THE BEGINNING My first assignment into the real wild and remote area was with 5 trainee colleagues in March 1998. As green as trainees come and armed with a map drawn on the back of a cigarette box, a 7 tonne truck full of thatch grass, camp maintenance equipment, resupplies and a game drive Land Rover we ventured on in search for Chikwenya Camp on the Eastern border of Mana Pools National Park. The drive, we had been told would take us 7 hrs with a few river crossings and and a few of tsetse fly along the way. Particular emphasis had been put on warning us about the area close to the camp as an area of thick jesse bush and teeming with old dagga boys (grumpy old buffalo bulls past their prime) and it was suggested we not even stop for a loo break after we had gone past the giant baobab. As expected we encountered not a few but hundreds of tsetse fly and spotted the occasional antelope through the thick emerald vegetation of the rainy season. Tsetse fly, we all knew by then are one of the reasons why some wildlife areas still exist and where not turned into farmland in the early 1900’s and this resulted in a light tolerance for their bites. Our first hurdle came when we crossed a “little” Zumbu river when for 2 hours we were trying to get ourselves unstuck. The fear of the unknown took over as this was supposed to be the easier of the river crossings. As we expected, our arrival at the Sapi River was awaited by a swollen river transporting logs and debris in it’s chocolate brown body. After a 2 hour wait for the river to recede we decided it was shallow enough for the truck to cross. Straws were drawn and the truck went in revving through the shallow crossing. Finding a hole midway it came to a halt and sunk a few hearts. Efforts to get it unstuck were fruitless and we decided to cross the smaller vehicle next to the truck, make our way to camp and return with more help. This however was a mere dream as the Landrover (hats off to its capabilities at river crossings) wasn’t going anywhere in a hurry. The two vehicles stood side by side in the rising river with the orange colour of a summer sunset creating a backdrop. As it got dark we piled onto the respective vehicles for safety wondering when the river would stop rising. The night was long and the sound of the river now flowing through the Land Rover dampened any hopes that we had of trying rescue one of the vehicles. At dawn it was evident that we had to “make a plan” and we drew straws again. I volunteered to walk with 3 others and we armed ourselves with one machete and slashers. Taking the A7 map with us we set off at about 6 o’clock am. Herd after herd of elephant brought us to a temporary halt on our journey and eventually after midday we caught a glimpse of the baobab. Although this was a welcome sight it felt like walking into the set of a horror movie. Dreading any encounters with the great horned beasts we thought it would be wiser to swim down the murky river instead of walk the thick jungle like forest. We made a pact to stay together and if anyone felt a nibble we would all help each other. We hoped that the water was too murky and too violent for any self-respecting crocodile. A 2 mile swim in the shallow Sapi river and we started to see the blue waters of the might Zambezi and at that instant we all had the same thought. Leave the water, as we were just about to enter the territory of the 16-foot flat dogs (Nile crocodile). We leapt out of the water and as we got back on land we could not believe our eyes. The rustic Chikwenya camp awaited us and the off season camp staff was shocked to see us floating down the Sapi River. The best Coke I have ever had was on this day with some hot bread out of the bush ground oven. The enjoyment was short-lived as we then had to figure out how to rescue the truck to save our jobs. Later on we calculated we had walked 25 kilometres in seven hours and by the time we got to the truck (an hours drive) the river had receded allowing us to drive straight out. This was my introduction to remote Africa and experiences similar to this have imprinted bush character in a lot of travelers to wild Africa.           " This fantastic time we shared with Humphrey on the Zambezi will be without doubt the highlight of our African Adventures. A mind-blowing area and great game make it the perfect setting for this adventure of a lifetime. Humphrey’s personality, his love for the bush, his generosity in sharing his passion and dedication to making sure that this trip prints on our minds in an unforgettable way is truly remarkable." Na, Marc, Anais and Natasha Bangkok, Thailand                                           humphreygumpo.com - 2008