Things we don't see every day... thankfully
on Andrew Sacret (Zambia), 26/Aug/2010 20:36, 34 days ago
I thought I might show off a couple of surprising events from the main streets of Mazabuka.  I noticed the first a few days ago when I was walking along the main street of town.  For some reason, a dead cow lay across the tailgate of a a pickup truck right in front of the municipal offices.  A bunch of people were standing around the cow deciding what to do next.  There was an unpleasant odour when I got near, which must have meant that the poor cow had been dead for a while.  Gross, I know... sorry but these things just don't happen every day where I come from.The second incident I wanted to share occurred overnight last night.  The Great North Road passes directly through the heart of town.  I am told that this road was part of Cecil Rhodes grand plan of connecting the Cape to Cairo.  Despite its importance, it is not a particularly wide road.  One of the major complaints in Mazabuka is that many trucks trundle through town every day.  The hazards are compounded by the fact that the road coming into town from Lusaka is all downhill, at which point vehicles have to make a 90 degree turn to the left.  Judging by the photos below, it's obvious that the driver couldn't or didn't brake enough at the turn (which by the way has no traffic signals or stop signs).  Crossing this intersection as a pedestrian makes me a little nervous every time.As a result of the truck hazards, a by-pass road is something that stakeholders have repeatedly identified as a priority issue for the town plan.My first view of the rolled truck... which apparently didn't stop the traffic that much.Cars, trucks, people and bikes continued to pass by the wreckage.  I couldn't figure out what the pink stuff was.Another big truck, rounding the corner.  The wreck was still in the road at the lunch hour today!