june-2012

TRAVEL ZAMBIA
“Old crocs become more cunning to
compensate for their age ”
one, pull quickly to strike and reel him in slowly to tire him
out. Th e biggest one I’ve ever caught? About 24 pounds. But
whatever the weight, you have to be very careful when you
remove the hook, they have big curved teeth.”
Th e stripy-scaled Tiger is not the only fi sh in the Zambezi.
For those who like monster-sized challenges, the terminally
ugly Vundu catfi sh is a real catch. “Th ey can grow as big as a
man,” grins Sammy. “You need a big net.”
We don’t catch a thing. And a few hours later on a night
safari, we don’t see the big cats we’d been hoping for. But
that’s Africa. Not everything’s guaranteed. Except the
accommodation. Whether you choose to camp on an island
or check into a fi ve-star lodge, the experience is unforgettable.
“During the rainy season we dismantle the camp and
nature just takes over,” says the manager of Chongwe River
Camp, Flossie Shawa. “Th en we come back, cut the high
grass, take the camp out of storage and the wildlife trims
the lawn.”
Th e rustic ambience of Chongwe is pure Out of Africa
luxury, but for true romance an expedition beneath the
endless African night sky is an essential Zambian experience.
After a day dodging hippos on the channels and
sandbanks that criss-cross the Zambezi, we set up camp
Holland Herald 61