Not Your Average Weekend Drive
on Mark Stephens (Zambia), 31/Jan/2011 08:39, 34 days ago
Flexibility and spontaneity are important attributes for a productive and successful experience here. A couple of weekends back, I returned from a morning walk and was about to grab a bite to eat when I learned from housemate Ity that Acting Deputy Council Secretary Jovax Ngoma was going on a field inspection tour and had invited us along. The catch was I didn’t know where or how far we were going, or when we would be back, and the vehicle was leaving in about 15 minutes.Pedestrian bridge almost completedPart of the route (almost entirely on unpaved roads) covered similar ground from my first field excursion with Works Director Betram Daka back in October, shortly after arriving in Petauke. This was of interest in viewing the contrast between the hot, dry season during the initial journey and the current rainy season, as well as having greater local knowledge. We also went to areas that were new, and approached the border with Mozambique.Example of storm damage I had grabbed my camera and served as the photographer to help document the condition of sites visited. Several areas had suffered damage from storms, and some road segments were nearly impassable. After negotiating an especially difficult stretch, we encountered high river levels near the end of the intended loop route, so had to turn around and make our way back via a longer course. Heavy thunderstorms were evident in the surrounding area throughout much of our journey, but just when we thought we were safely past the most challenging stretches, the rains came– in buckets. As darkness approached, the rain subsided, and we returned home feeling rather beat up from the bumpy ride, but exhilarated from the experience.