Ulendo Patali

Four times a year we load up the family and head to the capital city for a resupply trip.  This always includes grocery shopping, shopping for other items needed around the house that we can't get in Lundazi, and a trip to the mechanic for an oil change and preventative maintenance.  It also may include medical appointments, trips to the immigration office, trips to the embassy and catching the latest movie!  We typically have four days to get everything done and then head back to Lundazi.

Because the trip is 735 KM (456 miles), which takes between 10 - 12 hours, we try to get an early start on the day.  I typically get up at 4:30 a.m. to finish loading the car and trailer and grab a shower before waking the kids up.  Our goal is to be on the road by 6 a.m., but it is usually more like 6:45 before we say our prayers and start our journey.  (Ulendo patali is how you say long journey in Chitumbuka)

So what does our journey look like?  Well it depends on the time of the year.  There are definitely beautiful parts to our drive.  These are some mountains heading back to Lundazi.  This will all be vey green once the rains come!  (Click on pictures to enlarge)

About mid-way through our journey you see many of these huge Baobab trees.  

Depending on the time of year you will find different produce in season and being hauled into the capital city.  This truck is full of mangoes.

You will also see ladies and children selling the produce on the roadside.  Probably our favorite are the small sweet bananas you can get here; 5 for .10.  Also, mangoes, when in season, are about .20 each.

The ladies can even get a bit competitive and aggressive when selling.  Many times if you just stop they rush to your windows to try and make the sale!

Because livestock roams freely here you have to be careful along the way.  Cows, pigs, chickens and goats are all very common on the road… as are potholes.  

And a few places along our route you are likely to see Baboons.  

There are really no "official" places to stop for the restroom, so that is pretty much anywhere you can find without huts around.  There is a place about 3 hours from Lusaka that you can do some shopping or find a cold water or Pepsi!  

The road is currently under construction.  (Actually, some portion of this journey has been under construction for the past 2 years we have lived here.)  This can have a large impact on your driving time.  This is the Great East Road, one of the main roads in Zambia.  Thankfully, they are widening it a bit, but that means right now that it is a bit narrow…. (yes, this is supposed to be two lanes)

Often they create "diversions" to drive on for the portion of the road they are fixing.  In total there are currently about 35 miles of diversion on this drive.  It slows things down a bit and means that things on the roof rack can get a little dusty...

Now that we are in the rainy season it also means that things can get a little tricky.  This past Sunday we had to wait nearly an hour for this water to recede off the roadway so we could pass. 

If you look closely in the background of this picture you can see where a bus tried to push through, but was pushed off the road by the strong current.  It was a scary moment, but also a sweet one as Karissa immediately began to pray aloud for the people on the bus.  Thankfully, nobody was hurt.  They were however still stuck there when we were finally able to make our way across.  

This trip ended up taking us right at 11 hours, which is averaging about 42 MPH.  But we arrived safely with no difficulties which is always our prayer as we begin our journey.  

When we are in Lusaka the kids get to hang out with their MK cousins while mom and dad get to go on a date. 

Mom and Dad before their date: