Walking the Great Rift Valley

[Jeff de Graffenried]

Companion forum thread to: Walking the Great Rift Valley

Heat, army ants, and stupendous views await Jeff de Graffenried as he treks through South Luangwa National Park, Zambia.

[Kevin Babione]

Fun read – thanks for posting.  Ants?  No thank you!

[AK Granola]

Great trip report, glad I don’t have to worry about army ants, crocs or malaria. Why do you have to dig for water when there’s a flowing stream right next to where you dug the hole? Glad there’s still wildlife left in Africa. May it ever be so.

[JVD]

I really enjoyed reading this. It took me back to two backpacking trips in Umfolozi game reserve. Somehow the land itself felt special to me. The closest my words can get is like my “original home.” And the wildlife was amazing. Thanks for the reminders.

Karen, we also dug holes in sand next to the river for water. The water in the river itself was really silty but the water that filtered into the hole was a bit less so. Still we used flocullant to settle it and then boiled it.

[Tryg]

Thank you for sharing Jeff.

[Jeff de Graffenried]

Hi

Thanks for the feedback and my apologies for the very tardy response.  The reason we dug for water is that it is filtered and cooler. Water from the surface can have various contaminants in it.  Plus, it is cooler.   There is wildlife left in certain locations. I would suggest scheduling a safari. This is one of the best safari locations in Africa. I hope this was helpful.

 

[Jeff de Graffenried]

Hi JVD, Thanks for the kind reply and sorry for my slow response. Africa is special for sure. It is primeval and walking among the wild animals is true wilderness.  The water from a hole is filtered and more fresh.  Definitely treat it. We treated with tablets and boiled.  I used a sawyer squeeze filter.  Jeff

[Jeff de Graffenried]

Thank you for reading.  Sorry for my slow reply.  Jeff

[Author]

Posts