RTW Leg 100
Dawn.
HTKJ-FVFA 1146 nm.
Kilimanjaro-Victoria Falls. Lake Malawi, Zambezi Valley, Luangwa National Park, Victoria Falls. 
ETE: 6.5 Hours.
Terminal Departure and Terminal Arrival

NARRATIVE

A bit of a surprise today when the start to act up.  A couple of days of maintenance seem in order, and it looks like a week will be lost.  So a bit of free time to wander about and see the dramatic Tanzanian scenery via Land Rover.

As it happens, a couple of English fellows turn up good company.  Slightly on the adventurous side, they make a proposition.  As they are "on assignment" for the UK government, with funds to spare, they are willing to hire an aircraft to fly to South Africa and to provide a quick return to Kilimanjaro before the Mooney maintenance is completed.  A chance to see the rest of the continent—all expenses paid.

So we pick our single-engined aircraft and set out on our journey.   (This is an opportunity to try something different.)  This morning we leave early to get a good start as we shall fly a long distance transit route.  Not much of a chance to gaze at the scenery below, we shall press on to Victoria Falls in one step.

The flight traverses Tanzania at altitude.  We shall avail ourselves of an opportunity to look at the countryside later.  We cross Lake Malawi and can see how the surrounding mountain ranges constitute the southern extension of the Great Rift Valley.  

Lake Malawi dawn

We can see that Lake Malawi (Lake Nyasa), is one of Africa's most spectacular Rift Valley lakes, stretching 365 miles long and 52 miles wide and reaching a depth of over 700 meters in the northern parts.  The lake has over 500 species of tropical fish, some which not found anywhere else in the world.  For many, this is an ideal spot for water sports, including scuba diving, though one wonders if the diving matches the standards of Manado.

We cross Mzuzu, a relatively new town that as recently as the 1960s was isolated and difficult to reach.  Nowadays, though, it is served by buses and tarred roads as well as Air Malawi flights.  It has become the commercial and agricultural center of northern Malawi.  (Those who choose an aircraft with limited range might want to plan a fuel stop at Mzuzu—where you are most likely to find a satisfactory fuel and service infrastructure.)

Clouds over horseback on the Nyika Plateau.

 Then we pass on to the high uplands of the Nyika Plateau.  The Nyika National Park in Malawi is the biggest national park in the country. This upland park covers rolling green slopes stretching for miles and forested valleys with steep escarpments.

Pressing on, we overfly the South Luangwa National Park, Zambia's most famous wildlife sanctuary.  It is dominated by a flood plain and savanna that extends from the Luangwa River to the Muchinga escarpment rising over 2500 feet from the valley floor in the west.  The annual rains fill the valley's sandy rivers and feed the Luangwa which becomes a raging torrent in its journey down to the Zambezi—this annual flooding replenishes the Luangwa's game carrying capacity as it fills the low-lying plains and spawns new ox-bow lakes.  The green season (November to April) is when large herds of elephant congregate.  The park itself is renowned for its leopards (particularly in the Mfuwe area) and holds strong populations of buffalo and antelope.  Most of Zambia's best safari operators are found in the Luangwa, all in the east of the park in close proximity to the river itself. Permanent safari lodges are the main bases for safari activities but there are a number of excellent seasonal bush camps in the remoter areas that should be considered by more serious and active safari-goers.  Portered trails, reminiscent of the old pioneering ways are available—a very special safari option.  (For a nostalgic look at leopard spotting, see below.)

The Luangwa River bank.

We turn at Lusaka's VOR and head for Livingstone and then south across the border to Victoria Falls.  The airport is small, but the runway is designed for big jets and their tourist cargo so we should enjoy the facilities.  While here, we can take advantage of the opportunity to see one of Africa's main spectaculars.

I got settled in and cleaned up then wandered into town. As you walk through town towards them you can see the cloud of water vapour thrown up by the Falls, it seems to be constantly suspended over the Northern end of the town. Also, there is the constant rumble that can be heard as the water falls to it's destination.  (From Ian Simmins' account  http://www.eclipse.co.uk/isimmins/travel/zim/vicfalls.html )

So it clearly sounds worth a look.

From "Guide to Zambia" at ( http://www.africa-insites.com/zambia/travel/places/victoria.htm#Victoria%20Falls )  

Described by the Kololo tribe living in the area in the 1800’s as ‘Mosi-oa-Tunya’ - ‘the Smoke that Thunders’ and in more modern terms as ‘the greatest known curtain of falling water’, Victoria Falls are a spectacular sight of awe-inspiring beauty and grandeur on the Zambezi River, bordering Zambia and Zimbabwe

Columns of spray can be seen from miles away as 546 million cubic meters of water per minute plummet over the edge (at the height of the flood season) over a width of nearly two kilometers into a deep gorge over 100 meters below. The wide basalt cliff, over which the falls thunder, transforms the Zambezi from a wide placid river to a ferocious torrent cutting through a series of dramatic gorges.

Facing the Falls is another sheer wall of basalt, rising to the same height and capped by mist-soaked rain forest. A path along the edge of the forest provides the visitor who is prepared to brave the tremendous spray with an unparalleled series of views of the Falls. One special vantage point is across the Knife edge bridge, where visitors can have the finest view of the Eastern Cataract and the Main Falls as well as the Boiling Pot where the river turns and heads down the Batoka Gorge. Other vantage points include the Falls bridge and the Lookout Tree which commands a panoramic view across the Main Falls.

"The first impression was unmistakable; immense power, the raw energy unleashed when the entire Zambezi leaps wildly into a black two kilometer wide abyss. The scale is massive, the spectacle spellbinding and perpetually changing. The falls hiss and roar as if possessed, they rumble and crash like thunder. Vast clouds spew and billow out from the seething cauldron of its dark impenetrable depths. The moving water creates a magnetism that sucks you closer, so that you recoil in horror to quench a subliminal sacrificial urge." (Jumbo Williams, Zambezi, River of Africa. 1988)

The thundering power of the mighty Zambezi

The Victoria Falls Bridge was commissioned by Cecil John Rhodes in 1900, although he never visited the falls and died before construction began, he expressed his wish that the "railway should cross the Zambezi just below the Victoria Falls. I should like to have the spray of the falls over the carriages."

The bridge affords a magnificent view both down the gorge on the one side and through to the falls on the other. The immense depth of the gorge can be fully appreciated from this perspective and combined with the sea green river below, the shiny black rock face and lush green foliage, the 360 degree view from the bridge is breathtaking

The authorities waive the "normal"  exit procedure.

One option is to take a leap off the bridge.  Anyone for bungee jumping?  No booking is necessary, just take a stroll down to the bridge. You’ll have to go through the border post as the bridge is in no-mans-land, between Zambia and Zimababwe , 111m high, spanning the magnificent Batoka Gorge.  Just tell the guards you’re going to bungee jump and they’ll let you through without the normal exit procedure.

"Our guide then dropped us off at the Victoria Falls Bridge. This bridge was completed in 1905, and links Zimbabwe to Zambia, about 500 feet over the gorge, close to the Falls. We stopped here, as Cheryl had a slot at 4:00 PM to bungi jump from the bridge. She had been nervous and apprehensive about it the entire trip, but made up her mind when we arrived that she was going to do it. She was weighed, then had her legs wrapped. Cords for weight groups exist to ensure a proper bounce at the end. After the jump, her adrenaline was pumping for another five hours!"  (For a fuller description of the Victoria Falls area, see http://home.earthlink.net/~curtisw/africa/africa.html )

A more sedate way to take in the sights is via micro-light flight.  If you'd like, try flying with Batoka Sky:  http://www.icon.co.za/~bloubul/ .

Sightseeing the calm easy way.

The evening can be spent on the Zambezi River for a Sunset Dinner Cruise.  "This cruise offers guests local beers and soft drinks, plus hors devours, and the craft is a mix between a barge and a houseboat (with toilets).  During the cruise, we saw hippos, giraffes, and elephants, plus an amazing sunset." ( http://home.earthlink.net/~curtisw/africa/africa.html )

Flight planning and narrative by
Mike MacKuen
RTW Pilot #039

ADDITIONAL SCENERY AND ADD-ONS.
None

Lodges and Leopards of South Luangwa
In Zambia's South Luangwa National Park, where Londoners, leopards and lodges meet, David Rogers discovered an intriguing, somewhat nostalgic wildlife experience.

More than 50 nights in game reserves and private lodges without a single leopard sighting is a pretty frustrating record, I thought to myself as the small six-seater aircraft bumped on the updrafts above Eastern Zambia's seemingly endless plains.

These silent contemplations were quite suddenly interrupted by a dramatic reduction in noise as the pilot throttled back and started his slow descent towards Mfuwe. Pressing my face against the glass I watched our shadow skim over a line of hills and then held my breath as the edge of the precipitous Muchinga Escarpment dropped away beneath us.

We were at the southern tip of the Great Rift Valley and in the cradle below stretched South Luangwa National Park - a massive 9000-square kilometre wilderness which would cover almost half of the Kruger National Park. It crouches in a long narrow strip bordered to the west by the mighty Muchingas and to the east by the meandering Luangwa River. Easily among the great game parks of Africa it also has a reputation for being one of the best places in the world to track the elusive leopard.

With mounting excitement I peered over the plain of mopane trees, along the Luangwa River following its wild twisting course between white sandy corridors, tall trees and green-fringed, oxbow lakes.

"Yes," I said out loud - somewhere hidden among these fertile waterways must be the leopard I need to break my dismal streak.

...

He repeated the performance the following night when we found a golden-coloured female crouched in a gully ready to slink onto the grass-covered plains. She was in no hurry and we watched her from afar over the rims of our sundowners. When the glow of sunset had disappeared and a soft, grey hue hung over the landscape, the leopard stalked towards the wetlands where baboon, kudu and puku were settling down for the night.

Given the flat, open terrain and Derek's intimate knowledge of the area, we were able to follow her for nearly two hours until she stopped short of a male puku in a clearing.

An air of tension held predator, prey and us - the audience - in a mesmerising drama and we sat in silence, careful not to tip the deadly balance of survival. As the vulnerable puku performed a practised ritual of sniffs and shifts, the leopard closed the gap. Suddenly, as moonlight outlined the lithe predator's stealing form, the puku gave a start and scuttled easily beyond its deadly grasp. ...

For a good first-person tale of leopard spotting near Mfuwe, see http://www.getawaytoday.com/gateway_article.asp?FEATURE_ID=186 

For a guide to antelope and other animals, see http://www.baobab-factory.com/vo/zambia/fauneb.htm .