Two Day Camp and Hike in Kafue

The goal of this hike and campout was to build endurance and so the guide only helped carry our tents in his car and the really heavy stuff otherwise all those personals like our bags, food, drinks, and all were for us to carry. I can’t stress enough but this load caused a lot of energy from me to be sucked dry. I thought the challenge was just taking that hike carrying nothing but boy was I wrong.

I am not sure what expert campers carry for food, snacks, drinks, and all but this is not glamping and my sleeping disorder of having ‘earlier nights’ really tried my patience. I am not gonna stay up late cooking up a storm! On our menu which the instructor had us make were 2 minute noodles, canned beans, and vegetables. Mother nature did supply us with some mushrooms. We picked some fresh ones and added them to our meal. What a treat it was!

THE HIKE DISTANCE

DAY ONE

The starting point was set for us. Maps were given to us as well. The guide had given us a mini training on how geography works. (Geography was not exactly my favorite subject in school…..so) but if I could understand the map so can you.

We studied it. We also had never been down this trail but the guide had been and he wasn’t supposed to spill all the beans about where we headed.

Off we went down this endless trail and frankly speaking, it was refreshing. We told stories and all until we stopped for water, rest to take a leak, or to allow rest for our bodies since they protested against tiredness. We covered both flat and hilly places, stony and watery places. The good news is we managed to cover half the required number of kilometers for the day.

The target was to use this one route that was like 10 kilometers to the camping grounds. We started at about 9 o’clock to 5 pm and found the guide had prepared our camping spot, pitched the tents already and all that was left was to tell some night stories and call it quits for the day ….. and we did!

HIKE DAY TWO

I woke up to music from the birds and the ground was wet from the night showers and I hoped to hike on dry ground. We didn’t need continental or English breakfast but we did stuff ourselves with some bread, beans, juice, and the remainder of the previous night’s meal. It was perfect to start another day of a 10-kilometer hike.

At this point, I was done enjoying nature. I just wanted OUT!! I picked up my tired pieces with the help of my team and we walked through that trail. The second hike had more hilly and stony land. Very uncomfortable. My teammates developed blisters on their feet but their drive to want to finish the 10 kilometers fueled mine. Fast forward, we made it!

THE HIGHS AND LOWS

The high of this hike and camp was how I got a certificate to be a Duke of Edinburgh Award and Adventurous journey leader. I also enjoyed nature and being away from the usual.

The low was that at one spot which happened to be a picture taking place because of the beautiful scenery, we were stopped from taking pics because it was believed to be a shrine, and taking pictures would upset the spirits. Can you imagine!?

November 5, 2022 5

Lunch at Radisson Blu Hotel review

I really get bored being in one place for too long.I don’t know who suffers from this condition but it’s depressing to have a monotonous life.

The same feeling applies to food and views.Sometimes I am okay having my traditional Zambian staple food which is called ‘nshima’ but I wouldn’t want to give my mouth a bore by having it continuously the way I see it get eaten here.

Having a mother that was a hotelier,was literally married to food and fussy about food presentation, those things kind of rubbed on to me.

I feel eating out refreshes your soul.Leave your fridge, stove, pots, pans alone and head straight to a place all that can be done for you PERFECTLY.

No one wants to visit a four or five star hotel and come back loaded heavily with disappointments.We all expect perfection or something close to it!

I had already listed lunch and the target upscale hotel in mind was Radisson Blu hotel.

I may never be sure whether Radisson Blu is a four or five star hotel but the bottom line is it is an upscale hotel where only the best should be good enough.

Being in Lusaka at that time, I took a cab and off I went only to be so well received by a guard at the main gate and the other enterance.No one wants a grumpy waiter, guard or whatever.

I chose to have my lunch at the pool side.I found just few people outside, nothing that could interfere with my looking like a weirdo taking selfish selfies or asking employees to take photos of me for me…..coast was clear, just enough noise.

LET’S ORDER!

I ordered pork spareribs and mashed potatoes. I love potatoes! This was definitely going to go well with a cocktail. And it did! There is a lot of tantalizing that goes on from order time, to eating time and since I was not in the mood to go through that agony, I found something to keep me busy.Viewing!

I went round the hotel enjoying site seeing.When you seek meals in an upscale hotel, even the decor and vibe of the place are a biggie!

I went round and I must say the decor fits well in the theme of the hotel.The hotel has some lovely decor and interesting art work that clients with an eye of art would fancy.My honest opinion is they should not let the same decor up for too long.There should be some changes every now and then .

EATING TIME!

One of things to use to rate a good restaurant as far as I am concerned is length of time of the order. It shows how efficient the staff is.Of course other things come into play like the number of clients. Judging from the length of time it took to prepare the food to it’s mouth watering taste, one may think it took forever to prepare it.

The chef took a good 30 to 40 minutes which I think is the average waiting time for the kind of meal I ordered.Besides, I even inconvenienced the chef by changing my order slightly eating into preparation time.

The first thing I noticed when I saw the food was the generous portions. I have dined out with a 25 dollars I spent on the meal but left with my stomach protesting it didn’t get enough. I was not only stuffed but satisfied.The former has to do with quantity and the latter, quality. My general rating food wise was 9 out of 10!

FINAL RATING

The location of the place is perfect if you want an urban, boutique, close to everything kind of location which was a 9 out of 10.

The staff were super helpful and friendly and this is treatment they gave not for show but if it was fake, I am glad it looked real! That was a 9 out of 10.

I however didn’t appreciate what appeared to be a mini bar right next to the pool which I believe is for those enjoying the pool.I wasn’t there to swim but my eyes told me that place needed a touch up, ASAP before more critiques spot it.

My unbiased rating is a genuine 8.9 out of 10.Experiences differ.Mine was awesome!

October 18, 2022 2

Namib Desert tours

Namib Desert is a vast cold coastal desert in Southern Africa.It has some of the biggest sand dunes in the world! It could be the oldest desert in the world and contains some of the world’s driest regions.

Visiting Namibia was a delight. it was amazing. My target was to visit Windhoek, Walvis Bay and Swakopmund. I first imagined myself having fun at the sand dunes before it actually just BANG!!! Happened. With no appointment whatsoever, I got to a place called Desert Explorers in Swakopmund.This place has lots of tours one could enjoy.

I was up for going quad biking on these big sand dunes! The place is found near Nathaniel Maxuilili road and I didn’t have to spend on transport because it was quite close to where I lodged.

The company other than doing quad bike tours also has camel rides, dolphin cruises, sky diving, sand boarding, kayaking, paragliding, go-karting etc. This place usually operates from 8am to 6pm every day of the week.

I wanted to boost my adrenaline levels and the quad bikes were just that perfect thing I needed. Their quad biking tours always have to be with at least four bikers and this is where solo travelling either gets interesting because you get to meet people or this is where it sucks because you kind of want your space….it depends.

I was the only female in that tour.The tour guide was of course lively and interesting and about the bucks, it’s about 50 dollars for a 2 hours biking session. All protective gear was given and the wonderful thing is that we have the image of deserts always being unbearably hot, but this tour is close to the coast and was cool or maybe it was because of the time of the year I had travelled.

Am not sure what you would like to do for that adrenaline boost when you are in this part of Africa but do pay this place a visit, it will be worth the while.

October 11, 2022 1

Maun Lodge Review 📍🇧🇼 Botswana

Every traveller has different needs when it comes to lodging.Depending on budget, length of stay and one’s personality, some places will do the trick while others would not. My stay was short yet it involved crossing a border (Zambia). Though Botswana is a neighbouring country, I was going there for the first time as a solo traveller.

Booking

I reserved a room on booking.com and the payment was done when I arrived at the premises.I was supposed to be in the chalets but because I am enjoying genius level 2 on booking.com, I did attract a discount and a room upgrade.Instead of being in the chalets, I enjoyed the double room.

Location

https://maunlodge.com .Maun Lodge is located in Maun town in Botswana. A town where most tourists frequent. It is a town on the Thamalakane river and is the jumping off point for the Okavango Delta which is a habitat for vast wildlife.

The closeness to a water body adds serenity to the place

Airport pickup

Few times I have been adventurous enough to jump on a taxi from the airport to where am lodged but sometimes you skip that adventurous self and try the safest way which is to be picked up by your hosts.Nothing is completely safe but you just have peace of mind knowing your hosts are taking care of your transport to the lodge and the good part is it was a free service.The driver and the welcoming team had smiling faces which was a plus!

Room Service

The environment of the lodge was welcoming and there was thorough cleaning done by the staff.The sink, shower, toilet were sparkling clean and they did offer those extras.The room had a safe and television with a number of channels though I wished for more channels

Work out time!

I was impressed that the lodge did carter for the active bodies like mine.I of course didn’t use all the machines.The treadmill is my fav!

Food?

Most food I had ordered was well prepared and presented and you had the option in the restaurant to enjoy it indoors or outdoors.

On the whole this lodge offered more than I expected and on a scale of 1 to 10, it was an 8.I would recommend it !

September 13, 2022 0