Leopard Hill Epic

We left Conservation Lower Zambezi (CLZ) on a very hot morning, cycling back on the same road we came from three days earlier. We planned to cross the mountains towards Lusaka on a pass called Leopard’s Hill and needed to stock up on food and fresh vegetables. But we did not want to carry the heavy weight all the way. The locals assured us that we will be able to buy veggies closer to the turn-off to Leopards Hill. But when we reached the turn-off, we were unable to find food – apart from freshly-grounded maize meal which one lady kindly gave us. We passed the turn-off and cycled to the beautiful Kanyemba lodge where we stopped three days before on our way to CLZ. This time, Finola welcomed us back at the lodge with ice cold coke. We asked to buy onions from the lodge. Instead, Fin gave us a whole bag full of fresh vegetables. The heat of the day was over when we left.

We decided to cycle to the nearby campsite and spend the night there instead of taking on the mountains in the extreme heat. Only when Hendrik filled in the register at the gate of camp Kiambi and saw the date, we realised that it was our wedding anniversary. So we spent the afternoon enjoying a cold swim and later sipping Zambian filter coffee overlooking the Great Zambesi from a vantage point.

The next morning we started cycling at 06:00. The first few kilometres of the road leading up towards Leopard’s Hill were fine and we made good progress. Some people warned us that this road is a very difficult road and should rather be avoided. Others said it is do-able. On the ‘Tracks4Africa’ GPS map, this road is indicated as ‘heavy 4×4, not recommended’. At about 9:00 the morning, after 28kms, reality struck. The road was absolutely crazy! – it was almost a joke! The uphills were so bad and so steep that it took both of us to push one bike on the uphills … there were many uphills. Progress was so slow that the speedometres of the bikes did not take a distance reading. Ricky refused to cycle down the very technical downhills with a heavy loaded bicycle. The temperature must have been over 40 degrees Celsius. We are mountain bikers and used to heavy uphills. But we have never experienced hills of this calibre. Our water supplies soon ran low. We stopped in a dry river bed for Hendrik to fix the second puncture of the day. Baboons were shouting close by. Ricky figured that there should be water in the area for the baboons to be there over the hottest part of the day. She followed their calls and reached a pool of dirty, stagnant water. We decided to filter the water because we did not know how long it would be before we reach a village or borehole. It was a bit of a time-consuming process, but with the help of our Little Luxury water filters and Auqa Salveo drops, we cleaned 6 litres of water. By 16:00 the afternoon we covered a distance of 34km for the day. Much later we reached the first village and were able to get fresh water. That night we camped next to the road, exhausted but very thankful that we are alive and made it safely over the mountain pass. Although we are great fans of the ‘Tracks4Africa’ GPS maps, we think that the words ‘heavy 4×4, not recommended’, should rather be replaced with ‘NO GO, Madness – survival zone!!’

Early the following morning we were on the road again and reached Lusaka by midday. We were able to stock up on our puncture repair kit at the local bike shop, Cycle Mate. There we met a Dutch cyclist, Wout, who cycled 17 000km in Africa during the last year. Wout met Simon and Phillip (our co-adventurers on the Chobe paddle experience), in Morocco.

From Lusaka we cycled about a 100km on the great north road. We spend the night at El Paso Country Inn. For many years Jimmy, the owner of the Inn, dreamed of having his own lodge. It is wonderful that he was able to turn his dream into reality. The first few chalets are already in use. Conference facilities and backpacker accommodation will follow soon. El Paso Country Inn is clean, well priced and the food is really good. Michael, the manager and chef, is a very enthusiastic person. When Hendrik complimented him on the food, he replied: “Thank you, I am humbled”.

The next day we cycled to the town Kiri Mposhi. We briefly stopped at an internet cafe and then continued further eastwards. We were told by locals that there are many farms next to the road, and hoped to find accommodation somewhere. We cycled until after dark but did not reach a single farm. We stopped at a mobile network’s tower with a very small village right next to it. Hendrik asked permission to camp there. The people were so friendly. Ricky was worried about safety, but the one man assured us that it was very safe. He said: “Here, the people are free. You are very safe”. And indeed, we had a good night’s rest.

The following day we cycled another 100km. At midday we realized that we are running very low on food supplies. Although food stalls were a regular sight all along the road, we did not find any for the next few kilometres. After a heavy week of cycling our bodies were tired. We desperately needed good food and a rest. But we were in the middle of nowhere and food was unavailable. Our moral was a bit low and we really got worried. We prayed for food. Less than 10 km further we bought mushrooms as big as dinner plates from locals. And shortly afterwards, we cycled into a small town, named Mkushi where we bought food at the local market. We cycled to the Sweet Water Guest House, which has been closed down for a few years. However, Michael and Lara heartely welcomed us into their home. We joined them for a barbeque that evening, and spend the next day resting, doing our washing and just relaxed.

Currently the fruit stalls in Zambia are filled with tomatoes, water melons, onions, apples, pumpkins and honey. Honey is sold for about a quarter of the price payed for in South Africa. Once we tasted fresh honey still in the comb. It was delicious and had the flavour of nectarines. We did not buy any since we had half a bottle of honey left, but regretted it the next day when our honey was finished. We did not find honey again at any stall. Other delicacies for hungry cyclists are the sconce and fita’s or ‘vetkoek’, baked by local ladies and sold for less than R1 each. We have to discipline ourselves not to stop too often to buy a snack. As mountain bikers we know that it is not a good thing to drink a very sugary drink like Coke while doing sports, so that your blood sugar doesn’t spike. But Coke has become somewhat of a mental booster to us. In fact, Hendrik once remarked that as long as his blood sugar spikes, he’ll be fine!

Zambia is a cyclist friendly country. All the tarmac roads have broad shoulders to cycle on. There are many cyclists on the road, especially close to towns. Typical Zambian bikes have 28 or 29 inch tyres. When a 29 incher catches speed, it is almost impossible to keep up with them, even on the up hills. We are gratefull to announce that we have succesfully crossed the 3000km mark for our journey. Another common sight along the roads is the selling of big bags of coal. Many local people chop down trees to burn coals and then sell it for an income.

From Mike and Lara’s farm we cycled 142km’s for the day. For the first time we cycled in rain. But it was quite fresh and enjoyable. That evening we had the option of staying over at the local guest house in a small village called Mukando, or to do bush camping. One glimpse at the guest house helped us to make up our minds – bush camping. The next morning we made our way to Kasanka.

Kanyemba Lodge:

Tel +260-977-755-750, email [email protected], www.kanyemba.com

Kiambi Lodge:

Tel + 260-966-655-878, email [email protected], www.kiambi.co.za