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A Wedding in the Bush ~
CHIAWA CAMP
NEWSLETTER
February
2005
It is February already and the
Christmas holidays, as well as the
excitement and brilliant game
viewing of last season, seem to have
long faded into the distance. Lynsey
& I went around Scotland and enjoyed
the balmy(!) weather of the Isle of
Skye, and Craig went to Ireland
whilst Barbs and Joe have been
enjoying South Africa. But enough of
that, Zambia and the Lower Zambezi
beckon.
 Firstly,
on behalf of Chiawa Camp and the
Cumings Family, I would like to
congratulate Ivor and Margot
Phillips who tied the knot at Chiawa
in November. Although a number of
couples have met and got engaged at
Chiawa, none had got married there
and so it was with great excitement
that Lynsey (now a seasoned pro) &
Barbs got to making preparations for
a magical day.
The happy/lucky couple opted to have
the ceremony at sunset floating on
the Zambezi (on a pontoon boat),
presided over by the inimitable
Father Jude McKenna, in the assorted
company of guests and staff. There
was only one gatecrasher – a lone
elephant bull who thankfully kept
his distance and helped himself to
some riverine vegetation and who
studiously ignored the proceedings.
The wedding was capped off by a
superb performance by the Chiawa
Camp Choir and a very festive meal.
If you know of anyone looking for a
personalised, unique and romantic
wedding look no further than Chiawa
Camp – we will be only too happy to
deliver and I ask that you contact
us for details.
 We
are already in the swing of the
bookings season for 2005 and spaces
are filling up rapidly – indeed 2005
could even be bigger for us than
2004 if the current situation is
anything to go by. Saying that,
there our pockets of availability
here and there, particularly
May/June so please check with Jenny
who is working away on her computer
more than ever.
I went into camp a couple of weeks
ago to check up on how it was faring
with the rains and to re-supply our
crew taking care of it for us. The
valley (& camp) is looking beautiful
and I was blessed to not have been
rained upon during my brief visit as
we are experiencing a lot of rain at
the moment.
 I
took some snaps along the way of
herds of elephants swimming – also
saw a huge crocodile, buffalos,
blue-cheeked bee eaters, yellow and
saddle billed storks and dozens of
hippos.
I
also took a photo of a distant tree
line where the Winter Thorn trees
look almost dead in comparison to
the bright green riverine foliage,
in order to highlight its strange
habit of looking dead in the rains
and then coming to life in our
winter when everything else is
looking worse for wear. The
wonderful thing about the
Winterthorn is that it provides
shade and food for wildlife when the
bush is at its leanest – through our
winter months of June-August and
into October/November before the
rains and the new grass.
You might be interested to know
that Chiawa Camp is taking on
another school-load of AIDS orphans
to help with in their education. Our
initiative at Mugurameno Primary
School in 2004 went really well and
we are now expanding our assistance
to Chiawa Basic School in 2005 which
will take the numbers up to about
300 orphans. This would only be
possible with the help of SidEcole
(School Against AIDS) – a Swiss
based charity and if you would like
to help them help us help the kids
in the Lower Zambezi, please email
us for details.
Now we are busy with repairs on our
boats and vehicles – Dave’s high
standards making sure that
everything will go back into the
bush in tip top shape. Speaking of
which we have just ordered our brand
new boat and motor for Old Mondoro
which will be used for transfers
between camps and for afternoon game
viewing on the river – its bound to
be a hit.
 I
have just got a radio message from
the chaps at Chiawa Camp – it seems
the local pride of lions just killed
a hippo near camp and the lion/hyena
chorus is keeping them from
sleeping. Ah, how I wish I was there
at the moment.
Anyway I am sure that there will be
plenty of wildlife action waiting
for us when we return to the bush in
a month to get ready for the 2005
season, and I’ll be sure to keep you
posted. But why not come out and
enjoy it all with us?
Until next time,
Grant & the Chiawa Team
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