I arrived in the Zambian capital of Lusaka last week after a 6 hour journey on the Great East Road. We left Chipata in the East of Zambia to head West towards the capital and it was a great journey despite 3 near death experiences after Malambo (the driver) managed to swerve the vehicle to avoid various animals along the way, including a baboon, an Ox and a goat. Out of all the animals that we nearly killed, my heart nearly stopped at the sight of the goat, who looked straight up towards me through the windscreen and bleated (probably something along the lines of "please don't hit me, I'm not ready to go yet!").
Despite the various animal hazards along the way, the landscape was beautiful. You literally have to be here to appreciate the beauty and vastness of the Eastern Province of Zambia. Mountains, banana trees, fields rich with Maize, bright yellow sunflowers and not to mention the hustle and bustle of the locals going about their everyday lives on various interesting methods of transport! Looking along the roadside through the window of the vehicle, I really appreciate the strength of the women carrying various items strapped to their bodies (babies, charcoal and not to mention the weight of bags of rice, maize and mangoes on their heads). In fact, travelling across the bright African landscape at daybreak has made me appreciate this completely differnt world.
When we arrived in Lusaka to bustling roads, billboards and thousands of people all dressed with a purpose, I was shocked to be back in a bustling city once again. Having spent 4 months in the rural Eastern Province, I wondered how on earth I was going to cope with crossing the busy wide roads - at least there aren't any Oxen, goats or baboons to avoid though whilst I'm here!
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