Home.....

So I'm back in Lusaka and facing a whole new non VSO world. The most obvious disadvantage is nowhere to live, swiftly followed by having to do a full days work for a living, no more VSO siesta's!! The good news is that I've managed to bag a room in a fab flat for 8wks whilst I find a permanent home. I'm sharing with a Canadian ODI called Laura who works in the ministry of trade. The infamous Vinny also lives in our small compound

and is an ex ODI working in the ministry of trade. The best way to describe him is as a modern day Indian Arthur Daly and one of the shrewdest characters I've met since I've been here. Equally it's a shortish walk (25mins) to work in the morning which is great.
Even more exciting is the pool, darlings... which completes the ex pat lifestyle. At the end of the month I'm moving to Kabulonga, a posh suburb of Lusaka. I'll be renting the servants quarters (From now on to be known as the cottage) of Mike & Isobelle. Mike is canadian and the general manager of Mobile transactions ((The guy who got me on board). They have a lovely house in it's own grounds (Built by a Scandinavian, so a little unusual), I think it's gonna be great, as long as we can avoid talking work 24/7.

Mutinondo Wilderness

It's Friday lunchtime, some 8hrs after we left and the dirt, dust & heat was worth it. This is the view from our Chalet in Mutinondo, overlooking the valley in full "Flush" The "Flush" is where all the trees change colour, I guess a bit like a New Hampshire autumn.
Mutinondo is way off in the Northern Province on the trd to Tanzania. We are also only a few hours from the Africa House, an amazing story of a crazy English guy who built a statley home in the middle of the bush, you should read it.

It's owned an run by a Zambian/Kenyan couple as conservation area, they make some money from tourists to fund their work. It's in the middle of nowhere and there are few amenities but it doesn't feel that way especially with the clever use of solar power to deliver electricity where needed. And when you have views like this what more do you need? We went for a walk today, it was meant to be a couple of hours strolling along the river and catching the small waterfalls along its course. Sadly we missed a turn and ended up on a bit of a route march and did a 21k round trip. As you can imagine we were ready for lunch which was awesome. They have established a kitchen garden here so we were plied with wonderfully fresh veg & salad and the piece de resistance.... a truckle of amazing cheese, none of which is easy to get in Lusaka let alone 8hrs into the bush. all washed down with an ice cold beer from the "honesty bar" It's Sunday and this time we find the right turn and wander along the riverside until we get to paradise pool and have lunch (Packed lunch provided by those lovely people at Mutinondo) and a bit of dip. After lunch it's time to say goodbye and head back to the big city.