery was both beautiful and interesting. The bus did not make many stops along the way except for what looked like three or four regular pick up and drop off spots.

Dean's Hillside Camp in Chipata
We made it to Chipata by about 4:00 p.m. and finally let a tout negotiate a taxi for us to Dean's Hillside Camp. The taxi to Dean's was much cheaper than one would be to Mama Rula's, another backpackers we had found on the web. Dean's Hillside Camp is very near town and if you are making an early getaway, it is a good place to be nearby. It is a lovely camp with places to pitch your tent and a house with inside guest rooms and an area on the second floor with room for more people.

The shower/toilet 'ablutions block' is very nice. The kitchen the staff uses to cook short order meals in we were told we were welcome to also use by the very helpful and friendly.

We were surprised to be have a horse and a rooster wander nearby while we were setting up our tent and enjoying the hill view. N'kwazi camp in Namibia near Rundu also let its horses have the run of the campsite. One interesting thing about this horse--while we were setting up our tent, it wandered through eating a few flower blooms along the way !

Dean, the owner, is a very interesting character and we had a nice visit about his story about coming to Zambia and how his place came to be. The price for camping is K25,000 per person.

Chipata to Flatdogs Camp
While we were visiting with some people that had just come from Flatdogs where we were headed to the next day, Moffat, a minibus owner came up wanting to know if we wanted to take his minibus (7-8 passengers) to Mfuwe. We had heard from the people we were talking to that the last 42 km of the road were very bad. We also were concerned about how long it could take given our experience of minibus travel where frequent stops are the norm. He offered a cost was $80.00USD since he already had booked to take passengers from Flatdogs, and did not want to drive there empty. We said we would go with him with the understanding that if he picked up other travelers he would reduce our fee. We suggested he stop at Mama Rula's and see if there were any, but he said he did not have time. Sure enough, he picked up two other locals along the way, one of which he claimed was his brother and another had a Flatdogs shirt on. Oh well....

Moffat was supposed to pick us up at 8:00 a.m. the next morning and was early and would not be able to let us go to the bank before we left Chipata because it did not open until 8:30 and he had to pick up his Flatdog customers at 12:00 He said he operated on "English time" instead of "African time." He had told us the night before that we could pay him in US dollars, but wanted an advance in order to purchase fuel.

We gave him two twenties, then to our surprise he went to a foreign exchange place. They wanted to give him a bad rate for small bills. Laura went in to change more than 50 and got a better rate. The rate was very low for small bills $20 or lower but higher for $50 or larger bills. The only problem they only had $300 on hand at the moment. Said it would be just "a few minutes" but we opted to move on.

The first part of the road is quite easy and the last 42km are just as everyone said, very rough, lots of potholes and slow going.

I was glad we took the faster, albeit much more expensive option, because after all we had been through to get to Chipata, we would have had another very long day. We were awakened in the campsite around 11:30 pm by some people setting up a tent that evidently had just arrived by minibus, but we do not know what time they left Chipata.

Part 4 Johannesburg and Lusaka Backpackers

During our 2007 trip to South Africa we stayed with Nadxi and Jerry at Shoestring Airport Lodge Backpackers and we stayed there again this time. Was so great to see Rob, the owner, waiting for us after 25 hours of transit! Great to see his wife and daughter as well. He offers free aiport transfers, and he took us back again on Saturday for our flight to Lusaka, Zambia.

Lots of great birdwatching at Shoestrings, even though at the end of the street you can see the aircraft parked at the airport. For a fee, they will arrange transfer to the Johannesburg bus and train stations, which are great distance away.

The flight to Lusaka was delayed due to the Airforce needed the airspace to flyover the Presidential inaguration activities. When we got underway it was quite interesting because a group of Zambian traditional leader were on their back from a cultural exchange with China! They were colorfully dressed and interesting to talk to. Julian, son of a chief, has gone in his father's place and told me of plans they were making to establish an eco tourism project in their tribal area of Zambia.

When we arrived in Lusaka airport there were singers and a film crew to greet the chiefs! Fun.

We changed money at Barclay's office just before exiting the airport. Chachacha Backpackers do not have free airport transfers, but they do have a "meet and greet" service that takes some of the stress out of arriving in a new county. You know, the kind were they hold up a sign with your name on it? Cost was $30 US or the equivalent of $26 if you paid in Kwatcha. We may or may not have been able to get it cheaper, and we were glad we did it this way.

The taxi driver they hired was quite familiar with Chachacha's location. We were shown the area to set up our tent, did so, and checked to see if they were serving any food. No, in fact the day before Lusaka had been hit by a freak windstorm and the electricity was still off. Came back on later in time for us to get a shower. No food though, so Laura scrounged us up some snacks.

Met lots of interesting travelers in our two nights here, walked to the very modern Manda Hill Mall and at the Game department store purchased the propane canisters for our camping stove. (We discovered later that we should have been more careful and tried to fit our stove to the cannister while in the store. They did not work for us, and not cooking our own food could be a budget buster.) At the Shoprite grocery store we bought some food supplies to take along with us on the next leg of our trip to South Luangwa National Park. Our bags are even heavier now.

We walked downtown and tried for the Post Bus but it was fully booked. On the way to the bus station a man tried to pickpocket Laura's waste bag but it was empty.

The touts at the busy bus station were a little annoying but we found the company office, Jordan, that had been suggested by Violet of the staff at Chachacha.

A white man we think may be the owner of ChaChaCha called up a Dean's Hillside Camp for us in Chipata and verified that they allowed tent camping, and gave us tips on how to get there. (On previous trip we learned that not all "Camps" allow independent traveler tent camping.)

We have to get up in the middle of the night tonight and have been told there will be a taxi just outside the gate ready to take us to the bus! Adventure travel.... of the budget variety. Stand by for news of how this works out!

We could fly to Mfuwe, but the cost would be as 5 to 10 times as much as the bus. So off we go.... Come with us!

We are posting this from Kilimanjaro's, a very upscale combo cafe/gift shop/ internet place with safari theme in the Manda Hill Mall with wi fi at reasonable rates, but very slow. We learned from Tom that the internet cafe in Arcades Mall was much faster.
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For more pictures of Joburg Airport, Lusaka shopping,and ChaChaCha Backpackers, visit here: http://www.traveljournals.net/stories/29280.html
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Part 3 On to Africa via Amsterdam: Ready, Set, Charge !

We agonized about what electronic gadgets to take along to Africa.


Today, on the way to the airport, we realized that the laptop we were taking and the phone we had added world roaming to both needed to charge. We were able to plug into sister Susan's power thingies in her van because we had brought along an inverter for the laptop and a plug in charger for the phone. Thanks, Susan and Steve.

Oh well, add charging to the pre flight checklist. We were able to plug in at courtesy kiosk at the airport.

This is the first trip to Africa where we have taken a laptop. Thanks, Regina and JL!

Another decision to be made re the laptop was wi fi or no. The Houston airport does not offer free wi fi. A boingo screen popped up, offering wi fi connectivity for $9.95 per month. Our ATT Communication Software popped up with ATT Wi Fi finder, but we do not have ATT Wi Fi , but do have a laptop connect card that worked in the airport with no charge in addition to what we pay monthly. Wonder what we will find in the Amsterdam airport. We could have signed up for roaming on the laptop connect, but did not want to pay the montly charge plus data costs because expect few places that this will work in southern Africa. More likely to find free wi fi hotspots in a few cities, hostels, and camps...

Oops, gotta load this up, we are on the jet and about to leave!

Africa Self Guided Safari Series Part 2: Water Purification and Responsible Tourism

Don't Drink The Water!
This sad little one liner about traveling has become watchword to some. We get asked a lot of questions when we travel about a variety of topics. One of the questions we get asked the most is, "Do you drink the water?" The answer is "yes," but with qualifiers.

Do Drink the Water?
Some of the countries we are visiting in southern Africa have tap water purified to international health standards. Do your research before you go.

Bottled Water and Traveler Trash
Without being preachy, one of the things that is of top importance to most travelers is the ability to be able to drink water and feel that is not going to make you ill. Seems like many turn to bottled water as their primary defense. The problem for me arises when you have to buy bottled water in plastic containers, drink it and then have few options of what to do with the container! The infrastructure of many countries we have traveled in are not equipped to handle all the plastic trash that is left behind by we travelers. Rather than be part of the problem and rely on bottle water totally, Robert and I have used some type water purification system for the last 10 years of travel with good results.

SteriPEN
We have experimented with several different types with varying results. The one we have used the past two trips to Africa, Panama, and Belize is the SteriPen. This "pen" is a pocket UV-powered water purifier. You use 4 AA batteries to power it and swish it around in the water until the light goes out--one to two minutes depending on the size of your container. We carry rechargeable batteries to power the pen and so this is also another way to cut down on adding to the various countries' landfill problems.

Katadyn Base Camp hanging filter
For this coming trip to South Africa, Zambia, Namibia, and Botswana, and for our recent trip to Belize and Guatemala, we have added another level: purify large amounts of water using a Katadyn gravity filtration system. According to the manufacturer : "The Base Camp comes with the cleanable, AntiClog Hiker Pro Microfilter Cartridge that removes bacteria, Giardia, and Cryptosporidium to EPA Standards." This is a bladder that is hung from a position high enough to allow the water to move from the bladder through the filter into a gallon container. No more pumping, though that is at least some exercise. The water seems to taste better when we use this, and we will use this water for cooking, etc. After it has gone through this container we then will probably still use the SteriPEN for our drinking water for good measure. Probably overkill, though.

Sweetwater Drops
We will be going on some very long bus rides on this trip to Africa. For this trip, we are trying out a new purification idea for our long bus rides where pulling out the rig at bus stops will be problematic. We bought Sweetwater chlorine drops at REI to refill our water bottles on the 8-12 hour bus rides we will be going on. According to the instructions, you put 3-5 drops into your water, wait five minutes and the water is ready. We will see how this goes.

One Last Word on Traveler Trash
Another hint for travelers not related to water issues. Just a suggestion: somewhere in your baggage, fold up or roll up one of your cloth grocery bags from home. These have so many uses besides just the usual one for carrying out your groceries. One of the things that impressed me in some stores In South Africa, Namibia and Botswana is the practice of charging you for the plastic bags for your groceries! I also usually fill a quart baggie with several plastic bags from home and find them very useful as we travel along.

Africa Self Guided Safari Series: Part 1 Prep

"Africa. Why are you going to Africa? How can you afford to stay that long? Is it safe? " These are all questions we are asked repeatedly.

Because of our trips to Africa, we have had over 1 million hits on another site where we post. Our work here will be more concise, and offer suggestions for having an adventure to remember!

Follow with us to Africa with us over the next weeks. We will post when we can. We will look forward to your interaction. It gets lonely on the road sometimes......

We will offer tips and strategies for getting the most for your travel dollar. Some of the countries we may visit are South Africa, Zambia, Botswana, and Namibia. Zimbabwe and Malawi are also possibilities.

Pack Early
Cut down on stress and insure a more successful trip by packing early. Self guided safaris and backpacker style touring requires more planning than the all inclusive safari.

Write It Down
Laura uses lists in order to insure that all the essentials make it. She keeps a small tablet in a pocket and writes down things to purchase and pack as we think of them. Sometimes this occurs at odd times, i.e. late at night and she flips on the bedside light and writes it down.

Budget Planning
How many days is your trip? This summer we will stay 3 months ! We have researched places to stay where we can camp and cook 90% of our own meals. Because this is our 5th trip to Africa, and our 3rd self guided and self catering camping trip, we have an idea of what we want to spend. Staying in our own tent, and cooking 90% of our meals leaves money for guided safari drives. We have picked a number, $100 per day, and we aim to stick with this.

Money
Some folks take their ATM card and don't carry much cash. There are ATM scams and muggings in some countries these days, and ATMs are not always available out in the bush. Credit cards provide the latest exchange rate, but often include charges for use, and there are identity theft scams that raise concern. Traveler's checks are safe, but sometimes harder to use than cash, or cost a 5 % or more 'commission' at some lodges, etc. We use a combination of all of the above.

Checklists

Here are couple of links to packing checklists that include most everything we pack, and then some:

http://www.african-safari-journals.com/camping-list.html

http://www.african-safari-journals.com/safari-packing-list.html

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