Game Park
@Aug/'76 Zambia

[Africa] [Articles 2004] [Top]

Leaflet from Zambia Travel Bureau

Temperature was 9 degree C, humidity; 40%, fine weather. It is winter in Lusaka, the capital city of Zambia. August is dry season in mid of winter in this southern hemisphere. Mid day temperature rises as high as 30 degrees C. in even winter season. We, three colleagues drove out to the Game Park in three days off. Kafue National Park is our destination of this time which locates west of Capital Lusaka. The park is huge in scale having 22.5 thousands square Km, as large as Shikoku Island, one of Japanese four main islands. There are several camps in the park for visitors who need lodge. We reserved Ngoma Camp one of these camps.

It is only 200km away from Lusaka City moreover we reserved the lodge for the night, we loaded emergency water, extra clothes for cold and spare gasoline into the vehicle. In Africa you should prepare for anything what would happen on the way.

We drove down to west from Lusaka the capital city. The road paved only center part wide enough for one vehicle. When we saw the vehicle in front we turn the steering wheel a bit to drop the left tire from the paved road (In Zambia, vehicles are driven in left side same as in England.) This is a dangerous operation, because both side of the road was filled with grade stones and sand, as the left tire of your vehicle drops to the grave road, strong force generated on steering wheel to pull the vehicle to the left side sharply with large explosive cloud of thick sand dust. Therefore, you have to hold steering wheel strongly when you drop your vehicle’s left tire to the grave road, otherwise your vehicle surely would be turned over. Landscape of Zambia is typical African plateau, a high land terrace. There are long up or down hill roads. You would see big cargo truck is turned over in the bottom of such long down hill. There was no legal vehicle mechanical inspection in Zambia at that time, and training of the truck drivers was not adequate. This situation caused the brake over heat accidents in the long down hill road. Beside these abandoned cargo truck, there is no evidence seen of human living over 50 km distance until we see small village along the road.

Dry bush land spreads between small villages on the way to Kafue National Park. I love very much looking like this scene where there is no living sign between the villages. It gives me a sort of feeling that I am really on traveling somewhere that I have never visited in the past. Instead, when you are in Japan, you never have this kind of free space between the towns. You would see the houses one after another all the way to your destination. You can not have the feeling that you have traveled to the another environs that gives you freedom and comforts to your heart. Traveling would be purposed to empower our mind to be restore from numerous stress and become creative again. But, traveling Japan especially by your car would be opposite from this, you would be tired and becomes irritated. Your mind would never be released but more stressed. I am sure that you will find yourself that you are in the environs where no stress over you but serene and quite time in the entire freedom.

My heart starts beating slightly faster expecting something that I have ever seen bore when I am reaching such a small village after hours of driving in the bush land without seeing even a single house. A rugged old small house in your eye, you would have great feeling that you are meeting with person you are waiting for many decades, waiting something new that always very small things but that worth millions of dollars. In the small village, most of the cases, there is a gas station which is also a small convenience store. I always drop in the convenience store buying just a bottle of water or bar of chocolate that is already in my bag in the car. Buying a bar of chocolate or a bottle of worm Pepsi in this kind of store though you are carrying all these in your car, is worth enough as spending thousands of dollars in the cozy department store at the heart of Paris or Tokyo.

One of three big falls in the world: Victoria Fall, Scene in the Game Park

(“Mushio Tanya” in local language: means “Thunder of the Smoke”)

We reached to the gate of the Kafue National Park in about three hours. A big welcome board was in front of the gate house. The gate is closed during night. This is the purpose to prevent the traffic accident between the game and vehicle. The trunk road crosses the middle of the national park. There is no fence between the park and ordinal bush land, the border line is drawn only on the map. Farming activities and development in the park is strictly prohibited. We drove into the park and departed from the main truck road into the small side road heading for lodge. After two hours drive of the unpaved narrow bush road, finally the lodge for the night appeared in the open bush. We even did not see any game during driving the road in the game park for two hours. Where animal is hiding, or can we see any animal in the park? The lodge was the size about twice or triple as baseball ground surrounded by fence to protect the guest from the game. The main restaurant annexed the park office was in the center, approx, 20 cottages were built sporadically with comfortable space between. To my little surprise, even a pool is equipped in the lodge that to our Japanese sense, it might be is nonsense to have a pool in the game park. But it might be important factor for western vacationers to have more fun and develop the unique and unforgettable experiences. Staffs are living in the lodge. Electricity was generated by engine generator. General explanation was made in the game office to everyone of us. In addition to how to watch the game in the park, they stressed how to use the mosquito net at night to prevent from malaria.

We got into to one of the cottage reserved and settled in. There were kitchen facilities in addition to toilet and shower, two bed rooms of 33 square meters each. There was no TV and radio that I loved in such a location. No vehicle roaring the street. We went to the bar restaurant located in the center of the lodge and talked about next day’s plan holding beer can on one’s hands. The room was dark that westerner seems love to sit in. Taking suggestion of the man in the park office, we will wake up early in the morning in order to not lose the chance to see as much as animals mobbing around in the morning. Keeping the instruction of putting mosquito net over the bed, we got into the bed early hoping to see exciting games the next day early in the morning.

Oribi @Kafue Game Park

Early in the next morning, we took a breakfast that looks like fancy hotel in the big city, at the restaurant located in the center of the lodge. The guests are foreigners who live inside the country. We set out to the bush soon after the breakfast not losing time in the morning when animals are more active in the bush, looking for the luck to see the real living wild animals.

Several water places were locating near the camp. Name of Kafue National Park is taken from the Kafue River one of the branch river of the mother river Zambezi, and locating on its mid way flowing down to Zambezi. We set out to the water place where animals would be gathering early in the morning. We drove our car carefully in law gear on the quite a bumpy narrow bush road. On our way to the water place, we saw several big games like giraffe, zebra, impala or unknown birds. These animals were quite different than that in the zoo. Most of the cases, we only could saw them in part hiding behind the bush tree. We reached to the water place. Magnificent view was spreading in front of us. There were no obstacle big trees around the water place. This spot was really a harmony of paradise. There were many different animals are sharing the water of life in perfect order. Elephant, Buffalo, Zebra, Impala and etc were there. This was one of the really a moving scene I have ever seen in my life. In order not to bother them, we parked our car far behind of them. We were warned strongly not to get off the car in the game park in order not to be involved to the accident with animals. Animals in this game park were of course wild and dangerous occasionally. We were told many accidents that actually happened between the animals in the past.

We moved slowly to the other spot consulting a map provided at the office. Thousands of impala were seen in the law bush. This impressing panoramic scene never had seen in zoo anywhere in the world. The animals were so sensitive to the danger of their life. At every tiny sign of attack, a herd of animal moved swiftly in one direction. Several big hippopotamus swam in lagoon posing their round nose above the water. Numbers of water birds were enjoying life in and out of water around the lagoon. Colorful birds were parching on dry glass trunks standing in the lagoon. Lagoon gave tremendous fortune to the countless animals.

A world largest bird was just flying her body into the sky. Her body was so large so it needed sometime before she could put her body into the sky. She was running the ground with her maximum acceleration. After she run few tens of meter, her big body finally could fly into the sky like jumbo jet plane lift off its huge body from the tarmac. It made elegant shape in the sky as if a white glider was gliding gently in the air. Herb of Guinea-fowl stood in front of our car being obstacle the vehicle to proceed forward. A huge eagle was circling above us aiming with his sharp eye to catch his foods today. A couple of lion were lying beside the narrow bush road that gave us a real thrilling sight. A giant African elephant was rushing toward us in his full speed. It gave us frightening feeling. It could crash our tiny passenger car in one big step. To our relief, he stopped his running far front of us.

We tried to move to another spot. Bush road became further narrow, bumpy and loose. Suddenly the worst case had happened on the way. Our car had stuck in the mud. We were told not to be out of the car in the game park. But no way, we get out of the car. However, we found no countermeasures to get out of this chaos situation. There was only one way we could do was just to wait until someone came in car. We had waited for three hours, but no one came. That bush road was not a main one but small minor road. There were countless roads in the huge national park, and only countable numbers of people were in the park, the chances were very small to meet each other in this tiny branch bush road. The sun was reaching near to the horizon. We decided to get out the car and walk to the main road that might be a km away to catch a car that could pull out our car from the mud. We made maker shift torch with beverage bottle filled with gasoline putting rug of clothes to keep away animals from us. We walked handing makeshift torch and scoop as our major weapons.

There was a risk whenever a hungry lion or other rush into the road from the bush and attack us. We walked down the narrow path that can be recognized as there was a track of tires on it, to the main road fearing of sudden attack of wild animal. We managed to get out to the main road. We had waiting for a while till a jeep came from far with sand smoke behind. We signed raising our hands asking to stop for us. It was a car of the game part control office. We explained our situation and asked them to help us. The jeep equips full of gears to pull out the car stacked in mud. It pulled our car out of mud flawlessly. We expressed out thanks to the colored driver and drove taking cares to the road back to the camp in real slow speed.

You can see the real life of the wild games that you have never see in the make-shift game park in the civilized town in Japan or any other country. No feeding of course. Weak one is eaten by strong. Severe law of nature rules them. But in this everyone's earth, it seems that the human being have becomes exceptionally strong than others and destroying the sacred natural law that everyone except human being are strictly following. As old saying tells, who devours extravagance would never be long last, the current prosperity shall not be last for long. We have to know and appreciate the basic or small happiness in everyday life and thanks to it from deep in our soul.

Souvenir shop in the street Lusaka                 Pelican @Lochinvar National Park

Aug/'76 Rinzo@Lusaka Zambia (Updated on 28/Aug/'05)

[Africa] [Articles 2004] [Top]