"Bwana Zimbabwe's" first roof

Ephram, a Zimbabwean thatcher, was brought up to Tanzania 4 months ago to help us with the thatching of the lodge. He is a wonderful natured man with a deep, infectious laugh and has been nicknamed, "Bwana Zimbabwe", by the villagers. His job started with him teaching us all how to clean the grass for the thatching and his first roof is the main dining area of the lodge.

Here the huge eucalyptus poles are positioned for the 3 split-levels that will form the dining area.

Ephram starts putting up the first trusses.

The roof is now ready for thatching.

The first roof is thatched.

Chris' new TOYS!

The Dumper and the Bobcat arrive at Lupita.

Kassam drives the Bobcat off the "Tumbo". Note how the whole boat tips as he drives it off the edge of the boat and onto the island.

The Grader arrives in Kipili but in order for it to fit into the container the transporter has had to remove the 4 rear wheels. The question was, how would they get the grader out of the container? Answer: Tie some strong ropes to the back of it and PULL!

Out it comes, back first. Once it was out this far Chris was able to put the two rear wheels onto the Grader.

Slowly the driver, Kassam, inches the Grader out of the container using the 2 rear wheels and the two front wheels only.

The Grader comes crashing down out of the container, breaking the ramp of poles that it was on.

Finally it is almost out. Just two more wheels to be put onto the Grader and Kassam was then able to drive the front portion out of the container.

The Jetty on the north of Lupita.

The guys start work on a second jetty on the north side of the island. This jetty will be used on days when the wind blows from the south as this bay will be lovely and calm. To build the jetty the guys carry enormous rocks on their back or heads and throw them into the lake where the jetty is to be. Eventually the rocks form what you see below. Later Chris will build stone columns with a wooden deck which will cantilever out over the lake. The boats will be moored to this deck.

The rocks are first broken and then taken from the shore to the end of the jetty. It takes days and days for the guys to complete this mamoth task.

Chris supervises as the guys build the new jetty. Very slowly after tons and tons of rock are thrown into the lake, the jetty takes shape.

The new jetty on the north side of the island.

A view of the crystal clear water from the new jetty on the north side of the island.

Our Gym on Lupita

After owning a Fitness Club in Arusha for 2 years, exercise is very important to Chris and me. Six days a week we either run, cycle, do weights, Calanetics or Yoga to keep ourselves in shape.

We have built ourselves a small, thatched area in our compound which has become our open-air Gym. Tom very kindly left us a set of his adjustable weights when he was here in April and this we supplement with a home-made bench, 2 dumbells made from 5-pound hammers and 2 concrete barbells.

Our exercise regime has become quite infectious. The askaris (watchmen) on the island, join us for our runs and even accompany Chris when he does his eucalyptus pole workouts. Each man chooses his “girlfriend”, a short eucalyptus pole that is used as a weight, and with much grunting and groaning the guys do a full upper and lower body workout with their “girlfriends”.

My exercise equipment consists of a Yoga mat, exercise ball and some concrete weights made from old water bottles.

Who says you can’t keep in shape on a remote island?

Chris and Madonna on our meditation rock.