Zambezi Mini Break

After an absence of about 4 months I have just checked back in for the first time - tentatively wondering if I still even have a blog space here, after such a terribly long time away! It's truly impossible to try and describe the past 4 months so they remain unlogged, unblogged and unjournaled for now...

Seasonally speaking, I have missed the whole of winter, and we are now well into Summer! Although I feel that my life could make up a blogpost per day at the moment, last weekend's boating getaway with two friends seemed a good way to start over here...

Living in our special multi-border region does have benefits, one of which is the ability, after a minimum of Immigration formalities, to vanish into into the secluded and meandering Kasai channel, leaving the dusty town way behind us..

 

Eventually, exiting the sheltered reed fringed channels, we emerge into the fabulous Zambezi River which opens up in front of us in just the way that a mighty African river should...

Way downstream lies the Victoria Falls, but we soon turn a corner instead and enter a magical diversion - this sandbank shows the way to our destination..

... an island lodge- territorially in Zambia, just about an hour and a whole world away from home.  On arrival, this wooden walkway leads us through the island...

 ... all the way to the welcoming and beautiful main Lodge area. 

On arrival, we decided to drop off our luggage, then we jumped back into our boat for a day of exploration on the river.  It is so peaceful in these parts, well away from the buzzing tourist town that we call home..

One of our favourite locations, a perfectly white, squeaky beach with the clearest water ... perfect for a lunch spot.

A boat with a deck always makes a perfect mobile picnic table, if it is too windy to set up base on your chosen beach!

Eventually we succumbed to the lure of an afternoon siesta back at the Lodge, by which time I felt that I had been on holiday for a couple of weeks already! Here I am relaxing on the deck of our private tent... river in the background..

If you look carefully you can see the tent hidden away in the trees on the river bank - what a location!

 After a wonderful outdoor dinner, the next day brought nothing more demanding than a lazy breakfast and a morning relaxing on the main deck, watching our very determined fishermen trying their luck out in the blazing sun!

All good things always must come to an end, and eventually, in the early afternoon, we reluctantly packed up the boat and turned back towards home..

Having  checked ourselves back into Botswana well before border deadline time, we were free to enjoy a perfect Sunday sunset on our side of the river, before taking the boat out of the water and really going home.

The power of a mini break can never be underestimated!! I have had a crazy week, but I have coped with it much better than expected thanks to a beautiful weekend in advance. Another interesting weekend is on the way, this time one of our work trips to a new place as yet unvisited, in the midst of the bush.. that might well be another post, if I can keep up this blogging energy!

Wishing everybody reading this a wonderful weekend, and to all my blogging friends out there, I will try to catch up with you all very soon...