WXYZ?

I know the title maybe is a bit cheezy but when you have W as your last name living in a country that starts with Z,  its just asking for a blog title, isn't it?

Who knows how many times this will be updated, but I have missed blogging.

This is a "no pressure...not trying to impress anyone...not reporting the facts... and who cares if my mom is the only one who reads it" blog.  Everyone else is a bonus.

Some of my kids enjoy writing and taking pictures also, so they may post on here as well.

As they say in Zambia,  "Feel free."  "Cheers."   "You are most welcome."

Tsika Island

We took a family trip to Tsika Island where we stayed three nights. It was just us and the 2 guys that worked there. Camping-ish but with chalets with nice comfy beds, toilet and shower and a worker to clean up after your meals for you.  It was great!

It took us about 5 hours to get there. Over many bumpy roads and crossing of the river twice. Not for the faint of heart, but worth it.
As most places that are "remote and picturesque"  are that way because they are REMOTE. Hard to get to. Not an easy road to travel on.  (Have to remind ourselves that when we are journeying!)

First we had to take a ferry across the river then drive another hour on a dirt road before we got to the place the boat came to pick us up. Had to take 2 trips. 

Arriving on the Island

 

Notice the doors?  Not much protection from the munching hippos that I heard literally right outside our door at night! 

The hot water for showers. They boiled water on the gas stove, then brought it in a wheelbarrow to our chalets and poured it into these buckets which attached to the line that brought the hot shower ( in theory!) to our bathroom. 

One of the 3 chalets. No screen on windows and the door was just a half of a reed mat. 

Boys Expedition across the island

Guide showing us the Croc Tracks

Every kid needs their picture taken with an elephant skull right?

My first sighting of them the first day

Emma was the only one who caught a fish the whole time

View from the bed

Our elephant hunt expedition with the whole family. We found them, saw them and then heard them fighting with each other all of a sudden and that was the end of our expedition. I don't know who jumped back farther, me or Sarah and Emma!

Boys watching the elephants

Hot Chocolate for breakfast

The Insaka where we ate our meals, played games and cooked 

Jackson with the elephant print. It was amazing how many animal prints on the beach. 

Making his own footprints

Morning!

Sunrise. Photo taken by James, I was too tired to even get up for a picture 

We saw an elephant on the river but it was on the Zimbabwe side so we couldn't go over to it. The guide said he would take us to another place. Ends up we got to get out of the boat, let the girls walk on the beach and instead of seeing one elephant we saw about 6 and got some great pictures!

It was this close to the kitchen

Jackson fishing. SO patient, but never caught anything. 

Love this one.

Love this guy!

Also really like this picture

Caleb showing Grace the Hippo in the water