Expedition Information

Summary

David Livingstone is probably best known by most people for the well-known phrase coined by Henry Stanley ‘Dr Livingstone I presume’. However his mapping of the interior of the African continent was invaluable for later travellers and his publication of some of her landmarks were arguably his greatest achievement. One of these was the mighty Victoria Falls, which he named and described in great detail including the famous phrase:-

‘Scenes so lovely must have been gazed upon by angels in their flight’

The 16th of November 2005 marked the 150th Anniversary of his first glimpse of the falls. The expedition recreated the last part of his epic trip down the Zambezi River to ‘Livingstone Island’ on the edge of Victoria Falls. The team will comprise of Sir Ranulph Fiennes, Simon Wilde, Ian Bannister, Russell Gammon, Guy Hammond and four Zambian dugout canoe paddlers.

We followed the route taken by Livingstone as faithfully as possible. This was only possible with a great deal of help from senior historians at Livingstone Museum.

Mwandi Village Night 1.

10-11-05
We sit tonight on the banks of the Zambezi, being serenaded by the Swainson’s Francolin and Fiery-necked Nightjar (and later as dusk falls the mosquitoes). A lot has happened in the last two days which we must now relate, but in many ways it is hard to capture the essence of this place. It is at once modern and ancient. Progress has touched even this remote corner of Africa, bringing with it cell phones, roads and fishermen from far flung corners of the globe in search of the legendary Tiger fish, but its pulse remains the same.

Sir Ranulph, Lady Louise and Richard Grant arrived on schedule and the rest of the team departed Siankaba just ahead of a looming thunderstorm for Mwande. We set up camp there and Simon arrived with the other team members with the same storm in tow! Within minutes of their arrival, we were holed up in the ablution block of the campsite: the only shelter large enough for us all, while the storm raged about us.

Day 1
11-11-05
Mwandi - Fly Camp 1 (Paddle 45km)
Day 1 Pictures
We set out with a leaden sky above us and it is interesting to note that Livingstone recorded, 150 years ago, that the rains had broken one day earlier! The team managed to cover a mammoth 45km the first day thanks in no small part to the paddlers, Lemmy, Victor and Saad and our first night camp was on a pristine sand bank adjacent to the Caprivi floodplain. Aching muscles and sunburn were the order of the day. We had had a brief taste of what Livingstone had endured for four years and had a new respect for what a tough, driven individual he must have been.

Day 2
12-11-05
Fly Cap 1 - Mambova (25km paddle)
Day 2 Pictures
Day two mercifully started with a magnificent sunrise which promised a clear sunny day and a shorter paddle than the previous day. The birdlife on this stretch of the river had been excellent and during a tea break overlooking the river, we spotted our first crocodile. The river in these parts is like a life-giving artery threading through an otherwise barren landscape and as the human population has risen this has taken its toll on the wildlife. This is one respect in which our journey, on this section, will differ from Livingstone’s.

Tomorrow will see us enter a section where the wildlife is protected on the Zimbabwean side so we will begin to see more game but will have to be on the lookout for hippos. We will have a 25km paddle, followed by a 10km walk as Livingstone opted to walk around the Katambora Rapids and only got back into the river at Chundu, so our next day will be all walking. At our camp tomorrow, opposite Bovu Island we will collect another supply so we will then be able to send out another update of our adventure. But for now, the mosquitoes are singing, dinner is served and our beds are calling.

Day 3
13-11-05
Mambova - Bovu (25km paddle, 10km walk)
Day 3 Pictures
The third day dawned with clear skies but not without its challenges - our back up boat had not arrived! The section of river we had to cover today has several shallow rapids so we had organized a small inflatable boat which we would be able to portage if necessary. As we knocked down camp Simon went to try and find the crew thinking that perhaps they had not been able to find the camp but returned empty handed. After a hasty conference we decided to proceed without a backup boat down to Kazangula while Simon went to find out what was going on. This was not a decision taken lightly- the reason we wanted a support vessel on this section was that we had been warned that the Hippo’s in this area were particularly belligerent....

The dugout canoes we are using are fairly unstable craft at the best of times and their buoyancy is not as high as more modern craft. The standard procedure in case of a hippo attack is to get the people out of the water as quickly as possible but if you try and pull people out of the water into a dugout you run the risk of a capsize and then you have a real mess with six people in the water and only one overloaded craft to shepard them to safety.

Fortunately the journey down to Kazangula went off without mishap and our safety boat was there to meet us. The rest of the morning’s paddle was uneventful and the river began to narrow just above our takeout point at the Katambora Rapids. In order to continue in Livingstone’s footsteps, we pulled out the canoes here and set off downstream walking along the riverbank. Everyone was extremely grateful to be on their feet after two days of canoeing but aching arms soon gave way to aching feet as the temperatures soared into the 40’s. We reached our camp opposite Bovu Island at 17:00 and collapsed into our chairs which had come out of the canoes only to find that all the tender spots from the two days canoeing were still there!! We have been very lucky with the weather so far and again, although it threatened, it held off long enough for us to cook dinner and retire to our beds. Tomorrow we continue on foot for another day down to Chundu from where we will post another update so you can keep track of our movements. Must go now as there is more walking ahead!

Day 4
14-11-05
Bovu - Chundukwa (12 km walk - 28 km paddle)
Day 4 Pictures
Today we awoke to the sound of the Emerald-spotted Wood-dove and, after our traditional smoky cup of tea brewed over the fire, set off for the first section of today’s walk. The morning was crisp and clear and as we walked along the tapestry of village life unfolded around us. Children in their neat school uniforms accompanying us taking the opportunity to practice their English, older folk sat in the sun warming their bones and the village ladies gossiped as they went about their morning chores. Life here has not changed significantly since Livingstone’s time and it is daunting to think of how fast the world outside is changing and what that means for the people living alongside this river. For all that, their life is uncomplicated and they are happy in this place.

After a brief stop at Siankaba for a re-supply, we carried on downstream, heading for Chundu Island. This section is opposite the Zambezi National Park in Zimbabwe and as we walked we began to see more evidence of elephant which cross the river frequently at this time of year. The vegetation is sparse and the elephants are forced to increase their home range to find enough to eat, so we were increasingly on the lookout for these pachyderm border-jumpers. We finally arrived at Chundukwa and found a huge bull elephant right outside the camp and as we settled in another herd of 50 came down to drink in front of camp. We spend tonight here and then tomorrow we have another short walk followed by a canoe trip down to Kilai Island for our last night. We will post another update tomorrow evening - see you then…

Day 5
15-11-05
Chundukwa - Kilai (30km paddle)
Day 5 Pictures

“Today’s journey was our last full day of travel as tomorrow we will be on Livingstone Island by lunchtime. The team has had a great time on this trip and today was an easy day filled with camaraderie and a good deal of good-natured ribbing. It was not, however a day without some excitement as Richard, our official “hippometer” counted over 90 hippos on today’s paddle. The river is braided around basalt islands and in these narrow channels we shared the pools below the rapids with pods of basking hippos. Shooting rapids in dugout canoes concentrates the mind but doing so with hippos below and crocs all around is interesting to say the least! This is the section of the river about which Livingstone wrote “scenes so lovely must have been gazed upon by angels in their flight” and the scenery is quite stunning between here and the falls.

Tonight we camp on Kilai Island and tomorrow we will enter the canoes for the last paddle down to Livingstone Island on the lip of the waterfall. Our camp tonight we share with the grave of Shief Sekoti. The memory of Livingstone and all this beside the mighty Zambezi under a full moon - life just doesn’t get any better! We will post another update tomorrow… wish us luck...”

Day 6
16-11-05
Kilai - Livingstone Island (18 km paddle)
Day 6 Pictures

Our final day began with clear sunny skies and ideal conditions for our last paddle. Setting off from Kilai it was immediately apparent we were approaching the Falls as we started seeing aircraft overhead, a bit of a shock after five days in the bush. Returning to civilization after being in a remote area is always a mixed blessing with more comfort comes more distraction and after a time with just the elements and you it requires a noticeable adjustment. As we paddled down stream we had to dodge a few more pods of hippo before we entered the final stage just above the Falls. At about 11:00 we first spotted the plume of spray that hovers above the Falls and gives rise to their local name Mosi- O- Tunya, “The Smoke that Thunders” and we began working our way down the maze of channels. A miscalculation here would have spelled disaster as the river flows strongly just before plunging over the Falls so we had to take our time to ensure sure we emerged from the maze at the correct point. The last kilometre down to the Island we could see the greeting party of sponsors and officials and we finally landed at 12:30 in the afternoon. After some light refreshments it was off to Devils Pool on the very lip of the Falls for a swim to cool off where we were joined by the British High Commissioner. After lunch we gathered around the Plaque for Guy to play ‘Amazing Grace’ on the bagpipes before departing the Island at 15:00. We finished the day with a cruise down the river on the African Queen and cocktail party but there was a definite sense from the Expedition members that it had been far easier to understand Livingstone camped out under the stars than here under the bright lights with all the pomp and ceremony. Perhaps we finally understand why this amazing man had spent 26 of the last 30 years of his life living and travelling in remote areas of Africa where there are fewer distractions and life moves to a more simple rhythm. We have all said our goodbyes and tomorrow will be going our separate ways but we will be posting more photos and the official expedition report within the next few weeks so keep checking for new updates.