Greetings from the "Mzungu"

I learnt a new word this week, Mzungu, which means white fella in one of the local dialects. Another new word is Bwana, which i think mean boss i think but is a little more complicated than that.

A quieter week this week, only 1 dinner party, 1 BBQ and 1 going away party!!!!! I think I need to head home for a rest.

The one big benefit of people leaving is that they are selling off lots of things. This week i have managed to acquire a Webber, a rug, a wok, a DVD player and a Nintendo WII. Got to have some creature comforts of home.

The first photo is of my award winning and competition winning veggie garden, watch out little Brother and Dad, this garden is going to be spectacular!!! The second photo is of some of my team members at the going away function for the guy who I am replacing, Pierre. The last photo photo is of some of the ATS team, the guys who manage our camp and do the catering for all the functions.

I am off to Lusaka next week again, this time to play golf with the Zambian Revenue Authority, the equivalent of teh Australian Taxation Office! Its a hard life but someone has to do it!!!!!

Heading home at the end of next week, so see you all soon.

Cheers from the Mzungu

A day of bliss on the Consanche Golf Course

Well at last a day away from Lumwana. With the recent arrival of the new car, i can escape so today i joined 3 fellow Lumwana residents ( Bill, John and Craig, see one of the photo)for a day of golf at Consanche Golf course which is in Solwezi about an hour away (see map at top of page). The course is gorgeous, as good as any course I have played on in Townsville anyway, and they have kept many of the local Zambian features, like the huge ant hills. They have a few Zebra on the course but i couldnt get close enough to take a photo (hopefully next week) and some Impala as well, although they were hiding today. But i did see evidence of there existence, see the photo of the "Impala Poop" which just looks like little chocolate covered raisens. I played very average golf but had a great day and i have been invited back next week, yee haa! At the end of the day, after walking an 18 hole course, something i have not done in a long time, i was absolutely nackered but thank god i had a caddie which is almost as good as having a buggy! As i was the designated driver of the day, no booze for me to numb the pain but the guys introduced me to the "Malowi Shandie", a strange mixture of bitters, orange juice and lemonade i think. Very nice and quenches the thirst very well.

Now an evening of red wine, a little bit of pizza to assist with the recovery!

Update - One month in and still alive

It is now the end of week 5 and I have settled in very well. As you can see my veggie garden and most of my garden is now clear of weeds and ready for planting. Of course I am not responsible, all the hard work has been from my gardener Godwin, a very talented man. I think i will be winning the veggie garden challenge with my darling Bro.

I have managed to squeeze in a little bit of work between the dinner parties and the BBQ's, but not too much.

I now have wheels, i am the proud owner of a Toyota Hilux Surf. Shopping expeditions are now planned, as are the holiday expeditions. But the first excursion outside of Lumwana will be to the golf course, and that will be tomorrow. Pictures of the first expedition to come tomorrow.