LOST IN LUSAKA After eight days stranded in South Luangwa Park we eventually managed to get out of the flooded area. We were tired, wet and behind schedule but at least back on Terra Firma. John and Rich felt there was only one thing to do when we finally arrived in Chipata...hit the bar! The evening entailed many beers, south African red wine, Jonny Walker Red Label, numerous brandy and coke's (bought by some well meaning Afrikaners), finished off with springboks (mint liqueurs with Amarullla). Suffice to say their hangovers the following day were epic! Also epic was our long drive west to reach the Zambian capital, Lusaka. We said our goodbyes to Cathy and John who had been great travelling companions over the past couple of weeks, and drove for 10 hours to reach the city. The capital has amazing infrastructure, huge shopping malls and all the comforts you could need. Due to debt relief and the high price of copper (Zambia is largest exporter of copper in the world) the Zambian economy is now the strongest it has been for years. In response the government has increased the value of the Zambian currency, the Kwacha, against the dollar. Overnight the prices in the country doubled and the price of fuel rose to almost $2 a litre. This has means that Zambia is now an expensive place to travel. We rested and dried off in the peaceful surroundings of Pioneer Camp where Rich relaxed by watching the final test of the South African vs. Australia cricket match. The match turned out to be an extraordinary feat with South Africa chasing the highest run rate in one day cricket and winning against insurmountable odds by one run and one wicket. The total amount of runs scored that day was over 900, and the game included the highest amount of fours and sixes in one day cricket. We were pleased to be staying somewhere with a TV! It was going to be another long drive to Livingstone, home of Victoria Falls...although we never actually go there. This was due to several 'traffic incidences'...or in other words, more chances for the police to ask for bribes. The first was a natural 'tourist's mistake' when Rich drove around a roundabout twice trying to find the turning. We were swiftly pulled over by a policeman on a motorbike who informed us that this was an arrestable offence in Zambia. We couldn't believe this and ended up following him to the main police department where Rich spent an hour or so pleading for him a) not to arrest him (!) and b) not to fine us. At the point where the policeman said "if you give me half the fine I shall put it in my pocket and not arrest you" we knew we were on the moral high ground. After making a fuss we were quickly let off and ushered out of the compound. That will teach us not to get lost in Lusaka again! Only a few kilometres out of the city we were pulled over for speeding (oops!) and again Rich managed to talk his way out of it once bribes were mentioned. So after these incidents, and being stopped at several roadblocks to show our insurance, we couldn't make it to Livingstone. Instead we took a detour to the Zimbabwean border at Lake Kariba. We had wanted to visit the northern part of Zim but unfortunately the lack of availability of fuel and Mugabe's new visa requirement of $80 for each Brit to enter the country put us off. Instead we stayed on the Zambian side of Lake Kariba, watching the sun set over the vast artificial lake and witnessing an enormous thunderstorm over Zimbabwe unfold before us with a fantastic fork lightning. One day in the future we would love to visit to see what a beautiful country it is supposed to be. It was another long day's drive across the western part of Zambia to Livingtone, home to one of the seven natural wonders of the world...Victoria Falls.