RETURN HOME

We arrived back in Ndola on 23^rd August, so just over a month ago now. Our new home is at Cherry Farm, Misundu, Ndola and we could now move in. The cottage we have is one of three houses on this old established farm in the countryside just outside Ndola and away from the industrial areas. The farm used to be a working farm with cattle, pigs and sheep along with large areas growing crops. At one point it even had large fish tanks but all this seems to have stopped some years back. All that seems to be grown these days is a huge vegetable garden that is tended to by quite a few of the staff employed here.

Our Large lounge, Kitchen area

Looking back across the lounge

Looking across the garden

The new freshly dug veggie plot with a herb garden

The back of the house

Our cottage is in a very large garden next to the main house. We have 2 large bedrooms and a huge  combined kitchen, dining and living room with a large open fire for those cool African evenings that happen around June each year. The reason why Jan liked the place so much was the 2 very large bathrooms with big baths, and walk in showers. For me it was the grounds outside, a large garden with lots of very big trees. The first few days were sorting the place to make it our own. This involved hanging pictures and knick-knacks, buying bits we needed and making it ours including getting internet fitted and buying a TV, not so much for the TV service as we have not yet signed up for that but for watching films. The back has a large covered veranda so we can still eat outside during the rains that will start around end of October and carry on until around March/April.

Our Landlady, “Kaz” lives in the main house and we have another couple that live in the “castle”. This is the other house on the farm and has 2 small towers each end so it got that nickname. Also there are quite a few local people who live and work on the farm

Some of the children of the staff on the farm

Our two "pets" well ok Guard dogs out for a walk with us

Sheep on the neighbours land

Burning the dried grass and bush on the adjacent land

The gardens and area around the farm are really good for birdlife plus we have had sightings a few mammals including a nocturnal Genet. This is a spotted “cat” like creature but it is not a member of the cat family. We know we have 2 in the garden but can not find them in the day as they hide in the dense foliage of some of the large trees. We also have at least 2 types of owl that we have seen and regularly hear.

African Wood Owl in the garden

African Barred Owlet outside our bedroom window

Lilac Breasted Roller flying over

As many of you know for some strange reason I really like snakes and we are not disappointed here. There are supposed to be many around including some of the nasty big boys such as Puff Adders, Black Mambas and Cobra but these tend to stay out in the bush area. The staff and neighbours all know that I want to see them so it was good to get a call to say that they had a large snake in a crate. I went and found it was a very large Olive Grass snake, totally harmless (OK not venomous but can still give a bite). After getting so photos of this 1.5 metre snake we took  it to the bush and released it. We have also had brought to us by the locals a “dangerous Black Mamba” but at 300mm long it turned out to be a feisty little common house snake, again harmless but wanted to bite. (Nearly all snakes are “Black Mambas” according  to the local people and nearly all are killed so getting them to bring them to me is one step better as all are released) The hard thing is finding snakes as both Jan and I go for walks on the tracks in the bush and have been told about a very large Python in one of the old fish tanks and a spitting Cobra that uses a certain termite mound as its home we have yet to find anything out there.

The "Black Mamba" that was brought to us but is in fact a harmless House snake

The House Snake

300mm long house snake

Olive Grass Snake would like to bite me

The Olive Grass Snake

Other than the work we have now started back into and more about that next time, our social life here is making friends with many of the other “ex-Pats” from South Africa, Europe, and the Americas. Most weekends there seems to be some “Party” or other going on that we get invited to or we have invited people down here for the inevitable Braai and a beer/wine or two. Jan has been to the monthly book club and there is even a quiz night to go to on behalf of the SPCA (The local equivalent of the PDSA back in UK)

The Zambian economy is going through serious problems at the moment, partly due to the fall in copper prices and the crash in the Chinese economy. China has a lot to do with the mining in this area so is not buying the copper and shutting down mines. Also Zambia is having serious problems with the power supply. They call it “loadshedding” here but that means that we don’t have electricity of part of every day. This came in just after we arrived but is was losing a couple of hours 2 or 3 days a week. Now we do not have electricity for 9 hours each day. It is supposed to be on a published rota but that keeps changing. At the moment we do not have power from 5am until 1pm 5 days a week and the other two is is from 1pm until 9pm that the power goes of. ZESCO, the Zambian electric company blame it on lack of rain last year and it is agreed that the rains were late last year and not as much fell in the rainy season so the reservoirs did not fill up but it doesn’t answer the fact that the biggest lake and dam at Lake Kariba has a great big crack in it and if it was full it would collapse. (Look up the problems at Kariba Dam)

Added to the electric problems we also often have problems getting gas as it is supplied in bottles here. This is just a “normal African” thing as supplies of many things often run out.

The currency here is the Kwatcha and when we arrived it was £1.00 = 10 Kwatcha, now we get 15 Kwatcha to £1.00 so it is fine for us keeping our money in the UK as we have had the equivalent of a 50% pay rise but things are going up especially imported items. Saying that some things are incredibly cheap and fantastic quality. The meat, especially beef is very good here and fillet steak is about 70 Kwatcha per Kilo, the equivalent of about £2.00 per pound so a whole fillet steak for the Braai is around £5.00. Gordons Gin costs now about 80 Kwatcha for a bottle. When we arrive it was 60 Kwatcha. In real terms for us a price decrease although it has gone up in price. When we arrived at 10 Kw to £1 it would be £6.00 now at 15Kw and the price has gone up 30% the cost to us is down to £5.30. Fuel has not gone up yet although rumours abound about a huge hike in prices. 1 litre of diesel is 8.57 Kw which equals about 57p.

The weather here is now getting very hot and everywhere is very dry and dusty but lots of the trees are in full bloom right now. The Jacaranda trees are lilac and the bougainvillea are a mass of different  colours. We have been told that when the rains arrive everything just suddenly starts shooting out overnight and it will be transformed from a dusty brown to green instantly.

Jacaranda Trees

Jacaranda Trees line many of the roads here