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Adventures with Kingsley Holgate (19)

Adventures with Kingsley Holgate (19)

Date: 2016-08-05
Friends in adventure, this is the second part of a series of 24 action-packed Land Rover dispatches. Off to find the Heart of Africa, it's a story best told in the words taken from the scribbles in Kingsley's sweat-stained expedition journals

After the heart-warming send-off, we cross the Makgadikgadi, largest saltpans on earth. And what a great Land Rover Adventure this Journey to the Heart of Africa is proving to be. With Bots behind us now imagine crossing almost half a country through an unfenced National Park larger than Kruger, with its lifeline being the magnificent Kafue River, one of the major tributaries of the great Zambezi. No boom or ranger post as traveling from the South, we cross an imaginary line in the bush where an old yellow broken down sign tells us we have entered the Kafue National Park.

The powder-like sand track becomes really soft. We stop to let air out of our tyres. Brad Hansen, the expedition naturalist comes walking over to me: 'Lion, leopard and hyena tracks up ahead,' he says with a big grin on his face ... And so we push on through beautiful Miombo woodland and open Dambos to camp at Nazhila Pans where two Honey Badgers take to raiding camp and the Ellie's take to cracking Mopani branches as they feed around us.

The mountain bike team lead by Mike Nixoin leave at dawn. They try not to wake us by talking in loud stage whispers, setting off their Landy alarm by mistake. 'Hey!', shouts Shane to Leith, 'how many sugars in your coffee Boet?'... 'Bugger off! See you at Itezhi Tezhi!', shouts Ross from his tent. 'Have fun with the Tsetse Flies,' adds Brad with a chuckle. I lie in my tent thinking the obvious ... It's all about humour, camaraderie and a passion for Mama Afrika that make these expeditions work so well! But tomorrow we'll sneak Itching Buffalo Beans intotheir Lycra, let their tyres down and hide their saddles!

One expedition Landy behind the other, we take the spinal track heading north up the west side of Itezhi Tezhi Lake to set up camp. We'll keep you posted.