It was a four day weekend and we were both desperate for a few days away from the office and away from Lusaka. But we had to get to the Copperbelt, drop some equipment with a client, have a look at a site in Solwezi and then we were heading north.  Sumbu to be precise, via Mporokoso to look at a site there.  It was a long way, especially with only four days, and we knew that it would be a weekend of driving with very little relaxation. And we were running behind schedule before we even started.

The first night was spent at Setanga Lodge in Ndola.    They have two guesthouses (Tel 02 680-002), the main one and then one why they use as an overflow.  The main one has a few ensuite srooms and a few with communal ablution facilities. All are clean, comfortable and adequate.  I have not had any meals there, but breakfast and dinner are available. The overflow lodge is also clean, comfortable and adequate but the building does need some maintenance to sort out a few small niggly problems such as lights in bathrooms which don’t work.

The next day, the first day of the weekend, we were up early, rushing around the Copperbelt, dropping off equipment, surveying sites and finally pulled into Forest Inn at Mkushi at eight that evening.  Another long day, but much had been achieved.

Forest Inn were fully booked, so we ordered dinner (remember the kitchens close at 8.30 pm) and went and set up the tent, coming back for dinner later.  As always, it was delicious : steak so tender that one could really say it melted in your mouth, accompanied by chips and salad.  And this for only K 45,000. Forest Inn was the ‘baby’ of Barry Shenton, who passed away just a few weeks previously. Our condolences go to his wife, Marianne and all the family.

On Saturday morning, we were up early, well before sunrise, had a steaming hot shower, got the tent down and packed away and set off up the Great North Road.  It was a misty morning, and the suns rays through the mist cast an eerie light over the scenery. Sadly, the camera did not do it justice. 

Before turning left down the Mansa Road, we stopped at the junction for a few photos and a general chat with the people there. The main commodity for sale that day was Irish potatoes. Already having a full complement of potatoes for the weekend, we declined and set off in the direction of Samfya.

The road runs along the bottom of the Bangweulu Swamps and is pretty much dead straight and flat, as is the surrounding area, so not much to see apart from some interesting water birds, interesting little villages and many interesting anthills : something to be explored at a later date.

Passing over the longest bridge in Zambia (2.5 km long and opened in 1983), across the Luapula River, we were now officially in Luapula Province. The river, at the crossing point, is a beautiful blue and wit the rich green of the surrounding grass, makes quite a picture. Do stop and walk along the bridge for a short way (or even the whole way if you’re energetic and have the time). The guards are friendly and the lookout ‘towers’ don’t seem to be much used.

After the bridge, carry on straight up the tarmac road until the junction. A left turn there will take you to Mansa, a right turn to Samfya and Lake Bangweulu. As it was almost time for lunch, we decided to turn right. Again, this was not a leisurely trip and we will return to Samfya because the town and the lake certainly need more exploring. After a quick bite to eat on the lakeshore, we were again heading west for Mansa, refueling and then north. We want to reach Mporokoso that evening and were hoping to at least make Mbereshi in daylight.

A little way north of Mansa, one needs to turn left onto the road that runs more or less along the Congo border. Miss this junction and you will end up in Luwingu.

All was going well and we were making good time until about 15 km before Mwense, when a perfectly good tyre decided it had had enough and the side walls were going to collapse. And where was the jack?  The wheel spanner was there, the lever for letting down the spare wheel was there, but no jack.  Moral of this story is don’t tell your driver to tidy up the back of the vehicle. Also instruct him to ensure that the jack is put in the same compartment of the left of the car and not one on the right of the car where it will only be found when you get back to Lusaka.

But we were lucky. The village we were in was the home of one of my brother’s drivers and although the truck jack was too big, he was able to take our spare wheel up to Mwense for pumping. Yes, it was also flat; we suspect from a heavy blow it had received when a culvert of sorts collapsed under us in Solwezi and we had to be lifted out of the drain. But this gave us time to flag down a passing minibus whose jack we used until we could get the truck jack underneath.  And then we pulled out two camp chairs and relaxed until our spare wheel came back. We  also noted the long distance buses which came screaming through the village, without slowing down, only blowing their horns with gusto.  But well done to the Zambian Safaris bus which did slow down to a safe speed. Obviously the inhabitants of the village are used to buses and other vehicles screaming through there.  As each vehicle approached, the adults would shout ‘ORDER’ and the children would obediently stand still and step back from the road.

Finally the newly pumped spare wheel was on the vehicle and we were heading towards Mwense to have it pumped a little more. And then the dilemma was whether we should proceed further with no spare wheel or should we head back to Lusaka. At Mwense, we borrowed a jack from the tyre mender with promises to return same as soon as possible and after many ‘what ifs’, we decided that we would press on.  If we had another puncture, we would ‘make a plan’. It was also at Mwense that we watched the kids playing pool on their homemade pool table, stacked on empty beer crates.

Needless to say, we did not make Mbereshi in daylight. In fact, we lost daylight just a few kilometres north of Mwense, but the road is not too bad  (the odd pothole) and finally turned right at Mbereshi around 8 pm.  As we headed towards Kawambwa, we started questioning the wisdom of our decision to carry on as we knew the tarmac ended at Kawambwa.  We wondered whether we should stop and camp at Ntumbachusi Falls just before Kawambwa, but decided we would push on : we had much that we wanted to achieve that weekend.

A few kilometres after Kawambwa the tarmac comes to an end and we were on a beautifully smooth gravel road.  The only problem was that the grass was very overgrown (in some places the road was only wide enough for one vehicle and the grass  towered over the vehicle, almost meeting in the centre) and in some places the road was very greasy indeed.  4WD was indeed appreciated. This continued until the Kalungwishi River and it was obvious by the lack of vehicle tracks that it had been many months since a vehicle had passed that way.

After the Kalungwishi River the road deteriorated badly although now it was dips and potholes and gulleys that we had to contend with. Again we questioned whether we should stop and camp for the night at Lumangwe Falls, but they are a good 20 km off the main road, so we decided against that too and pushed on until we reached Mporokoso just after midnight.

Mporokoso is certainly not a tourist town and whilst I believe there are a few guesthouses there, we recommend camping. Except that there are also not any campsites, so travellers should avoid planning to spend the night there. We pulled in at the site we had gone to survey and pitched our tent there much to the consternation of the security guard.

Early next morning, having completed the survey, we managed to borrow two wheels from our clients, fitted these to the vehicle (they were a different size to ours so we had to change both wheels on the axle) and then asked for a road report.  What was the back road through to Sumbu like? We were told it was not too bad so with two wheels and three of ours piled high on the roofrack, we set off for Sumbu.

Just a few kilometres from the town, we came across the first grader … working and on a Sunday morning as well! Just imagine! Work has not been completed yet and they seem to be working from both ends at once but even so, the road was good except for one spot, a distance of about 200 metres where we had to slow down to a crawl. But all in all an easy drive, past Abdullah Bin Selemani and Nsama’s country, until reaching the top end of Lake Mweru Wantipa and finally over a hill where before us lay Cameron Bay on Lake Tanganyika.

But where does the name Adbullah bin Selemani come from?  Who was he? From what I have been able to find, it appears he was an Arab slave trader who established himself as the head of a Swahili speaking settlement back in the late 1800’s.  And who was Nsama?   He was a Tabwa Chief who lived in constant fear of the Bemba people and was only too pleased to let the Arab slave traders have some land in exchange for guns and powder. Definitely something I need to find out more about.

But today Nsama village is much like any other Zambian village, complete with Council levy collection barrier, but with a difference : the gate is locked with an enormous padlock; something we were to see in a few other towns in the area.

Making our way down the steep escarpment, we stopped regularly to gaze at the view in front of us. As David Livingstone wrote in 1868 ‘After being a fortnight at this lake it still appears one of surpassing loveliness’ although he went on to comment on the hoardes of elephant that were to be seen.  Sadly we saw none although I am assured that if ones goes into Sumbu National Park proper, there are still significant elephant numbers there.

Still descending the escarpment, we took a bend to the right and there in the distance was the town of Sumbu, which in the mid-nineteenth century, was a well known slave trading post, frequented by such well known slave traders as Tippu Tip and out in the bay was Sumbu Island, well known for its cichlids.

But Sumbu itself is another story all of its own.  We were not heading there that day.  We were heading towards the recently re-opened Ndole Bay for a very welcome cold drink and where we were going to bed down for the night.

Next month:  The Long Road Back

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