The road back from Mozambique was long and pretty uneventful. We managed to get through all the border crossings early without to much issue. After over a dozen land border crossing we were pretty good at it, not that it’s never easy but we knew the drill.

To break up the journey for the boys we planned some days off driving. First stop was a zoo in SA. I wasn’t overly excited by the thought of it. Worried about the animals conditions but although not the standards I’m used to in the UK, the animals did seem well looked after. And the boys loved it. In particular the ‘dinosaur’ (aka giant lizard) white tigers, and lion cubs.

We pushed further north (via quick pit stop to collect some left towels (they had the boys swim badges on)), all the way to the Botswana Namibia border.

We had of course visited Chobe but never visited the national park from the water. So that is what we did! Lego boy was keen to fish unfortunately caught nothing. Other than that the trip was a success. Seeing the wildlife from the water gave a new perspective on one of my favorite national parks in Southern Africa.

That evening it rained!!! A lot!!! No I mean a real lot! The storm came out of no where. I rushed everything and Baby Blue into the tent (hubby and the big boys had gone to buy dinner). Soon the area the tent was pitched in was at least 10cm under water! The tent was filling up. I stared piling bags onto camp chairs trying to keep as much dry as possible. Baby Blue was loving it, splashing in the water that now covered his bed! I decided to open the tent door let some water out! It really was filling up! I’m not exaggerating when I say there was a small waterfall created when I first opened the door!

The aftermath! A soggy tent and a naked baby!

As quickly as it started, it stopped! And all the water ran away, leaving a very soggy baby and tent! As I start to sort out the aftermath, husband pulls up. He just starts laughing… amused at state of me and baby blue! “What happened?”

We were both soaked to the skin and splattered in mud. The storm had been very local, husband hadn’t seen a drop of rain! It must have appeared like some had just put a hose on our little campsite!

We tried to make the tent as comfortable as possible but it was a very soggy night sleep. Definitely time to push home! Two more days driving and we made it back to Solwezi. The promise of a cooked meal and drinks at friends pushed us along the awful Chingola road!

Unlike last year when I didn’t want the holiday to end this year I was excited to get home! Solwezi had definitely become home! We were settled, we had close friends (expat family) and were enjoying the rhythm of rural life.

But this home already had a deadline, we had decided to move on. Truth is we couldn’t afford to stay. Daily life was amazing but we couldn’t make the sums add up. Husband had already got a job lined up for New Zealand. We would be moving on again, more adventures, more challenges and another continent!

But for now we had to make the most of the time we had left and that started with a massive hug and a glass of Pimms from a dear friend.