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Latest newsletter was from August, so here is a small update on latest developments – or whatever I should call it! – happening out here. Sometimes I actually get the impression than rather than being just a place off the beaten track it is more like a parallel universe. When you leave the tarmac road at Sesheke you are in another kind of world.
Let me get back to the update.
Things have happened, yes; but am I going forward at all or just not moving anywhere? The various frustrations have continued; a number of obstacles have remained unresolved or only partly solved. At some point I - to be fairly honest - lost my direction and somehow continued without paying proper attention to what would soon become my financial limitations. A good friend kicked my ass seriously – I needed it – in order to get me out of my delusions. It helped and I can only hope that I got back on track regarding the development of Sioma Camp in time. The next six months will show; it is a very sandy track I am traveling on. I will not dwell much more on my financial shortcomings. It is the usual story of overspending and I have only my self to blame for going down that road into my personal Heart of Darkness…and many sleepless nights. Suffice it to say that I hope I will be able to hang in here, finalize the construction and be ready for the tourist influx (so I hope) with the start of the next season. If not …..well, if my website is no longer available you will know why.
The good news is that I have been up and running since end June and have had a small income mainly from the four tented chalets at the self catering/self drive site. However not in any way enough to offset my high running costs for the ongoing construction. But it has given me some valuable experiences in dealing with guests (the term guests sounds better than clients) and a lot of useful advice on how to go forward both with regard to prioritization of construction, range of activities, pricing, target groups and marketing.
The problems with the solar water heaters have persisted. I have contacted a local company that may be able to rectify the problems and hope that the defunct heaters (they are really not working in the form I have received them) will soon be functioning properly. Cold showers were not a problem in October as it was extremely hot, but with the onset of the rains at the end of October a hot shower is sometimes quite desirable. So we have put up a ‘donkey’ or ‘Rhodesian boiler’ to be able to offer our guests an outside – under the stars if you like - hot shower.
The feedback from the guests staying in the tented chalets have been very positive (otherwise I would not mention it). Guests like the chalets (although some find the bed silk linen a bit slippery) and the view over the river from the dining area (a thatched structure) is just fantastic. If you do not believe me come and see for yourself (or see the photos on this website). The fishing has been good all along. Many Tiger Fish have been caught by now using traditional fishing tools (mainly rapalas) or fly fishing techniques. Several ‘Tigers’ above 5 kg have been caught and many bigger ones lost due to insufficient strengths of tackle; so bring strong gear if you want the really big game Tigers. Earnest - my boatman – has a good fishing technique; he sings for the ‘Tigers’….he will never make it all the way through ‘Idols’ but for the Tigers it works!
A few days ago we experienced frenzy like water activity in the river in the front of the dining area. There were many Tigers and crocodiles; Tigers hunting smaller fish and crocodiles hunting Tigers. The Tigers were in an extreme biting mode. My great nephew Mads who is here on holiday for a few months caught two Tigers (see photos) in less than ten minutes and had several additional bites within the same period. My chef Mike also caught but lost one Tiger during the same time. Also, a long and slender – and very fast swimming - snake crossed the whole river some three hundred meters away. A Giant Kingfisher participated with air to water strikes. Quite a spectacle.
The camp site has been up and running since some time in September. We have put up some thatched structures in order to provide some protection for the sun (and now rain). There is an ablution block with four showers (so far cold water only) and four toilets. Outside there are two hot water showers. The site has been prepared for the bigger caravan vehicles and there is space for overland trucks as well, but I have never seen any of those out here. I wonder why they do not go into Western Province. Scared of the wilderness or what?
The library is now done. It is a nice rock/stone building with a thatched roof and fireplace in one end. There are lots of comfortable leather chairs and sofas to relax in. The main camp center (lodge) structure with kitchen, office and toilets in stone/rock and the bar, restaurant and reception on teak deck; all with thatched roof etc. is also completed and we are now ‘moving in’ so we can get everything ready.
The boat finally got up here end September. I picked it up in Livingstone. It was no fun to drive the 115 km from Sesheke to Sioma with a big boat on a big trailer. Both the trailer mudguards fell off (the jockey wheel had already paid tribute to the notorious road from Zimba to Livingstone) so it was a rather ‘back to basic’ trailer that arrived here at Sioma. The boat is doing fine though.
Have a look at the photo with the boat airborne as we are going through one of the rapids to Ngonye Falls (not much of an ecotourism feeling there I am afraid). Apart from trips to the Falls and fishing we use the boat to take us to Lumbe River. Just before Lumbe River joins the Zambezi there are two rock rapids. In between there is a 50 meter long rock pool. There are no crocodiles, but lots of fish in the clear water. Apart from swimming you can do ‘body rafting’ down the rapids. It is quite fun.
Only a few weeks before Christmas Earnest – the boats man – hit a rock when going through some of the rapids. With the rising water level it can be difficult to see where the underwater rocks are. No guests were hurt in any way, but the lower part of the engine leg …propeller and everything…..was gone. Luckily the place where I bought the boat in Lusaka had a second hand boat engine (similar to mine) from where I could get the relevant replacement parts. So the boat is back on the water.
In the river around Sioma Camp we have on several occasions spotted otters, often in a group of three swimming around and playing. They are fun to watch. Frequent guests are fish eagles and a giant kingfisher. We have had a hippo staying in the area although for the moment he – it is a young male - does not seem to be around. Towards the end of the rainy season elephants were visiting the camp on the way to the river. Sable antelopes have been here as well. We had a visit by a journalist who will write some articles – to appear in Travel Zambia and African Geographic some time in 2009 - on Sioma Ngwezi national park, the surrounding areas and its attractions.
As part of showing him around we tried to get into the park from the northwest. It was quite difficult. The first attempt had to be aborted after three punctures in less than two hours. There are no roads and the bush is in some places full of thorny thicket. When we eventually got into the park there was not a lot of wildlife. We did see some oribi, steinbock, reedbuck and duiker.
In the Game Management Area we saw more game including impala, warthog, kudu, tsessebe, sable and zebra. Also spotted were pennant winged night jar and wattled cranes. (From the car we caught a glimpse of a cobra (Mozambique Spitting cobra I guess) hunting a mouse. There were tracks of buffalo, lion and hyena. We heard hyena in the evening and in the morning while we stayed at the bush camp. In addition we have recently seen elephants, giraffe, roan, eland and side striped jackal. It has been a while since I have seen wild dogs. Last week when I went to the bush camp there had been wild dogs chasing a duiker into the water hole in front of the dining area. The duiker escaped when the wild dogs spotted my workers. There had been approximately 30 elands around the days before.
In mid October we saw elephants from one of the viewing platforms when they came to the smaller waterhole for drinking. As of yet I have not seen any lions although recently ZAWA officers told me that lions had been taking cattle from several villages.
Some of my guests spotted a big python – four meter or so - on their way to Ijobwe Pool. See the photos. I saw a big one myself some time back in February on my way to the bush camp. My workers have told me that there is a big python staying under the container here in ‘base camp’. I hope it is not too hungry. A few weeks ago my goat mother gave birth to two now very playful and very active small goats and they like to sleep under the thatched roof next to the container.
My car problems have persisted. I finally have got my Nissan Patrol back. Being grounded for a long time it is now giving me a few problems as it is coming back to life…loose fan belt causing overheating and the alternator not charging the battery and so on. The engine for my Mitsubishi Canter has been reconditioned and is now ready…in Livingstone; but the Canter itself is grounded in Sesheke. It never ends……. But next week….
Christmas and New Year is coming up. We are working hard to get the main lodge building ready. The first luxury tented chalet has been completed, five remain. My financial situation has made it necessary to slow down on the construction side a bit in order to reduce running costs. My main focus now is to get kitchen and restaurant up and running while finalizing the luxury chalets within the next six months. With the road conditions deteriorating as the rainy season intensifies my main concern is getting guests up here. Transfer by road may become difficult leaving fly in the best option. I am at the moment checking rates and conditions with air charter companies. Hopefully it will be possible to use the airstrip a few kilometers up the road (close to Maziba Bay). And then of course my life line to the outside world has been cut off. My Bgan satellite receiver (enables me to receive and send emails) has been shut down. The message reads ‘this user has no subscription; please contact your service provider. In an area with bad Zain coverage (and no emails) how do they propose that I do the contacting….by carrier pigeon perhaps?
The rains have started. We have had a period with quite heavy showers. December luckily started with sunny days. A sunshine break is nice. My son Tore – he is here together with my great nephew Mads for a few months - finally got my star telescope unpacked and the evenings are now spent with a bit of stargazing. There is very little TV entertainment available out here. And the night sky is true wide screen!
One last thing. My Self Employment Permit (SEP) application has been looked into ……and granted. At the time of writing I am not quite sure if Immigration Department still needs to carry out what is called the final inspection of Sioma Camp or if it may wait until I file an application for extension of my SEP some time next year.
One more last thing. My Bgan satellite receiver will be terminated on the 31st of December. I am trying to make arrangements for the set up of my VSAT system; but at the moment it does not seem likely that everything will be up and running by the 1st of January. So I – and some of you - may have to accept a hopefully short lived fall out in my email connectivity.
All for now.
I hope to see you up here…….soon.
Hans Christian Aaskov
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