Zambia World Wide

It was about this time that we decided to get a boat for fishing and reaching the places we couldn’t reach by land and of course also for pleasure. Boats were hard to find, most people with boats were reluctant to sell them. One day I was talking to Bruce who was my foreman at the time, he said that he had a small plywood boat in his garden. We went to see the boat and found it was in very poor condition but were sure we could fix it. It would take time, we got it home and started working on it. First we stripped off the rotten plywood and cleaned the main frame. It was apparent we would have to remove sections of the main frame, then shape and fit new timbers. This done we then replaced the plywood and sanded it down after which we sealed the new timber, rubbed it down and painted the boat. We now had a boat but no engine or trailer. We started to look around for an engine, we realised we wouldn’t find a trailer so decided to make our own. Although I had some knowledge of welding, I had never taken on a job as large as this. The wheels and stub axles we got from a car breakers yard. The stub axles we welded to a length of 3 inch water pipe. The frame I laid out on the garage floor and welded then made and fitted the spring hangers. Finally we fitted the springs and axle plus shock absorbers. We then fitted the wheels and tow hitch. We then painted the trailer and made a board for the lights which were then fitted and wired. In Zambia before a trailer is allowed on the road it has to be approved be an MOT inspector, even though it does not require road tax. We drove to the MOT station and had the inspection carried out and a registration book was issued. While this was happening we found an engine, the engine was a 4hp Anzarni, it was a bit old but would serve our needs. Now we finally have the unit ready we need somewhere to try the boat out. After some thought we decided to go out to the 17 mile dambo, where we could try the boat and at the same time have a braai with some of our friends. We intended going there on Sunday so Saturday afternoon we checked the unit over as we wanted no problems on the Sunday.

Early on Sunday morning with much excitement and anticipation we hitched the trailer up and drove round to our friends house, their names were Allan and Barbara, they also had a son Mark. Gary and Mark were of a similar age and often played together. We all then drove out to the dambo, part of our route we drove on tar and then went on a dirt road so we could see how the trailer would behave in the bush. When we arrived at the dambo and reversed down the slipway, there were so many hands around the boat, launching was easy. We had one or two teething problems none of which would spoil our day out. The boat was only large enough to carry two adults and two children, so we had to take it in turns to explore the lake. It was a great day out and we all had a lot of fun. About a week later we were at the company club talking to a couple that we knew. During the conversation we mentioned that we now had a small boat and were looking for places to go. They said that they were members of a fishing club at Mindola Dam. The dam was about a twenty minute drive from Kitwe off the road to Kalalushu, they said it was a good place to spend the day, there was a braai area and a bar plus a family room. There was also a play area for the children, they suggested we meet them there the following Sunday, spend the day at the club to see if we liked it or not. We arrived at the club on the following Sunday morning, launched the boat and then parked the car and trailer. We went fishing on the dam taking Gary with us, Craig came also but at 3 months old I think he probably enjoyed being in the boat but knew little else about the day. At lunchtime we cooked a braai and sat at the water’s edge while eating, it was a nice relaxing day out. In the late afternoon we put the boat on the trailer, after which we sat on the veranda and watched the sun go down. I don’t think any of us will ever tire of watching an African sunset, I don’t think any of us have ever seen a more beautiful sight. The sunset lasts for about 20 minutes but the colours as they change from yellow through the deepening shades of orange to darkness is awesome.