Liuwa Plains

The Pontoon

From Kabula Tiger Lodge we had 315 km to drive to get to Mongu. We stocked up on fuel, water food etc. From Mongu we travelled to Kalabo. The road to Kalabo was a brand new tar road. We crossed 26 bridges, spanning many wetlands and rivers, most of them dry this time of year. Prior to the road being built, Liuwa Plains had been inaccessible during the rainy season. Although the road was very good, we had to stop at many 'check points' or slow down because of cattle, goats, donkeys, and small villages right on the highway. This road will in future be used by Zambia to access Angola's harbours. At Kalabo, the only way to cross the river was by using a pontoon. This pontoon can transport only one vehicle and trailer at a time. It is pulled across the river by 4 men, using a thick rope which is secured on both river banks. It just did not look adequate to carry a vehicle and a caravan, and as many pedestrians that could fit on it. Theo and Ros was first and we took pictures and videos as they went across. Theo radioed us as soon as he drove off the ferry: the sand was thick and soft. We started letting our tyre pressure down even before we drove onto the ferry. We were suppose to sleep at Katoyana, the camp site in the middle of Liuwa Plains, but opted for an alternative: a community camp, not too far away from the pontoon.

Community camp site

 After a light supper we watched the sunset, took many beautiful pictures, and watch a red moon rise on the opposite horizon. It was beautiful.

Sunset

The next mornng we set off to Katoyana. We travelled for most of the day, game viewing and bird watching as we went along.  The road was hectic at times, but we made it to Katoyana in one piece. We were welcomed to our camp site by two friendly Zambians, Agrey and Lucas. They were happy to see us and offered to bring us wood, wash our dishes and clean whatever else needed to be cleaned. Every morning they swept our camp sites and at night brought us lots of wood. We had enormous camp fires at night. Steve and Theo explored the north of the park while Ros and I chilled the first day. The second day, on a long drive to the south of Liuwa, Steve and I came upon 6 hyenas, bathing in the water and mud of a pan, cooling off in the heat of the day. On the opposite end of the waterhole a water monitor (about a meter long )tried to sneak out of the water. The hyenas spotted him, and watched him with interest. He carefully and as quickly as possible ambled back into the water. Liuwa Plains lives up to its name with thousands of square kilometers of grasslands, which are submerged during the rainy period, which is mid November to April. Dotted across this vast landscape are islands covered in enormous trees. Although the area was very dry, we were amazed to find pans, filled with water and greenery around it. These pans were filled with a variety of large bird species which included Saddle Bill Storks, Grey Crowned Herons, Secretary Birds and many more. We saw big herds of Zebra as well as Blue Wildebeest. We loved Liuwa. It was so remote. We were the only occupants at every camp we stayed in.  At our last camp site in Liuwa, we had 11 bats in the ablution facility. We were so dusty that not even the bats could keep us from having a shower! Due to the very sandy conditions in Liuwa, Steve got his worst fuel  consumption thus far - 26,3L/100km.