Farewell to Benji

Stork at sunset
Originally uploaded by camandkristin

Travelling is all about the highs and lows. The highs are what make you set out in the first place but, ironically, its often the lows that create the best stories, the most lasting memories, and really solidify the reasons for travel. Maybe it’s a yin and yang thing. Anyway- you certainly can’t travel without your share of both, and in the last few days we saw that once again.

We started out on an absolute high- after leaving the rain and wind behind at Kande Beach, we crossed the border from Malawi into Zambia and headed into South Luangwa National Park. The campsite, appropriately named Wildlife Camp, is inside the park, 120km along a pretty horrendous stretch of dusty, potholed, and washboard road. The road is bad enough that many overlanding companies won’t send their trucks there- it was immediately obvious upon our arrival at the camp that we were very, very lucky that our company did. The campsite is set along the banks of the Luangwa River and has no fences or barriers of any kind to the rest of the park. Dozens of hippos laze in the river all day, and troupes of baboons and vervet monkeys run haphazardly through the campsite. Before dusk fell, Gareth reminded us that it is a “wild camp” and we must use caution in the dark, waving our headlamps in front and around us while walking around. After watching a gorgeous sunset we tucked in for the night, as we had an early morning wake up for a game drive. At 1am, we woke up to munching sounds, and looking out our tent window we saw an elephant standing not 6 paces from our tent, enjoying the branches of a tree under which Gareth’s tent sat. For the next 1.5 hours we watched and listened to elephants all around our tents- we could see two, but learned in the morning that there were four, including a baby. It was both amazing, and partially terrifying. Cam asked if I was already composing my blog entry, and I told him I just hoped I wasn’t composing the epitaph for my tombstone… I had always heard the stories of wild animals outside of tents in Africa, but always wondered if it really happened. Turns out it does.

In the morning we headed out in open topped vehicles for a morning game drive- although we didn’t see too many previously unseen animals, there were lots of great sightings and the park is a gorgeous backdrop for even the most “boring” of African animals (oh how spoiled we have become). After an afternoon off, we headed back out for a evening game drive- the first we’ve had here. Once the sun set, our tracker Issac used a heavy duty spotlight to scan back and forth across our path as we hunted for nocturnal animals. Although there were lots of elephants out, we didn’t stop to watch them as they are spooked by the lights and only the less classy drivers (of which there are some) stop. Besides- we were on the hunt for leopards. Not long into the search, Stu (one of our fellow passengers) spotted a leopard and our driver cranked the wheel. We had a quick glimpse before the leopard darted down a small bank and then mostly out of sight. Then he (the leopard) came back up on to the road, walked down the side for a while, crossed in front of the truck, and eventually out of sight. He was, quite possibly, the most beautiful creature I have ever seen. We spent a while longer hunting for animals, and saw a rare fishing owl (the only owl that actually eats fish), a small genet, and then another leopard! This one was female, and much smaller, and gave us an equally good show before stalking off into the bush. All tolled, we have seen 4 leopards here which makes us extremely lucky- many people travel to Africa for the sole purpose of spotting a leopard, and go home empty handed. After the game drive (and a final sighting of a spotted hyena perhaps a little too close to our camp….) we returned for a late dinner to the sound of leopards calling on all sides of our camp. Gareth told us it was likely a female in heat, and two males responding to her calls. At one point, just before the last of us went to bed, I locked up the truck and then as we were heading to our tents we heard the most amazing roaring and growls. I immediately returned to the truck to unlock it, in case we needed to get in there, and fast! We were convinced it was a lion, but Gareth informed us in the morning that it was more likely the leopards “making contact”. Either way, the second night at Wildlife Camp was equally as exciting as the first…

The third day at camp was an adventure in mongoose…s… Mongeese? There had been two mongooses running around camp (think ferret like animal that are known for doing battle with large snakes) and on the final morning Gareth casually pet one as though it was a cat. Well- once we realized that was a possibility, the entire camp was petting them and scratching them under their chins and behind their ears. A few people had them crawling in their laps. At one point, one of them actually opened Gareth’s cigarette box, pulled out a smoke and ran off to attempt to eat it. It was pretty hilarious, because the day before Malin had attempted to pet one and everybody was on her case about how that was likely a poor idea and she was basically asking for a case of rabies. Flash forward 12 hours and now 14 people are cuddling up to these things like they are baby kittens.

Anyway, the final night was pretty uneventful- I think some hippos did come up from the river to graze in our camp, but nothing that actually woke us up. Our 5am wakeup call came fast, and we were back on the crappy road headed out of the park. Just over 2 hours into the drive, and nearing the end of the dirt road, the truck (who, by the way, is named Benji) stopped. Looking forward into the cab to see why, we could see smoke coming up from the shifter at Peter’s hand. Uh oh. We all spilled off the truck and the investigation began. Six local village kids joined us on the side, watching the drama unfold- eventually they helped us kill time by joining in a game of “basketball“ using a garbage can and volleyball. Another overlanding truck stopped for us and Manza, their guide, joined in to help which proved to be very useful. It became clear that the radiator was not doing it’s job- it was cold, while the engine was hot. After some time we learned that one of the hoses had burst- all the fluid had dumped out earlier down the road, thus leading to the truck overheating. Where, you might ask, was the engine temperature sensor that might have provided this valuable bit of information? Fair question. Answer = broken. Manza went all Macgyver on the truck and used a sardine can to repair the hose, we boiled a bunch of water to fill the rad, and then headed off- we knew the engine had suffered damage, but it was turning over and appeared to be ok. Within minutes it was clear we were burning oil- it was being pushed out of the damaged piston bores. Crap. Add oil. Drive more. Rad hose blows off- not at the sardine tin, but at another junction. Replace. Boil more water. Drive more. Truck stops. Boil more water. Repeat and repeat and repeat. We limped slowly the 60km from the first break down to the first campsite we could find- a process taking 8 hours. We were now 300km shy of our actual destination, with a truck that would go no further.

We are 24 days in to a 55 day journey- while we four depart at Vic Falls in 3 days, the crew and many of the passengers are carrying on all the way to Capetown. No Benji = big problem. At the moment, we are all sitting on a standard Greyhound style bus, cruising the 1100km from our last campsite to Victoria Falls. We have packed all our belongings, as well as all the gear from Benji, and left the truck and Peter behind. For the four of us in particular, things could be far worse- Vic Falls was our final destination anyway- so all we lose is the comfort of Benji for the trip there. For the rest, however, they lose the truck for the second half of their trip. They’ll be getting a new overlanding truck in Vic Falls, but it won’t be as nice as Benji- there simply aren’t any other trucks that nice out there. The number one reason everybody on this trip chose this company is for the truck- it offers a lot of comforts that aren’t standard, and as we’ve been on the road looking at other trucks, it’s very clear that they don’t compare. There is a chance that Peter can get Benji repaired- the engine (a Mercedes, by the way) needs to be re-bored and the pistons replaced (or so I hear) and I’m just not sure how easy, or fast, that is in a place like Zambia…

This is the second consecutive trip where the truck has had a total meltdown and left the crew scrambling to get their guests where they need to be, in a manner that doesn’t cause a complete revolt on the bus. I feel bad for them, and it seems unfair to blame the company- the roads here are hell on vehicles and its hardly surprising that they break, however, in our case at least, a working temperature sensor would have prevented the problem altogether…

Anyway, as I said- highs and lows. This low could have been a lot worse, and the high of South Luangwa National Park was, for us, worth it. Of all the places we have seen, there are a distinct few that have left a permanent mark on our souls- and this one, for sure, has done that.

Until next time…
Kristin and Cam