6 July, Saturday: Paul's house, Lusaka -> Kiambi Camp, Lower Zambezi

We were up at sparrows this morning with a cooler box packed for our hectic day ahead. Elijah, our Ford Ranger 4x4 driver arrived at 6:30 am and we headed to the start. The morning was so cold, 8 degrees and we got onto our bikes with goosebumps. The first few km's started off on tar and we were flying through the cold air, making our noses run. It wasnt long before we hit gravel and we cycled through a few villages with all the children excitedly running out to wave us by. The landscape was beautiful. All we could see was rolling and rolling hills of remote, dry, winter Miombo woodlands full of bare trees with big branches sticking out. Now the sun was up, warming up our bodies and we stopped for brekkie. Paul hawled out the bran choc chip muffins and rusks that Cathy had specially made for our trip and packed us yoghurt for breakfast, we had a feast!

The first 17 km were amazing, the road was good, although very rocky and bumpy, we were able to still admire the view and cycle at an average speed of 15 km/hr.

THEN...came a down hill. The road was horrendous. There were massive rocks, donga's, erosion...we actually had to get off and push our bikes down the hill, it was so dangerous. I held my breath as we watched Elijah having to manouver the bakkie through this. He just went through so casually and blissfully in the Ford Ranger like a machine!! Chris on the other hand, did not make it. He went a little bit too fast on his bike and CRASH, man down. It was a hectic fall. He fell into a donga, grazing his whole side of his body, cutting deep into his hip and ripping his arm warmer grazing his elbow. His first fall off the bike and shed lots of blood. Elijah and I cleaned his wounds and wrapped him up in bandages and back on the saddle he got. We cycled down into the valley and the road only got worse. Luckily we didnt bring Madam here, she would never have managed, especially with the trailer.

OUCH

The further down the steep hill we went, the steeper the climb back out got. The cycle was very technical, requiring a lot of concentration and my arms were stiff from holding the handle bar so rigid as I bounced over the rocks. It was fun though and exciting and being in such a beautiful landscape was worth the tough ride. We dropped from 2000 mabsl to 300 m into the valley and now had to get out of there again. We began the incline and Chris, despite his terrible fall, was still peddling. The first climb we made it up in one shot, but after that, the road was so rocky and dangerous, we all had to get off and push for 2 km up this terrible, steep mountain.

Elijah, our amazing second enjoying the view

Paul as strong as ever, having completed the Elephant Epic 2 weeks ago, continued to lead us and encourage the team with his enthusiasm and non stop support. After a good 20 minutes of pushing up the hill, we got to the top and were spoiled with the most breath-taking view of the valley. As we descended again heading towards the Lower Zambezi, the sun got warmer and warmer, reaching 28 degrees. We were all very hot and very sweaty but Paul found a lovely shady acacia that we stopped for delicious rolls thanks to Cathy. We made our way through the villages and eventually after 4 hours of cycling, we arrived to Kiambi Camp with a stunning view of the Lower Zambezi River to a very cheerful Mom and Cathy welcoming us back.

Exhausted, hot and sweaty we arrived to the lower zambezi

It was a tough and technical day of cycling but getting the opportunity to see the escarpment was a real treat. How Paul had gone out his way to show us the road and cycle with us and his wife to prepare food for us was just incredible. Chris's friend from Mauritius, Hugo, is currently working at a lodge nearby and made the effort to visit us. It was so nice for Chris to see a familiar face and speak french again with his friend.

Chris and I decided to spoil ourselves and go on a sunset boat ride on the Zambezi and Hugo joined us. This was one of the most spectacular experiences. We saw so many hippos wallowing in the water, ellies and a massive herd of buffs. We then saw the biggest croc I have ever seen (3.5 m) chilling on the bank of an island and as we finished off watching the croc doing absolutely nothing, we saw a pod of hippos walking on the bank and made their way into the water. It was such an incredible sighting, the hippos just slipped so magestically off the banks, toppling into the water, creating a big wake and doing a sort of butterfly movement. We then spotted alone ellie munching and as we sat for a while watching, he made his way into the water and walked right up to the boat and about 400 m into the river, until we could only see its trunk. Richard (our guide) set up a lovely spot for us on a sand bank in the river where we watched the sun going down over the Zambezi.

Now hyped-up from the most amazing experience, we rushed to our camp desperate to share our boat trip with the team. Paul had organized a fire for us and we sat with a GnT under a clear sky full of stars while Elijah and Paul braai'd for us. Cathy had prepared a variety of delicious salads which we gobbled down, refueling our bodies after a tough day of cycling. We enjoyed the rest of the evening laughing off our chairs at Paul sharing stories. He had us all crying with laughter explaining his "tupaware" experiences.

Cycled: 57.11 km

Time: 4:15 hrs

Ave speed: 13.4 km/hr

Ascent 1533 m BUT 1186 m descent