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Love Thy Neighbour (And Visit Them)
By Gary Williams
Tuesday 8
am: "go to Cahora Bassa ! Now? At this time of year ? Where will we
stay?"
Our contact in
Lusaka,
Mike - a fisherman of renown, gave us a name - UGEZI. Angela at
Voyagers tracked down Dana tours in Mocambique where Karina finally
found us a number (in SA). Phil, at the other end of the line, took
our bookings for the lodge and boat hire and gave directions warning
“Go carefully, lots of heavy rain in the area
causing hazardous
driving conditions”. Next stop, passport photos and then the
Mocambique Embassy which produced visas in less than four hours for
a small express charge.
Our journey via
Katete, Chinida border post and Tete began the next morning. The
only thing of note was in Chongwe district where a single lane of
tarmac bore testament to the heavy rains that were eroding the
embankment. It was to collapse completely four days later causing
fatalities and serious injuries amongst the passengers when a bus
plunged into the chasm almost 50 feet wide and more than 10 feet
deep. Otherwise the road ran ahead over rivers, all tumbling brown
and frothy in a rush to join the Zambezi, and around the green hills
radiant in the welcome sunshine.
 By
early afternoon, clouds were massing over the mountains of
Mocambique where the road, which had no frills like markings or mile
pegs, was well paved. The rain gave way to humidity as we dropped
into the wide valley and crossed the Zambezi at Tete. The final
stretch of road to Songo, a company tow' to house the dam's
construction crews, was tarred and undamaged despite the floods of
water which had left sandbanks in the middle of it.
Dusk found us
following Ugezi signs for barely a kilometre off the main road ~ the
only stretch of dirt road on our trip of almost 900 kms.
The lodge clings
to the side of the gorge just around the corner from the dam. The
wall is surprisingly small with a height of 170 metres and a width
of barely twice that.
Our chalet had
air con, fan, fridge, bathroom ensuite and plenty of running water ~
hot or cold. The boat worked and the manager, Emilio, put up with
all our requests for freezer space, softer mattresses etc. If you
like French Fries they're available breakfast, lunch and supper.
Fresh veg and fruit were scarce otherwise the meals were adequate.
In spite of the
wrong time of year and the lake level rising rapidly, the
tiger were biting. We took a break from the action to travel up the
gorge to the main body of the lake. Approximately 150 metres above
the original course of the river, the sheer sides of the gorge tower
hundreds of metres above the still lake which gradually opens out
until, suddenly, the water reaches the horizon and distant islands
float in the haze.
Saturday we
decided to take in the night life of Songo, 10 kms. away. The
switchback road has twelve hairpin bends and winds up the side of
the gorge immediately above the dam wall. In town the centro
sociale boasts an enormous covered verandah and extensive menu.
We followed the recommendation of the maitre de and ordered stone
steaks. Served on a wooden board fitted with two stone tiles,
one of which is red hot, the fine fillet is sliced on the
cold tile and sizzled to perfection on the hot one with a sauce to
keep it juicy. We were too early for the disco scene and had a
fishing appointment (our last) early Sunday morning so it was back
to Ugezi and bed.
Useful words: bon
dio – hello; por favor – please; obrigado – thank you, dosh em - 2M
beer.
For bookings,
Phil Bezuidenhout's number is +27 82 539-6411 and Dana Tours is +258
1 497-483.
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April 2004