Ashleigh Whaley
Camping at Chewore, lower Zambezi River.
Preparing for the Trip.
It is always a rush, filled with long ‘to do’ lists, when a decision is made to head off to camp, in the remote Chewore campsite, on the great Zambezi River. Vehicles, boats and trailers need to be serviced and ready for the 400km trek, much of which is along horrendously unkempt roads.
As busy parents we always wonder why we have decided upon such an arduous adventure?! -However, as I sit on the Zambezi River, writing this post, I realize that the stress and effort to get here is certainly worth every single minute of the preparation and travel.
The Eventful Journey.
Our journey to the camp this year had a few unexpected hiccups! The first being a bent trailer rim, cause by a large pot hole on the main highway. Then disaster struck, once we were off the highway and onto the very rough dirt road. 20km into the drive, along a very corrugated road, our boat trailer axle broke in half! We stopped and looked with horror at the damage. The only solution was to unload all the camping kit from the boat trailer and make a plan as how to fit it all into our two vehicles.
As there was nothing we could do that day, to repair the damaged boat trailer, we continued to drive the remaining 120kms to the campsite. Many phone calls later, once our camp had been set up, a boat rescue plan was put into place for the following day.
Setting up camp in 44 C degree heat is a challenge all of its own! To cool off, we needed to constantly submerge ourselves into the small swimming pool, in between erecting tents!
The Boat Trailer Rescue.
The next day Douglas took the three hour drive back, to repair the boat axle. Meanwhile, our farm driver drove from the farm with a crew of guys, bearing full welding equipment, in order to fix the broken axle. After a number of hours of work, in intense heat with swarming tsetse flies, the axle was repaired and Douglas was able to return to camp by night fall, towing the boat. What a welcome relief this sight was for us all!
The Zambezi River.
The stress and drama of the trip to this special river certainly makes one enjoy the stunning beauty of the scenery. It is only once you are actually on the river, seated in a speed boat, surrounded by precious family, that one realizes just how special a place the Zambezi River is.
The Elephant Encounters.
A large number of elephants visited the camp every evening, to eat acacia pods from the trees. Our tents just happened to be in the shade under what turned out to be their favorite tree! Placing our tents there was not the best idea, but it was the only shade to be had… On our second night of camping, and just as we were all heading for bed, an elephant came walking into our camp site, picked up a few pods and then sniffed around, until he spotted our grass broom. We watched with amazement, as he picked up the broom and proceeded to swallow it whole, with only a few crunching sounds to be heard. – Quite astonishing!
Another night we were woken up with our tent surrounded by elephants! It’s rather scary knowing that you only have a thin piece of fabric, between you and an elephant! Once again the elephants wanted to eat the acacia pods from the tree next to our tent. A very large elephant suddenly pulled vigorously upon a branch, which came down right onto our tent! We all lay very still in our beds, whilst our tent was pummeled with branches and pods! The end result was a few holes in our tent and, thankfully, not a flattened tent! Murray John, however, managed to sleep through the whole episode!
Enter the Honey Badgers…
Once the elephants left, a honey badger arrived, to snoop around the camp site, looking for something to eat. This resulted in our dust bin being tipped and raided. Lesson learnt, – do not leave the dustbin out at night! From then on it was safely stowed inside the back of the pickup. One night the honey badger even tried to enter our tent, causing Paula Joy to swiftly launch her slip slop at it, which scared it away.
As it turned out, every night was full of animal activity in the camp, with many hippos and elephants wandering around amongst our tents and honey badgers sniffing for scraps. Late one night we woke up to an elephant putting his trunk right into our tent, looking for acacia pods! Thankfully, despite these intrusions and the temperature being over 30 degrees C, we did manage to get a good night’s sleep,
Fishing on the Amazing Zambezi River.
Each day was spent on the river, where we drift for tiger fish, or fish for bream, whilst watching the crocodiles, hippos and elephants and reflect upon our amazing adventure. It is a stunning part of the world, for those who are adventurous and tough.
Lunch on a sand bar is where we spent the heat of the day. A yellow billed kite was always around looking for a snack. One has to keep an eye on the kite, otherwise your lunch may be snatched from your hand! Outwitting the kite soon became a game of cat and mouse! The children also enjoyed holding up small fish, for the kite to snatch with an impressive swoop!
Catching Tiger Fish.
It took us three days to land our first big tiger fish. Douglas was the first to catch one, which weighed in at 6 pounds. Murray John then caught his biggest tiger fish ever, weighing 8 pounds. Paula Joy, never one to be defeated, caught the biggest of that particular day, a 10 pounder. Great excitement and fun for all, in the space of a few hours!
During the rest of our trip we went on to catch a few more tiger fish. However, it was hard work, requiring a great deal of patience… Douglas eventually managed to catch the biggest tiger fish overall, a 12 pounder.
Wading and Swimming Elephants.
The river line on both the Zimbabwe and Zambia side is full of elephants, quietly getting on with their lives. Late one morning, whilst on our boat journey to a tiger drift, we spotted three elephant bulls wading across the river to an island. This is always an awesome sight to witness. We soon learnt that these elephants take a daily swim across the river onto the various reed islands. We were able to watch them swim across, on more than one occasion, which was wonderful.
Boat Problems.
I guess, if you are a fisherman, you will also end up becoming a boat mechanic. One day one of the petrol tanks on the boat sprung a leak, so we ended up fishing with the smell of petrol which was not fun at all! We eventually parked on a shallow sand bar, so that the boys could attend to the boat issues.
Thankfully, Murray John is still small enough to climb in and clean the area around the petrol tanks. He ended up smelling of petrol but had a huge grin on his face, as he had saved the day. I guess these challenges are all part of the river experience and add to the memories we take home with us.
The Cute Little Elephant.
The cutest sight was a baby elephant and mother, as they wandered through the camp. One evening, whilst everyone was in the swimming pool, these two elephants arrived! There was silence, as we watched spellbound… The little elephant, totally unfazed, proceeded to wander over to the poolside, stick out his trunk and take a long slurp of water! Once that was accomplished, they both headed off to other parts of the camp site.
Learning New Fishing Techniques.
Having seeing other men fishing for tiger fish, using a bait runner reel, Murray John decided he needed to learn how to use one of these reels. He approached a fellow camper and asked whether he could borrow their rod for a day. He agreed, so Murray John spent the next day mastering the art of fishing with a bait runner reel. He did not manage to catch a tiger fish with this rod, however he had hours of fun learning how to cast and reel in, without creating a bird’s nest with the fishing line.
Bream Fish Dinner.
Finally, after many days on the river, we found a bream pond and Douglas managed to catch four nice bream. Fresh fish for dinner was our well earned treat, which was most delicious, served with baked potato and salad.
It’s an Adventure of Note!
Camping at Chewore is not for the faint hearted. It’s a long hard drive, with loads to organize and prepare beforehand. Few people have the desire, energy and passion to take on such a challenging trip, which makes the place even more special and unique. It does need to be viewed as an adventure, where every day spent on the Zambezi River is beautiful and varied, adding to a truly worthwhile experience.
Our trip certainly turned out to be an exciting journey, filled with highs and lows. We came away with very treasured memories of tiger fishing, boat dramas, elephant encounters and fun with family and new friends. God has certainly blessed Zimbabwe with this magnificent Zambezi River.
Have You Seen these Birds?
There are two rare birds our children still search for. The African Skimmer and the Narina Trogon. These are very difficult to spot on the river, but we shall keep looking… If you have managed to spot them, do tell us where and when?
Read about our last years trip to the Zambezi River.
God bless!
The glory of the LORD shall endure for ever, the LORD shall rejoice in his works. Psalms 104:31.
Please leave your comment below…….
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