Flying Adventure: Southern Africa – Day 6 (FWLK – FWKI – FLMF – FLBA):

Today we are set to push some boundaries and get to a more remote corner of Africa. Isanga Bay in Zambia, situated on Lake Tanganyika, close to the border with Tanzania.

It will also turn out to be the first day, where things do not go according to plan, luckily, as it will turn out later. But first things first.

Likoma Island to Mfuwe

We take-off from Likoma Island, do a farewell fly-over at Kaya Mawa and then climb as high as clouds permit to route straight over the lake to the mainland and to Kamuzu Lilongwe. There are no commercial flights on the ground when we get there, and we can file our flight plan, clear the border and re-fuel within less than an hour.

Off we are again, out westerly to Mfuwe, in Zambia. Mfuwe is the only major airport in Northern Zambia. And as we are the only flight coming in, border crossing and flight briefing is again a smooth and easy process.

The problem

But – there is no fuel, and no prospect of fuel! He mentioned this risk in an earlier blog post. The closest place to get fuel is Lilongwe. That is where we filled up and came from.

We knew that Mfuwe is the only place to get fuel in this region, and that a full tank from Mfuwe would not be sufficient to get us to where we want to go and back. For that reason, we had arranged a 200 liter drum to be delivered from Lusaka 855 km up to Kasama for re-fueling on our way back to Mfuwe. Kasama is 1 hour south of Mbala, where we want to go. We are this 1 hour short of fuel. It is the hour we burnt from Lilongwe to Mfuwe.

So here are the options:

1. We skip the loop up to Lake Tanganyika and have our 200 liter drum delivered to Mfuwe. Firstly, this loop into that remote corner is his mission. Skipping it? Nope. Secondly, we only used a bit more than 1 hour of fuel, so we would have to leave most of the already paid 200 liters behind. Not a smart choice.
2. We try to find some Mogas around Mbala and top up with a few canisters. Firstly, up there it’s very remote, so Mogas quality and purity is a serious concern. Secondly, the village of Mpulungu, which has a fuel station, is a 45 min drive from the airstrip. Shuttling up and down with canisters? Does not sound great.
3. We ask Niner Juliet Logistics to deliver our fuel to Mbala instead of Kasama. That adds another 170 km to his trip from Lusaka. It won’t be free of charge, but seems the best option at hand, by far.

The solution

Fortunately, Niner Juliet indicates that they can make it all the way up to Mbala by 29 March.

Having a plan at hand, off we are, up to our target destination, Mbala Airforce Base. It is a beautiful and impressive flight over the vast open land of mostly untouched wilderness.

We had obtained prior permission from the Zambia Airforce to fly into their Mbala base. The only other landing option up there is Nkamba Bay. But that would have meant a very long boat trip to our final destination.

The last little challenges

For some reason, Air Traffic Control in Mfuwe did not convey our flight plan details to Mbala, or Mbala did not pick it up. Either way, Mbala’s frequency is unmanned as we enter into the restricted area. And it remains unmanned until we are overhead the airfield, and there is no soul to be seen anywhere down there.

The noise we are making by circling above the airfield, must however have alerted someone. Suddenly, a controller gets on the frequency. He is hard to understand, so is he out of breath from running up the stairs into the tower.

On landing we are greeted and assisted by the station commander and his troops. They are exceptionally friendly and welcoming people, who were as excited that we come visit as we were to be there. We are offered a cool drink by the station commander and wait in his office chatting about aviation, whilst waiting for our shuttle.

Our shuttle arrives soon, but it shall not depart. The vehicle’s fuel pump packs up as it arrives. Not really an easy thing to fix on the go, particularly out here. Two hours later, another vehicle comes and we are on the road down to Mpulungu.

At Mpulungu we change over onto a boat and watch the sunset during the 18 km ride to Isanga Bay. One can see over to the Democratic Republic of Congo to the west, and Tanzania to the east. We are in the heart of Africa.

The reward – Isanga Bay on Lake Tanganyika

We settle in at Isanga Bay Lodge, an amazingly beautiful spot, right on Lake Tanganyika and far away from civilization and any form of light, noise or other human induced pollution. Peaceful tranquility in nature and simplicity.

Over a beer we are told that a few days ago, the runway at Kasama had been dug up for repairs and one could not land at Kasama at the moment.

All of a sudden, we are very grateful, that Mfuwe did not have fuel! Re-fueling in Kasama as per our original plan, had been a bit of a challenge, with nearly empty tanks, a drum of fuel on the ground, but no runway to land. It’s the adventure we sought, and that beer starts to taste and feel much better as we are getting the adventure kick. That kick you get when you have cut the corner.

Day 7 of our tour is reserved to relax, kayak on the lake and enjoy this little, well hidden paradise.