Monday, February 15, 2010

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.

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