MUSSELp in Zambia 2007: Observations

Pre-Trip Preparations

This trip to Africa was unique for me because it required very little preparation, relative to my other expeditions. I have accumulated most of the necessary supplies and equipment already, and my packing checklist has been revised to the point of near-perfection. Also, I was working closely a friend in-country, Alex Chilala, who was invaluable in his efforts to make sure things went smoothly.

For the most part, my vaccinations were up to date as well, but I did need a meningitis booster. The picture to the right shows me with my regular jab-giver, Carly.

Alex Chilala

Alex Chilala is the Principle Fisheries Officer for Lusaka Province. He is also a good guy, and I enjoyed spending almost three weeks working with him in Zambia. He often introduced me to people as his brother, which was generally met with scepticism. The pictures show a self-portrait, the fish collection at the fisheries station, sleeping in the truck rather than his tent, watching soccer and enjoying some of the excess watermelon that we purchased.

Transportation

The road sign above represents our trip well. We drove from Lusaka, through Kapiri Mposhi and Mpika, to Kasama (where the sign was posted). From Kasama, we went via Mporokoso to Kaputa, and thence to Nchelenge, Mansa and back to Lusaka.

We drove a over 5000 km in our rented Land Cruiser. Zambia has many excellent paved roads, but a long portion of our journey (especially the 405 km from Kasama to Kaputa) was on terrible dirt road. Moreover, filling stations were widely spaced, forcing us to carry extra, smelly diesel.

Occasionally, we had the opportunity to travel by boat.

Lodging

In the southern and eastern parts of Zambia, where tourism is more common, campgrounds are very common. It is generally inexpensive to pitch a tent within a walled compound, where you can either purchase firewood to cook for yourself or just go the the restaurant. However, in northern Zambia, such facilities are less common, and for the most part, Alex and I stayed indoors. One night, near the far northern town of Kaputa, we found a good bush camp near a gravel pit.

I prefer camping when it is safe to do so. When settling for indoor accommodation, my criteria are that there is a place to work and a mosquito net. On other trips, I have actually set up my tent inside because I didn't trust the net provided.

Food

For the most part, since we were not camping, we ate at the lodges and guest houses were we kept rooms. For most meals, Alex and I ate with our hands (Zambian-style), and the meal almost always included nshima (corn "miellie" meal) with a sauce and rape leaves. In northern Zambia, like in Congo, people eat cassava. In many places we saw cassava trees planted in neat rows and the harvested, white cassava roots set out to dry, as in the picture above. Whereas nshima is a delight, cassava is not very appealing.

On our way south from Lusaka to Siavonga (and on the way back), we stopped at a stand offering roasted goat. Fantastic!

Collecting Mollusks

The primary objective the 2007 Zambia Expedition was to collect freshwater mussels. To do so, it was occasionally necessary to get in the water and risk becoming prey to both predators and parasites. More often, we received eager assistance from locals that were more than willing to trade kwachas (the Zambian currency) for mussels. By our own "pollywogging" and through such subcontracting, we were generally quite successful.

Once the specimens were in hand, a considerable amount of time was spent processing them. Plastic baggies are an important tool in freshwater malacology. When we captured live specimens, their soft-tissue was biopsied for molecular work, and all specimens need to be scrubbed completely clean for shipping.

Other Scenery