Not Complaining; Just Saying - 3

And another thing...
Roads
I can't say it better or more non-judgmentally than Chris McIntyre does in the Bradt guide to Zambia "Driving around Zambia isn't for the novice, or the unprepared...The standard of driving is generally poor, matched only by the quality of the roads.  Most roads in the cities, and the major arteries connecting these, are tar.  These vary from silky-smooth recently laid roads, to potholed routes that test the driver's skill at negotiating a 'slalom course' of deep holes, whilst avoiding the oncoming traffic that's doing the same.  Inconveniently, the smooth kind of road often changes into the holed variety without warning, so speeding on even the good tar is a dangerous occupation...As an additional hazard, even the tar roads are narrow by Western standards, often with steep sides designed to drain off water during the rains.  As a result, it's all too easy, faced with a sharp bend or an oncoming lorry, to veer off the road, a fact borne out by the regular sight of a truck lying on its side in the ditch, or to damage the sump of the vehicle.  Watch out for the speed humps that may occur without warning, even on major roads.  You often find these at the entrance and exit of a town...
...Police (and immigration) roadblocks are an occupational hazard of driving, and you can expect to be stopped regularly.  They are usually indicated in advance by oil drums or traffic cones placed in the middle of the road, but some are very poorly marked."

Main road Chipata to Lusaka over-taking a lorry
(directions are - leave Chipata and go west for 560km)

The main roads in Lusaka generally have a good surface, though somewhat lacking in informative road markings and warning signs.  You just have to know you need to be in the inside lane to go straight on at a cross-roads.  As Chris McIntyre says, there are many surprising road humps throughout town and when we first got here they were always taking us by surprise.  There is so much distraction along the road, advertisements and hoardings of one sort or another, even huge electronic television screens, that's it's hard to pick out useful information.  But we've learned to look out for the bollards either side of the hump, sometimes faded yellow hatching and other times just other cars slowing.  The humps are intended to slow traffic to under 5mph, if you don't you'll certainly scrape and deform the front bumper.  And knowing that they really do save lives by slowing the traffic, we mostly see them as a good thing.
We'd only been at school a week when one of the year 4 teaching assistants was killed in a road accident less than a mile from the school.  He left behind four daughters, his wife having died last year.  Death is horribly common here.  Road safety is, as other safety related concepts, a thing of the future.  People frequently don't wear seat belts, babies and children sit completely unrestrained in cars, vehicles despite having to pass a fitness test (MOT) are often not road worthy.  And lorries passing through the country are often in a terrible state, not road worthy, over packed and over tired drivers.  I understand from UN reports that after malaria and HIV/AIDS, road traffic accidents are the biggest killer in Zambia.  I wanted to verify (BBC Radio 4 More or Less has taught me something!) these stats at Zambia's Central Statistical Office but for some reason I haven't been able to access the website.

Guy standing up in the back of a truck,
situation normal.

A very common mode of transport 

Disappointing photo trying to show road outside our
compound and how bumpy it is - looks just fine here
 but it really isn't

Cyclists travel at the side of the road in both directions.  Between villages, out in the bush, cycling is the mode of transport for long distances and it isn't uncommon to see bikes with one, two or even a breath-taking three passengers.  Many transport the most enormous heavy, wide loads.  On the way to Chipata at half-term we spotted a guy with what we presumed/hoped was a dead, pig on the back of his bike.  But they also more commonly carry sacks of charcoal standing 1.5m high 0.5m diameter precariously strapped to both the back and the front.

Charcoal dromedary

And of course, you have to travel during daylight hours only.  At night, firstly there is no street lighting, even in town.  Secondly because of other vehicles, possibly without headlights, or with only one headlight, poorly maintained trucks, and illegal truckers who come out because the police knock off at 17.00.  Not to mention the animals that roam the road and roadsides at night.  Our 750km drive to Chipata and on to South Luangwa National Park this half term was extremely tense.  We had to leave early in the morning and arrived about 10 minutes after dark, a total of 11 hours driving.  There were kilometres of road diversions onto unmade road, many animals (particularly goats) that seemed to be drawn to the sound of our car, slow heavily laden trucks, narrow single lanes, steep drops either side of the road and well...it was, as I said, tense.

Luangwa river suspension bridge spanning
 400m of river  - the only bridge across the lower
 Luangwa and the only access to the Eastern
Province (cross one vehicle at a time)

So here endeth the observations...for now.