Mutinondo Wilderness Camping

On Saturday we went to Mutinondo to camp.  We camped in a wilderness area.  When we got there it was night-time so we had to set up the camp in the dark and the rain.  Celia had gotten there before us so their tent was already set up.  When our tent was set up Mom got our sleeping bags and made our beds while we had dinner at their camp.  When we got in our beds, we found glow-in-the-dark bracelets around Cheetah.  Finny found a glow-in-the-dark bracelet around Meow! Eventually, we went to sleep.  In the morning the bracelets were STILL glowing!  When Finny and I woke up,  Finny and I sat by the fire.  

Next, Daddy climbed up a mountain and he saw a beautiful view so he went down and called us to come and see the beautiful view.  Up there Daddy had to take some phone calls and we got to play on top of the mountain.  While we were up there I heard Finn say "OUCH!!!"  Daddy went to see what happened and he saw that Finn had been bitten by some ants because he was standing in an ant highway!  An ant highway is where lots of ants are marching; they are all usually going in the same direction and to the same place.  They were all girl ants because they were all workers.   We saw some soldier ants and they were way bigger than the other ants but they are girls too.  We measured the ant highway and we followed it for 17 regular daddy steps but the ant highway kept on going on through the grass for a long ways.

After that we went on a hike to the waterfall with Celia, Keith, Walter, Charles and Florence.  We had to jump across two rivers.  They were not very wide; they were skinny.  First we saw a big waterfall but the map said we should keep on going and then we'll get to see the river so that is what we did.   We got to play at the river.  Charles fell in the river and Walter was laughing! Charles pushed Walter in the river and Walter said "What was that for?!" Then Keith called Walter and told him something. Then he called Charles and told him something.  After that Walter found a termite mound.  He asked if he could break it and see what was inside.  Keith said yes so he started breaking it.  Then he stopped to let Anne take pictures.  Next Walter asked if he could break it more when everyone had had a look.  

After they were finished, Walter started breaking it and I asked Keith if they could break it until we could see the queen.  We saw her and she was way bigger than the rest of the termites.  She was maybe one inch long and she was fat!  The other termites are as big as this letter i.

Walter, Keith and Celia (and maybe Charles and Florence) all tried a taste of a termite!  They said it tasted like dirt because there was dirt in their abdomens.  I didn't want to taste a termite.

In the afternoon at (16 hours) we went horseback riding. Finny didn't want to go horseback riding.  I went with Celia, Florence, Charles, Walter and Keith.  Walter rode Zebadi, Keith rode Spirit, Florence rode Zambooca, Charles rode Bushy, Celia rode Minstral and I rode Kite.  Florence and I had to have help riding; we had to have a groom leading our horses.

As the night fell, me and Daddy went for a mountain bike ride. We went where the horses went but then we kept on going.  We went until we saw two signs that said "Charlie's Rock" and "Sand Pit."  After that we turned around and went back to the camp.

When we came back we went to the other kids' camp and had dinner and we got to have another glow-in-the-dark bracelet.  After dinner we got to roast marshmallows over their fire.  I had four s'mores.  We went to bed with glow-in-the-dark bracelets.

On Monday I woke up and made a 'smoker stick' in the campfire.  When Finny woke up I couldn't make it any more because Daddy said I would set a bad example. Then we climbed the mountain again.  Mommy got to see the ant highway!  That highway stopped and most of the ants were going on a different highway but still the ants were going on it.  Then Dad found a chongalolo and he moved it with a stick so the ants would not attack it. (A chongalolo is like a millipede but bigger and with more legs).  Mom found a caterpillar that looked like a giant furry rat! It was about 5 inches long.

We went on our bikes again to where the horses went but this time we took a path that went into the bush.  We came across another road but there was a marsh over there so we took another path.  Next we met some people.  The first one had some marshmallows* in his hat and the other ones were cutting the grass.  We kept on going until we came to an airstrip where the horses were eating grass.  We saw a little house and decided to go that way.  We had to get off our bikes because there was a big dip;  we had to walk our bikes down the dip and through the tall grass. We kept walking our bikes for a while and then Daddy got on his bike.  I kept on walking until we got close to some people and then I got back on my bike.  We asked which way was the campsite and they told us.  We turned and soon we saw the stables and then we knew our way back.  When we got back I said, "That was a long bike ride!"  Then Daddy went to swim in the river.  We met Anne and Finny;  Anne kept going and Finny came along with us.  Finny showed us the river where to get in and I felt the water.  I didn't have my swimming suit but I went swimming naked because there were no rules!  There were no crocodiles or hippos either!  Daddy got in the water and Finny started scaring the fish.  I went in the water up to my neck but then I went deeper and I was pushing from the bottom and then swimming.  I got out and I didn't have a towel but Daddy shared his towel with me and I got my clothes back on.  

I was running so I went back to the tent by myself.  I was faster than Finny and Daddy.  When I got to the tent Mom was there and later Finny and Daddy came.  I had a banana and then it was time to go horseback riding!   This time Finny wanted to go horseback riding.  This time Charles, Walter and Keith didn't ride, only Mommy, Daddy, Finny, Celia and Florence and I went.  I got to ride Bushy, Finny got to ride Zambooca, Mommy got to ride Kite, Daddy got to ride Spirit, Florence got to ride Zebadi and Celia got to ride Minstral.  Finny and Florence got to have a leader -- Florence got to have a leader because she was in the front.  Finny got to have a leader because he didn't know how to ride a horse.  

  

We went the same path as the day before.  When the ride was finished I went back with Mommy, Daddy, Finny, Florence and Celia.  When we got back to the tent we had dinner:  grilled pork and pasta.  After that we had peaches for dessert.  I really liked the peaches and I got to have a lot!

Then we went to sleep -- in the morning we woke up and Keith came over for coffee.  The other family came and we had breakfast.  It was time to go.  Keith came back to Lusaka with us but his family went on to another place to camp.  Our drive home was 7 hours.  Mom said we did very well.  

We went to our house and were happy to be back home even though we didn't have power or Daddy's truck!

*Actually that's not true!  The guy has mushrooms in his hat.  They were collecting them.  But it is funny to think of running into someone in the bush with marshmallows in their hat!