Our Awesome Trip to Chewore Campsite on the Zambezi River, September 2019.

Preparations.

Well, to begin with, nothing is easy in Zimbabwe, due to the current economic situation. Preparations for camping on the Zambezi River is always a great challenge. One has to take everything- food, tents, bedding, tables, chairs, fishing equipment, plus fuel, for both vehicles and boat. It takes two vehicles, one pulling the camping trailer and the other pulling the boat, to carry all we need to the river. As there is no roadside assistance, all vehicles and trailers have to be in very good working order. The boat goes to Harare for a service and the boat trailer needs thorough checking, as some of the roads to be traveled are horrendous!

Thankfully we could get diesel fuel from the farm, however, as fuel is in short supply in Zimbabwe, we had to ask around to source petrol in Harare. We finally managed to secure a drum of petrol, paid for in US dollars, which was a great achievement! Next it was time to shop for the groceries. Well, that took two days, as one has to shop around, in order to find groceries at affordable prices.

Packing.

Once we had achieved all of the above, it took another day to pack up the two vehicles. -All great excitement for the children, but very taxing work, nevertheless! We took our driver, Richard, along with us for the trip, so that he could assist with the driving, any breakdowns, campsite management and as a general helper. It was Richard’s first trip to the Zambezi River and into the wilds of Zimbabwe -so he was just as excited as the children!

The Long Day Trip.

Chewore is a campsite on the banks of the Zambezi River, which is a big river, situated on the northern boundary of Zimbabwe, dividing Zimbabwe from Zambia. It’s 400 kilometers from our farm to the campsite, however, with half the trip on bad dirt roads, it took us 12 hours to negotiate! We left the farm at 2 am, to join up with our fellow camping friends at 7 am. We then drove in convoy for the last 130 kilometers to the camp, arriving at the camp at around 2 pm… Thankfully we made the trip with only a few issues with the boat trailer, but nothing we couldn’t make a plan to fix.

Glamping.

We prefer to camp in comfort, so we take everything we need, to ensure that the campsite is a lovely, comfortable place. -It’s more like ‘glamping’, but so worth the extra effort. It takes team work to get the camp up and organized, so we all work together with structure and precision. It took the 5 of us a good 3 hours to set up camp, before we were rewarded with an evening swim in the campsite pool.

Our campsite was one of 10 sites at Chewore and, as we were surrounded by our friends, we enjoyed some protection from wild animals etc. – Seeing the difference between the bachelor campsite and our campsite caused a few laughs!

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Wildlife.

Local elephants love to wander the campsite in the mornings and late afternoons, looking for acacia pods to eat. We are certainly very respectful of these awesome creatures and many a night our dinner was interrupted, as the ellies passed through the camp. The mothers with their tiny babies were just too cute…

A honey badger visited us the first few nights and spent his time in our dustbins, making a huge racket. He found our closed box of coffee and tea and was turning it over and over, as he tried to get into the box. We finally got wise and put our dustbins and firmly closed food boxes into the back of our vehicles at night, just to keep him away.

The baboons were a problem deluxe, as they were constantly trying to steal food from the camp. From dawn to dusk one had to have someone on baboon patrol, armed with a catapult. Paula Joy and Murray John so enjoyed this task and become quite proficient with the catapult. One big male baboon was extremely cheeky and would come right up to you and steal food right out your hands, if you were not careful. This certainly added a lot of stress and another dimension to camping in the bush!

Waterbuck, impala and warthogs were often seen, in and around the campsite. We even had a rare sighting of african wild dog at the back of the campsite one evening. This was very exciting, as it is not often one gets to see them up close. Hearing the lions call at night was another event which caused Douglas to zip the tent up tighter, especially as both our children are known to sleep walk!

The Mighty Zambezi River.

One of the main reasons we travel to the Zambezi River, is to fish for bream and the renown tiger fish. We left camp each day at around 9 am, for a day on the river.

A packed lunch was prepared, along with a large cold box of drinks, so that we would be set for the day. We would then return to camp at 6 pm most days, so it was a very long day out on the river…

Worms!

We brought in all our fishing worms for the week, which was a challenge in its own. Learning how to keep the worms alive for the week is something we have yet to master, so we shall have to keep working on our worm keeping skills! Maybe the children can do a worm project at home before our next trip?

We always travel up river so that if we have a problem with the boat we can drift home. We found lovely bream spots, a good half an hour trip up river. Sometimes we would fish on our own and other times we would fish with our friends in their boats.

Bream Fishing.

The bream fishing was awesome and we were able to catch loads of these fish each day. We kept our quota of 4 fish per person per day and the rest we released into the river. Having fresh filleted bream for supper was a special treat. We wrapped the fillets in tinfoil with lemon juice and cooked them over the fire. The remainder of our bream we took home for our staff.

Whilst we are fishing, yellow billed kites loved to fly overhead, looking for scraps of fish to eat. We would often toss up a piece of fish for them to swoop down and catch. However, they can sometimes be cunning and snatch a piece of food right out of your hands, if you are not careful! By lunch each day it was time for a rest and a dip in the river.

Daily Lunch on Sandbars.

With all the enormous crocodiles around we always look for huge sandbars, which are only ankle deep in water. We make sure that we sit in the middle of the sandbar so we can see any approaching crocodile, as they would have to walk and not swim up to us. Lunchtime was also a chance to bring out the cricket or rounders bats, for a quick game with the children.

Tiger Fishing.

The afternoons were spent drifting for tiger fish. Tiger fishing is what the Zambezi is known for, as they give a great fight and often get away, so one has to be quite skilled in order to land them. The tiger fish we catch are always released, so that the species do not die out. With three lines out of the boat whilst drifting, it’s a challenge to keep the lines from tangling up. On the first day of tiger fishing we had a line disaster, with all three lines getting tangled up. What a mess! However, by the end of the trip, the children had learnt how to manage their own lines.

The Monster Tiger Fish.

Paula Joy was the first to catch a tiger fish, which was also her very first tiger. Then one evening, on our last tiger drift of the day, Paula Joy caught a monster tiger fish!

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The fish gave her a very good fight, so she was only able to bring the fish close to the boat, after a good 10 minutes of playing the fish, in order to wear it out. All 17 pounds of fish (7.7 kg) was lifted into the boat, weighed and photographed, before being released.

Most of us have been trying for years to catch such a fish, so Paula Joy had a great sense of achievement. Paula Joy and Murray John both caught a total of four tiger fish each, so they have learnt what tiger fishing is all about and they both thoroughly enjoy the sport.

Taking on Fishing Duties.

The children learnt a huge number of fishing chores this week. An education all of it’s own!

After 7 days of camping, fishing and family time, we packed up and headed on home, with a strong desire to return again this time next year, for another fishing adventure. There is nothing like drifting and fishing, whilst taking in the peace and natural beauty surrounding one, with it’s many species of birds and wild animals. God certainly made the Zambezi River a very special place.

“I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful.” Psalm 139:14.

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