Farewell to Zambia

Another post which slipped through the internet less net, but which I actually wrote on Monday 29th June.

5.15 and as I sit by the Lion Camp infinity pool overlooking the vast almost dry river bed I already have been offered, and happily accepted, a ‘sundowner’. John is away on a game drive with Paul our guide, hoping amongst other things to see Fish Eagles fishing.

The sun is indeed going down, leaving a wonderful almost violet tinge to everything. An elephant has just strolled past. Now all I can see is herds of Puku – a small Zambia deer –  and flocks of Guinea Fowl.

I feel sad to think we have already finished the Zambian part of our odyssey. It has been such a significant episode for me and what is lovely is that John seems to have enjoyed it as much too, entering with enthusiasm into everything, taking some absolutely wonderful photographs and loving being introduced to lots of interesting tropical bird life as well. He has been the perfect travel companion – if I may be permitted to embarrass him for one brief moment.

I am tempted to say that this visit has completed the full circle but that sounds horribly final and not what I intend to mean at all! I have met up with my childhood self, been able to revel in the landscape and atmosphere of what made my childhood so different from the average.

More sentiment – it must be that enormous glass of white wine I was offered – but I do want to publicly record our thanks and appreciation to our three ‘children’ who contributed financially so generously to this holiday, enabling us to travel in the sort of luxury we do not usually enjoy (but – be warned – to which we have now become seriously addicted!).

However, also and very significantly, if the three hadn’t so often and so actively encouraged us to plan a trip like this, we probably would still simply have been dreaming about it from the home comforts of Derbyshire. So we owe them another very serious thank you for that.

Before I get too carried away with all this very genuine sentiment, we still have the five-night Malawian wind down to look forward to. We haven’t said farewell to Africa yet, just Africa/Zambia.