The Kabompo Hilton

 

The last little while we have been working hard to finish off a very large survey area (about 60 x 30km block) and looking forward to a move. Our little tented camp, as nice as it has been as far as tents go, was starting to get a bit too much. The fences and partitions made from thatch grass are starting to fall down with all the rain, and in the toilets which are covered with a canvas sheet, the ants have been working tirelessly to build their nest up the walls within and in between the grass stalks. My final farewell to the camp came with the death of a snake which apparently dropped out of a tree under which our helicopter security guy was living, before slithering into his little camp area and being beaten to death with a very long, thick tree branch. The closest I think I’ve ever knowingly been to a Black Mamba. :-/

Advanced ant nest building	The straw wall is slowly being replaced
The deadly, dead baby Mamba

Finally the big survey block has been completed and we spent today (8th December) moving from the tented camp into the lap of luxury. Sort of. We ferried the loop all the way from one block to the other, landed in the wrong place (well the place we’d been told to land, however our security guard wasn’t there he was at another spot), landed at the right place, dropped the loop off and screamed down to the town of Kabompo just before running out of fuel, where we are now staying in …. wait for it…. a guest lodge! While I should be writing it thus – “guest lodge” it is apparently the nicest lodge in the area by far.

The wrong place – no security	High flyers in Kabompo

And I gotta be honest, after 6 weeks in a tent I’m happy with anything resembling a real bed and my own en suite bathroom with an actual flush toilet! I feel so spoiled!! But that’s not all…. I also chose a room with an aircon!!! I thought it might be overkill since the nights in the tent were cool enough that I slept under a sleeping bag, but I know now I made the right decision. The buildings are so hot with no breeze blowing through them that the rooms are very uncomfortable. Well mine isn’t – its beautifully cool!

Dining room	Small shop on the side of the lodge
My room – looks way cleaner in the picture than it actually is	Very run down and grotty with stains and marks all over the ceilings and walls

I am a little nervous about the electricity (yes, there’s even electricity!!) quality here, particularly when plugging my phone or computer into the mains to charge them, and en suite shower or not – that thing I’m showering in with slops on! But overall this could prove to be a welcome break from the tents for the final push to the end of the project.

My, er, bathroom	The electricity system
By 11am these are all around us	The ants here are aggressive! An ant colony attacked and killed a termite colony

As fast as we are wishing to finish up here, the weather appears to be catching us. Every morning now there is mist / low cloud at tree-top height until 7:30 or 8am which we have to allow to lift. And then by 11am it is 28°C and the thundershowers start. Today (the 11th – I have been without internet since arriving here) we finished a line right in front of a massive shower and just managed to get back to the field we refuel in before the rain came pouring down from another shower. But slowly, day by day, we are making headway, and if we can do what we did today we’ll be all done in 4-5 days.

The town of Kabompo – that’s it!	In case you don’t believe me – that’s it!
Very pretty location, on the banks of a big river	The majority of the town looks like this