Remote Africa

Your pedals/walking shoes must have stories to tell of your adventures over the years. What is the most memorable experience you - and your bicycle/walking shoes - have shared?
Cycling down the Muchinga escarpment and pedalling past a pack of wild dogs, no more than 10 meters away.

And the funniest/quirkiest experience you have had?
Rushing back to camp, late, having dropped off guests for sundowners and night drive. Moffat Mwanza, one of our guides, was cycling by my side when we came across a family group of elephant in the road. Not being familiar with American brakes, he gripped his left brake (which is for the front wheel) with as much force as he could muster and performed a perfect somersault! Fortunately, there were no injuries and the elephants sauntered off, clearly unimpressed.

What wildlife is Luangwa Valley known for? Is there anything in particular people travel to see? What do you recommend guests to the area should be on the lookout for?
Luangwa is historically known as ‘the Valley of the elephant’ but it is also undoubtedly one of the best places in Africa to see leopard. For guests staying for three nights, it would be extremely rare not to see one of these spectacular animals.

What time of year is best for game-viewing? When is the rainy season? When is it unbearably hot? What is the average summer high and winter low temperatures?
The game is most easily viewed in October, when all water, apart from the Luangwa river itself, has dried up – the animals are concentrated along the riverine area and, being the driest time of year, the vegetation is at its thinnest, so visual penetration is greatest. October is hot, with daytime highs of around 40 degrees Celsius, but it cools down at night. The rains traditionally break at the end of October/beginning of November. May is one of my favourite times of year, as all the lagoons still contain water which supports a lot of water birds and, whilst the game is not so concentrated, the animals are in excellent condition. We still see most of the big game too, albeit not as regularly. The lowest temperature would be around 10 degrees Celsius - in July.

What have you found to be your clients’ greatest fears on a mountain biking/walking safari and what information/advice can you give them to avert those fears?
Getting uncomfortably close to big game. It is important to be aware that this can happen and it is our job to ensure that we do not put our guests in a dangerous situation. We all have quite a bit of experience keeping our guests safe.

Do you have any interesting information to share on the history of cycling/walking in Africa?
One of my favourite stories is about a gentleman named George Grey who was arguably the founder of the copper mines in Zambia in 1900. He had urgent information to convey to his head office in Bulawayo so, there being no roads, he cycled there – a distance of around 860 miles in less than a week. All he carried was a bottle of Bovril, some bars of chocolate and his shaving kit!