First week acclimatising to life in wildest africa

At the craziest time in the history of the new millennium our Little adventurers will be embarking on a new journey to the very remote, beautiful and wild town of Kariba, which is situated next to Lake Kariba in Zimbabwe. It is close to the Zambian border. We will be moving for Tim's work: a water treatment project at a local crocodile farm.

The excitement of a new experience overshadowed the fear and uncertainty of moving our young family to the middle of nowhere. Lock down in Cape Town proved to us that we can survive on our own, despite being a very social family.

The big day finally arrived and after dragging far too many bags and 2 weary kids across the country, we landed in (what LJ identified as) the driest Country in the world. At just 5 years old, he was most fascinated by the really long grass. We spent a night in Harare before the 360km (6 hour) drive to Kariba the following day. The warm summer temperatures were a welcome relief from the harshly cold and wet winter we left behind. We are definitely more of a 'summer' family! 

A few days in and I realised that I am not as resilient as I thought I was. The excitement of all that we hope to experience was still lingering, but the frustration of being in an unfamiliar house, knowing nobody and having no independence has been hard. Everything in Africa is slow. We have no car. Figuring out the way things work with regard to money has also been a challenge. We haven't managed to open bank accounts yet to receive our allowance and have been warned about differing exchange rates with traders in the local grocery store offering to pay for your groceries with Zim$ at a rate they decide upon. 

What I have been blown away by is peoples willingness to help us and teach us how everything works. Life here is like learning to play a board game that doesn't come with a set of rules, and in fact the rules keep changing.

With the loneliness factor setting in for me and the kids, we have started to befriend anyone who ventures into the communal pool right next to our house. We have found that most of the people we meet are passing through. Its the overnight spot for locals from around the country who keep their boats here. LJ can't understand why none of the friends he makes are staying for longer than one night. The days when the pool is busy are the best and time goes much faster. We have to be patient. It is a good lesson in appreciating the small things, and even the big things that we have grown accustomed to taking for granted (like having a car). I mean I am not opposed to walking BUT there are elephants, hippos, buffalos, hyena, lions and leopards around. Not to mention all the snakes. So for now...we'll stay put. 

We have had zebra walk up to us, and we've seen hippo footprints going past our bedroom. I went for run around the complex and saw 2 snakes. Louie has picked, and tasted a sour mango from the mango tree in our garden. As they ripen I have heard that the elephants and baboons sneak in to find them. So here's to the next few weeks of living in, and experiencing life in Kariba.