THE GREAT LUANGWA FLOOD The following day we were ready to leave the camp. It had been raining for a full three days turning what had been a beautiful campsite on our arrival into a water-logged quagmire. The river had risen a staggering two metres during our four day stay and, rather worryingly, was still rising. The water was coming from the rainfall in Malawi - we had thought it was wet when we were there but hadn't realised they had experienced their wettest wet season in 15 years. We packed up our drenched and muddy kit and were pleased to head out of the park. Negotiating large puddles and mud pits is great fun in a 4 wheel drive however, what is not so much fun is checking the depth of the water first. Wading up to your thighs in muddy water with all sorts of things floating past (including a baby crocodile - we just hoped its parents weren't around...) is actually rather unpleasant. We had only gone a few kilometres of the 200km road to Chipata (the nearest town) when the roads completely disappeared and looked more like rivers. The boys waded ahead where the water rose to their waists. We planted sticks in the ground at the side of the water to measure what it was doing and after waiting near a flooded village for over an hour it was clear the water was rising, and fast. The village children, whose mud huts were in immediate danger of being washed away, had great fun splashing around the cars, and even found a great game in washing them! Despite Biggles being equipped for driving through water, with a raised exhaust snorkel and extended breather pipe, we knew that there are certain dangers of long term wading - causing problems with the fan and engine block. Fighting the adventurous instinct in us all, John urged us to turn back. What we thought was a disappointing choice turned out to be the best decision...when we got back to the camp we heard via radio that three rivers near to Chipata had burst their banks and converged for the first time since 1972. The road we were attempting had been completely washed away only a few kilometres further on and the news was that no vehicles could pass between the park and Chipata until the water subsides and work has been done to the bridges. On the way back to the camp we came across one of the strangest sites we have seen on our trip across the continent...a bright red beach buggy driven by a one-armed American film maker and a Japanese girl clutching an umbrella! The couple had driven from Stockholm to Cape Town in the 2 wheel drive buggy with a VW campervan engine...They had just managed to cross the last bridge into the park before it collapsed and were now stranded between effectively two flowing rivers. If we thought we were stuck then they were definitely up a certain creek without a paddle. We guided them back to the camp through a slightly shallower shortcut and we all managed to get back to Wildlife Camp in one, very sodden piece. One bit of foresight was that we managed to buy the remaining two crates of beer from the Bottle Store in the village, at twice the normal price - what a great decision!