“Chirundu” is a Shona word that means “people following each other in a line.”
This notoriously hot region contains two of the five bridges that cross the Zambezi between Zim and Zambia. Aside from being a through-way for supply trucks between the two
countries, the region is famous for its wild-wildlife and its tiger
fish-fishing.
Here we prepare for our road trip. Safe water and ten days worth of food jammed in the back, we are ready!
Heading into Chirundu means descending the high elevations of our
capital city. Coming down “The Escarpment” is dangerous, as this road
is notorious for its treachery. The views, though, are spectacular,
and the climate is noticeably different at the bottom than at the top. We watched a tanker pass an "abnormal load" vehicle at high speeds directly in front of us on The Escarpment and were reminded that there are truly some terrible professional drivers in this country.
At the bottom of The Escarpment is a tsetse fly check-point. All
vehicles leaving the Chirundu area are to go through a check to ensure
the tsetse fly larvae are not carried out on cargo or passengers. (When we left, our
checkpoint was amusing. We pulled up, rolled down our window, and the
checker asked, "Any tsetse flies in there?" We said, "umm, no?" and then he waved us on. Thorough.)
Baobab trees line the road, spectacular giant trees that are nothing if not quintessential Africa.
Unlike our last road trip, this road has little livestock for which to watch. It does, though, have a great number of baboons and other wildlife.
