Once a year we drag our wives, kicking and screaming from the comfort of their kitchens, on a film shoot to an exotic and luxurious destination like Seychelles or the islands of Mozambique.
You will appreciate that we are forced to film ourselves fishing for a living, so when we make these magnanimous concessions to our better halves, the warm glow of generosity seeping through our souls is a tangible thing.
The rest of the year we travel as an all- male crew, and more often than not, feel the warm glow of single malt seeping gently through our livers.
It seems we agree on one thing though, and it’s that we all love the lower Zambezi.
It’s been a number of years since we featured Baines River Camp in our TV shows, and being one of the most luxurious properties available on the entire the length of the Zambezi, when they invited us back we knew we couldn’t leave the girls out of this one without risking the coldest of shoulders.
Accordingly, we jumped on an early morning Airlink flight up to Lusaka and after a comfortable road transfer, were happily cruising down the river, cold beverage in hand, before lunch time.
At over 2500km long, the Zambezi is the fourth longest river in Africa and is in fact the longest East flowing waterway on the continent.
Over the years we have been fortunate enough to traverse almost its entire length and I for one have never tired of it. However, the section between the Kariba Dam wall and the headwaters of Cahorra Bassa Dam, the border between Zim and Zambia, known generally as the lower Zambezi, is one of my favourite places on earth.
With the Mana Pools Reserve on the Zimbabwe side and the Lower Zambezi National Park on the opposite bank, you could easily be forgiven for thinking you were in the Garden of Eden, minus the old Apple tree. There are definitely serpents around though. The last time we visited Baines an African Rock Python, which was the biggest snake any of us has ever seen, slithered nonchalantly through the camp on his way to the river.
The Elephants here are somewhat used to being around humans, and without the threat of being hunted, will casually wander into camp for a drink of water from the swimming pool, or to munch a few juicy pods off the trees within spitting distance of your deck chair.
Large herds of Buffalo inhabit the islands in the river and the ever present Hippo pods frolic and grunt contentedly in their watery playground. Crocodiles bask on the sand banks, lulled by the cries of the Fish Eagles from their lofty lairs.
This area has the largest concentration of Leopard on the planet and on an evening game drive one almost inevitably comes across one or two of these magnificent cats.
Two big male Lions made an appearance while we were having lunch on the bank of the river, but were clearly not hungry themselves, and preferred a siesta in the heat of the day to chasing us off our shady spot.
This year, although the water level is low due to a severe drought, the lower Zambezi has had a bumper fishing season, with a number of Tiger Fish over 20 pounds being recorded. I was fishing with Scott Brown who helped build Baines camp 12 years ago and is still involved in the management of the operation. He also loves fishing.
We decided to catch and release as many fish as we could, using as many different methods as possible. What a blast! Seldom does a plan like this come together so well, and we managed to release 6 Tigers over 10 pounds (the largest being 14 pounds). These and others landed on spinners, strip baits (on circle hooks allowing a clean release), bucktail jigs, poppers and stick baits. We also spent many happy hours chasing the Tilapia (Bream) species in the smaller pools on the edge of the river on light tackle, using flies, spinners and worms. I even had a small croc try to steal a fine Red Breast Bream off my fly, too close to my feet for comfort. Luckily it’s mother wasn’t around.
Sundowners on the sand banks are a tradition in this neck of the woods and it’s hard to think of a more pleasant way to bring the day to a close than sipping a cold G&T to the sound of the gurgling river and the plethora of game and birdlife preparing for their evening activities.
The food at Baines River Camp is a special treat, offered by chefs who clearly take much pride in their work. A nightcap round a hardwood fire and good night’s sleep in an air- conditioned chalet, on a bed made up with percale linen, and sweet dreams of monster fish, rounds out another idyllic day at this very special place.
Now that we’ve spoilt our wives beyond all recognition, I’m just wondering what what on earth we’re going to come up with next year….
