| Too Close for Comfort |
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| Written by Mike Craigen |
| Tuesday, 17 March 2009 09:04 |
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Steve Close, Sean Cornelius and I set off straight after one of my disco's (Cut Above!!) at Diggers RFC for a 3 day fishing trip to Mita Hills dam...Mkushi side...in '77..and after the 2 hours or so , hung a left just after Kapiri and got to our campsite in time for dawn fishing. We had brought the normal rods, and a couple of spear guns(looked like rifles) for a bit of spear fishing. Day 1: Nice and sunny, fish biting and caught a good few, to supplement the 'bottled chicken' (food and drink...called Mosi), on the old plough disc back at camp. Nobody else anywhere close to spoil the night sounds of the early rainy season.Slept well. Day 2: Another nice sunny day and spear fishing right down near the wall.......chill out, a few beers, good spearing...and decided to stay out right through the heat of the day..as the spear fishing was going well. Hell we were getting burnt, so all applied two stroke oil to faces and bodies, and had another few chibulies...in the heat of the midday sun. ...all is quiet, and we are really beginning to enjoy it....Then ALL HELL breaks loose...and with a massive roar....4 Rhodesian Airforce jets come skimming across the water...and so low thay almost took the rods out of our hands.....They proceeded to do a great loop over the dam, and then headed at tree level for a spot about a mile back from the Mkushi side of the dam and proceeded to straff and bomb a target just out of sight. There was return fire , anti aircraft gunns and AK47 fired all at once as the jets came in a second time. Us 3 fishermen looked at each other, covered in 'camouflage' with spear guns resembling rifles...and without much conversation realised very quickly, we were the wrong people, at the wrong place, at the wrong time...and that these jets had hit a ZANU PF training camp.(confirmed the next day in The Times Of Zambia)....Needless to say we had the boat out and were through Kapiri and heading towards the Copperbelt in quick time..... a whole new sport rallying with a boat behind!!! Shame really...the fishing was good. |
