We were awakened by the racket of three different phones going off all set to ensure we did not sleep through. Wee were fed with a breakfast far too large for the heat and really were unable to do the chef any justice for his meal prepared in this isolated part of the country. Obtaining supplies here is a mission and they have to travel to Hwange for any major supplies. The bottle store supplies castel and lion lager and the local sourgum beer Chibuku only. The local store is limited to basics such as rice sugar and soaps according to the proprieter.
We were second to arrive at the ferry and had to pay a national parks (DOC) fee of $5 for locals and $10 for international travellers. Renene and I have our Zimbabwe identity documents but they would not accept the kids birth certificates so we paind for them as internationals. The ferry is quite comfortable and we watched as the various vehicles were loaded. We left around 09h00 and the initial part of the journey is in the river itself and was flat calm. There is a predominant white clientelle and a mix of nationalities. There is a large wedding party of young people from Sweden ,Uk and a Zimbabwe groom and swedish bride and they are all travellin together on a great holiday adventure. We have met up with a family similar to ours . Zimbabwe born but now living in Cambridge ,Waikato New Zealand . It has been interesting hearing their stories and turns out they were travelling with their sister Rachel Hitchcock now Rous, who was also in the polo x crowd we knew in Chiredzi days. Been good to hear from further Zimbabweans who have managed to hang in and survive here. Rachel and her husband are living in Chinoi and are growing wheat, maize and bananas leasing back land that had been taken from them previously. They are friends with the Dilmitis family who were friends of my brother Keith at University. There have been lots of interesting people to chat to on the deck and hearing all the different stories paints a vivid picture with all the varying experiences.
We had a little bit of a sloppy wave as we travelled to the narrows and again through the night at Sengwa basin. We had fantastic meals considering the facilities the cooks had to work with.We did not sleep that well and I was awake at 04h00 on deck waiting for the sun to rise. Unfortunately the clouds had settled in and it did not rise as expected. The weather packed a bit of a "sad" as we approached Kariba and due to the wind and waves we arrived around an hour late.
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