Africa - A Incredible Journey

By Annya Strydom

The incredible journey started without any planning whatsoever. One dreary, cold, wet English evening we were really fed up with the typical English winters. We took out a map of the world, opened it on the table, then my husband closed his eyes and stuck

• Language: English
• Publisher: Hunter Publishing
• Release date: Nov 20, 2012
• ISBN: 9781556500770

Book preview

Africa - An Incredible Journey:

Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia, Zimbabwe & Beyond

Annya Strydom

Hunter Publishing, Inc.

The Decision

We decided we had more than enough of the cold wet weather in England. So one evening Tony, my husband, took out the map of the world. He spread it on the table, closed his eyes and stuck his finger on a spot on the map, saying This is where we will go! It turned out to be Africa, Zambia to be exact. So we began scanning all the newspapers for jobs in his field in Zambia. It wasn’t long before we found one in Lusaka. Tony applied and we were soon on our way to London to be interviewed. The job was with Ford Motor Company and they would be giving us an apartment in Lusaka.

It was decided Tony would leave first to arrange everything at that end and I would pack up what we wanted to take with us and sell the car and furniture, etc. Then in a month or so the boys and I would join him. We held a going-away party for all of our friends. When his departure day arrived the boys and I stayed with my in-laws and we took him to the airport. It was around six weeks before I managed to sell everything. Then I packed our boxes and they were picked up ready to ship out. My in-laws looked after the boys for me while I went shopping for new clothes for us all and then we were back to the airport once more and, after tearful goodbyes, we were off.

Arriving in Lusaka

The journey in those days was not non-stop. The plane was fairly small and we had to refuel in Nicosia, Cyprus. We had only been in the air a little while when Mark, my son, started to have nose bleeds, which kept the air stewardess busy going to and from the kitchen area with ice packs. Steve, my other son, wanted to go to the toilet much too often, which of course had to be at the back of the aircraft, while we were seated right in the front. Everyone commented on how cute the little boys were but, to be honest, I had a hard time keeping them from running amok! Then, when we landed in Nicosia, we had to disembark for the plane to refuel. So all the passengers made their way across the tarmac to the duty-free shops and the restaurant. I ordered us cold drinks and had to let go of one small boy's hand to get my money out. Within minutes Steve was off and by the time I found a table to put everything on he had wandered into the shop and was casually removing things he could reach. In any case.... the flight in all took 13 hours from London to Lusaka.

Zambia was a land where time seemed to have stood still. Life in the villages went on the same as it had in years gone by. Of course, now the modern ideas are taking over and changes have taken place. This is happening mostly in the towns, though. In the villages life still moves at a slow, unassuming pace. We loved the remoteness of some of the places we went to. Stunning scenery, beautiful lakes and rivers, waterfalls and valleys. Most of all, we grew to love the people. They greeted us with a special warmth and friendliness, eager to show us their way of life and their country that they were so proud of.

Zambia is a landlocked country with several rivers flowing through it – the spectacular Zambezi, the Kafue and Luangwa and, in the north of the country, the Chambeshi and the Luapula. There are many fantastic waterfalls but the most impressive is, of course, the Victoria Falls. In the far north of the country is Lake Tanganyika, a massive freshwater lake. It is estimated to be the second-largest freshwater lake in the world and it extends over four countries. They are Burundi, DRC (Democratic Republic of the Congo), Tanzania and Zambia. There are many species of fish in the lake, including some that are found only there. Two ferries operate on the eastern shores. They carry passengers and cargo. To me Zambia seemed to be the jewel of Africa. It was exciting and diverse, with massive lakes, large National Parks, ancient rock paintings and small villages still with thatched roofed huts. The land was as fascinating as the people. I wanted to see as much of it as I could.

Lusaka

Arriving in Lusaka, it was the rainy season. I had never seen rain like this before; it was coming down in sheets. Being the tropics, the humidity was very high. The tarmac was steaming. By the time we had made the short walk to the customs hall we were all soaked through. There were no gates back then. I have not been to Lusaka recently so have no idea how it is now, but in those days the plane stopped and you walked across the tarmac to the customs area which was then only a small iron-roofed building. Now it's called Kenneth Kaunda International Airport and is about eight miles from the center of town.

The Ridgeway Hotel

We were through customs very quickly and Tony was there to meet us. He had booked us all in at the Ridgeway Hotel. The Ridgeway is now part of the Southern Sun Hotels group (http://www.tsogosunhotels.com/hotels/ridgeway-lusaka/pages/overview.aspx) and has become much bigger, but it is still there. It is situated at the corner of Church Road and Independence Avenue. We were waiting for an apartment to be fixed up. Of course they had already had six weeks to get it done! We soon found out nothing was ever hurried. Tomorrow might really be tomorrow but more often than not it simply meant sometime! We had a shower, then went down to the garden to have an early lunch. The garden was beautiful. It had a huge pond filled with koi fish. This was the central point of the garden. It was surrounded by tropical plants and frangipani trees. These were lovely trees with creamy wax-like flowers, some white, pink and even yellow. They smelled absolutely gorgeous. I took a deep breath and relaxed, thankful that we had arrived. This was Africa. I had always wanted to see Africa. We then took a much-needed nap. Apparently, everything closed at noon and most people napped for around two hours after lunch because of the intense heat. Even though it was the rainy season, the heat was still intense and the humidity overbearing. 

Cairo Road in Lusaka

Later that afternoon Tony took us on a tour of the city of Lusaka. Lusaka is the capital of Zambia and the center of a fertile agricultural region. The entire city just teemed with life. It was very vibrant and colorful. By the time we

Reviews for Africa - A Incredible Journey

[Bafana Nhlapo · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Good read about Southern Africa... and I could relate to some of the places.