Lower mango road wanderings in Liuwa Plain National Park, Zambia

We set off early, we knew it was going to be a serious trek if we wanted to make it from Kalabo to Livingstone. Half an hour outside Kalabo our fuel light lit up. Apparently we were still operating on ‘Liuwa Time’ and were simply too relaxed to remember to put the diesel in the car from the jerry cans. Alas, this did not seem like it would be a big problem as we had purchased a brand new no-more-sucking-pipe for this very purpose. We had left Pretoria amidst quite a frenzy of activity, there hadn’t been time to watch the instructional dvd and we couldn’t work it. We shook, we sucked and we blew it but nothing worked. We realised we were wasting precious time and needed to make a plan quickly and hit the road. As we did not have a backup funnel (something that will forever be on the packing list) and we had cleaned the vehicle out of all empty water bottles, we resorted to emptying our only five litre water bottle to make a funnel. This was somewhat of a irrational decision although we had thought it was a few hours to the next town. It was understandable under the circumstances!

So, with 80 litres of diesel in the tank we were back on our way, listening to some cool tunes and loving the freedom of being on a new and unknown road. The ultimate road trip! We found out later that evening that the road we were on is called the ‘lower mango road’. A local guide chuckled to himself when he heard we had driven down from Liuwa on it . It was definitely the road less travelled and we loved it.

The lower mango road hugs the Barotseland floodplains and is one of the most beautiful roads I’ve driven on. It’s also probably the most technically difficult. The road gets its name from the hundreds of mango trees that line it, all with low hanging branches that are quite capable of removing ammo box or jerry cans from your roof rack. Along the road you pass through village after village where the novelty of seeing a vehicle is high and where there are small children, crazy charging dogs, cattle, goats and donkey carts to dodge all while trying to keep your momentum up in order not to get stuck in the extremely thick sand. Definitely a challenge!

Sandy road conditions

I have always heard about the Barotseland being spoken about with reverence by ‘serious’ travellers and it was a privilege to get to drive both the east and west side on this trip. The area is beautiful and seeing it is more than worth the tough drive.

At one point, when we noticed the incremental dent we were making in terms of distance, we made an attempt to head inland as the GPS showed what seemed to be a more direct road to the west. The road we chose to make this route switch ended up becoming a cattle path and we drove over a koppie into the back of a village, much to the surprise and amazement of the inhabitants. We did get a great view of the floodplains from the top of the rise though.

One problem that was becoming more and more apparent was that we were getting a little thirsty. By around 14h00 (around eight hours into the journey) it looked like we were getting close to the pontoon crossing over the Zambezi (Kalangola ferry). Alas, when we got to the last obstacle, a crossing over a small tributary the water was just too high to get through. At this stage the lack of water and now possibly fuel (after driving for seven hours mostly in low range second gear and with the next place to fill up being Livingstone) seemed all too apparent. After some consultation with the locals, we headed downstream as they indicated that it was possible to cross there. We quite quickly came to a muddy section that looked just too risky being one vehicle only. We explored a bit to see if there was another way around but it was just to remote and with black cotton soil all around, the risk of getting properly stuck was just too high.

End of the road

Back to the village we went. By now it was around 15h00 and we were a little nervous, very thirsty and quite hungry. We were directed to the home of the headmaster of the school and he told us that we should drive upstream for about 30 minutes where there was a bridge where we could cross. We followed his instructions and as an added precaution, picked up a fisherman who was heading in that direction. Between the fisherman and the headmaster’s directions, we found the bridge, or what was left of it! It was possible to cross through a fairly shallow stretch of water upstream of the bridge but the bridge itself was completely washed away in sections. It must have been an impressive mass of water that did that kind of damage.

Once over the river, we headed back towards that Kalangola ferry and finally arrived there at around 17h00, after a journey of around 11 hours instead of the expected four. We finally got some cold drinks that quenched some fairly severe dehydration.

We drove to Sioma Lodge (about 50 km before Kabula). Our original plan was to get to Livingstone (for the record, this is not possible!) alternatively back to Kabula Lodge but the road was very wet and muddy, it was raining and we were all feeling tired after such an adrenaline filled day. Instead, we stopped at Sioma Lodge and as an added bonus, booked into the permanent tents which were definitely a worthwhile luxury. The staff were great and allowed us to cook our supper in their kitchen.

This was a long, nerve wracking, beautiful day that will generate many stories and will be remembered always. It would have been a disaster in most other company but with Christie and Jon it was pure intoxicating adventure!

P.S. The concept of always carrying at least 25 litres of water is a good one to stick to! Always!