If the passing of two full moons counts as many, then it has indeed been 'many moons' since the last update from the river. And under those many moons, much has happened! The silence then due to this increased activity, and not, as some may suspect, in fear of commie spies picking up on sensitive info which may be passed in code from the wildchaps to our army of followers.
The great trek down the Leopard's Hill Road has come and gone. Much 
sweat and surprisingly few tears were shed over the 50 gruelling kilometres and two nights.
sweat and surprisingly few tears were shed over the 50 gruelling kilometres and two nights. The first night was spent just below Mfundashi mountains in a secluded grove of trees off the road, next to a small river bed. Giving the cyclists a much needed sleep before the up & down of Mfundashi the following day.
Day two's camp was a little less impressive in some sparse mopane woodland somewhere on the valley floor. But it did the job. A Rhombic night adder 
of size, gave that little extra excitment when making camp.
of size, gave that little extra excitment when making camp.Day three saw the cyclists doing the longest yet easiest leg back to the camp. Much needed showers and comfy beds were well recieved by all.
The expedition was a roaring success, topped off with what I am told was a magnificent two nights on various islands down The River by canoe. Definitely something that is worth another trip or two in the future!!
Onto all things lodgy. Things have plodded along merrily for the past while. An increase in weekend activity and the odd school group or two has kept everyone on their toes. In amongst all the hubbub, we continue with our endeavours to try get somewhere with maintenance and improvements. The builders have been down to have a look and hopefully all things going according to plan will begin their part within the next few weeks. I've also met with a thatcher who once again is trying to con me into paying insane amounts of money to rethatch the camp. I understand it's going to be expensiv anyway, but the costs we are looking at at the moment are going to force us to explore other avenues, at least for the treehouses anyway. The rest of the camp we'll just have to swallow hard and get it done. Another rainy season with the 'sieves for roofs' we've got at the moment, will not be pleasant.
Most exciting, is the arrival of the 
'Earthwatchers' end of the month. They'll be spendingat least two years with us as a base of operations for their croc research. We're definitely looking forward to having them here. If nothing else, at least there'll be some regular company as opposed to the usual touri who breaze in and out.
'Earthwatchers' end of the month. They'll be spendingat least two years with us as a base of operations for their croc research. We're definitely looking forward to having them here. If nothing else, at least there'll be some regular company as opposed to the usual touri who breaze in and out.On the fishing side of things there's been precious little time to actually get out on the water and fish. The time I have spent out there is time with other people and having to dodge flayling Effzets and untangle lines or land fish leaves little more than a cast or two for myself when the 'Effzet Ninjas' have given up flayling. That's not to say there haven't been fish. A few nice 8-10lber's have been boated of late so there is still hope for a good cold season. I'm hoping to hit the water tomorrow afternoon an mount a serious assault om some of the runs just down from the camp where the Ninjas have been losing out on some good strikes.
Sticking with all things Wild for a bit. Our recent plague of Jumbo in and around the camp, is 
showing no signs of letting up and every night they seem to get a little bolder. Their latest trick is to frollick in the water below chalet I in the early evening before they move off into the campsite for some fun & games trashing trees and fiddling with my water pipes. It's great to have them here, but they can be a bit of a menace at times. Had an incident on Thursday morning with a youngish bull who decided the cruiser wasn't going to pass untill he'd done enough shouting at it for it to know that he's the boss.
showing no signs of letting up and every night they seem to get a little bolder. Their latest trick is to frollick in the water below chalet I in the early evening before they move off into the campsite for some fun & games trashing trees and fiddling with my water pipes. It's great to have them here, but they can be a bit of a menace at times. Had an incident on Thursday morning with a youngish bull who decided the cruiser wasn't going to pass untill he'd done enough shouting at it for it to know that he's the boss.Ah, most exciting news!!! Yes, I have my cruiser back. The old tank is looking spiffing with her 'maluti white' paint job, flat black chassis and chrome flicker unit. Alas at the moment, the pimp flicker is only one, but just as soon as the other arrives and I find some time to have a new bull-bar fitted, it'll be pimped out and ready to cruise the Lower Zambezi, head held high. It is nice though to have the practicality of the cruiser back and be able to cart insane amounts of sand for the bank again.
Upcoming events include the annual Kairara Gova festival in early September which this year is being held for three full days to celebrate the Chieftainesses 20th year of reign. We've also got the first hosting of 'Friends Only', a fishing compo to be held in October. That one should be a goodie!!!
So for now, or for as many moons as it takes for me to get round to filling you all in again........Take a leaf out of Team Member Sven's book(above) and Take it easy...The Commodore
