Sable Camp is also owned by the same investor as Lupita Island. After being there for only a few hours, we all agreed that it should be called "Fish Eagle Camp" because there are 6 resident Fish Eagles that sit in the palm trees and call all day long. The Fish Eagle happens to be my favourite bird, so I was in heaven. 

The birding was superb, but Katavi has more than just birds to offer. Our game drives were filled with gin & bitter lemon, kilimanjaro beer, redd's cider and plenty of fun. By the time we arrived back at Lupita we really felt as though we had been away for weeks instead of a few days. 

 

 

 

Mr and Mrs Fix-it, Doc & his Assistants

Sorry about the fact that we have not updated our blog for so long. Our house was struck by lightening in June and we struggled for several weeks to sort out our power again. Then we found that the satellite dish for our internet had been bumped and our connection was so poor that it was difficult to send or receive emails, let alone post photographs on the blog.

On the 7^th July, Mr and Mrs Fix-it (Alfred and Kirstin) arrived to install Lupita’s new communication system and radar security system. They worked from sun up to sun down during the 4 days while they were here, and so we are now back in business.

Alfred and Kirstin were also accompanied by a surgeon, David (or Doc) and two assistants; Katharine and Michell. Like Alfred and Kirstin, they had come all the way from America to help us. Doc, Katharine and Michell had offered their services and were here to perform free operations for the villagers in the communities around Lupita.

On the first day that they were due to see patients, they were handed a letter stating that they would not be allowed to perform any operations in Kipili. This was because the health department wanted them to perform operations in the nearby Kirando hospital (a 45 minute boat ride away from Kipili). This was contrary to the purpose of their visit. Their intention was to provide complimentary medical assistance to the communities around Kipili who do not have access to the hospital in Kirando. Almost 100 people turned up that day to see Doc and his assistants and as you can imagine, everyone was very disappointed that due to red tape, they would not be allowed to receive treatment. Luckily Tom was able to contact the health department and finally the Doctors were given permission to continue with their work.

For the next 3 days Doc and his assistants went over to Kipili each morning and worked their magic. They helped a child with a club foot, removed a hernia, cleaned a bayonette wound, set a broken ankle in plaster of paris any many, many more. The villagers were so grateful for all that Doc and his assistants had done that they presented Doc with a goat.

From all of us at Lupita and the surrounding villages, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU! Your kindness and generosity are appreciated more than you will ever know. From left to right: Michell, Doc, Katharine, Kirstin & Alfred.

Chris' kayak

After many months of frustration, Tom and Belinda finally managed to clear the first of many containers from Dar es Salaam. The containers have been arriving with much needed sanitary ware, electrical and plumbing fitting and Chris’ KAYAK. We bought the kayak in April 2005, so you can imagine how excited Chris was when it finally arrived here, 14 months later. Needless to say Chris is out on his kayak every day for at least an hour. Instead of taking one of the motorized wooden boats to Kipili to issue goods to the staff for their day’s work, Chris hops onto his kayak as the sun is rising, and paddles across to Kipili and back. What a great mode of transport for getting to and from work!

Kitchen

The Main Kitchen has receive tiles and is looking PUUURRRRFECT!

Main Swimming Pool

This is my BABY! The main pool, (overlooked by a sensational bar) is a MASTERPIECE. It is a plinth pool, so that swimmers can enter gradually, (as in the sea), and it has "infinity" edges on two sides. Bar revellers will be able to swim up to the bar and perch themselves waist deep whilst enjoying a cheeky cocktail . STUNNING!

The Lupita Hairdo!

  

Views of the Lupita shoreline

Lupita Island as seen from the lake, shows dense forrest with striking rock formations as seen from these photographs.

 

 

Chris' Spa

After owning a gym for two years, we realised how important exercise is for many people (ourselves included). With this in mind, we have persuaded Tom to add a Spa to the list of facilities offered at Lupita.

Chris has spent the past few weeks designing the structures that will house the massage rooms, gymnasium and yoga / meditation area. Tom and Belinda initially wanted to position the Spa on the south side of the island, but after spending some time at the proposed site, we realised that it is not tranquil enough for a Spa. So Chris, Madonna and I spent an afternoon rowing around the north side of the island and have found a gorgeous place for the Spa to be built.

As we will be running the lodge for at least a year, we are currently completing our Fitness and Nutrition Courses through ISSA. We plan to offer "Wellness Weeks" to the guests who would like to change the way that they look. We are looking forward to being able to help clients with guidance on their Nutrition and personalised Fitness routines during these weeks, and hopefully the Spa on Lupita will be a truly unique venue in which to do this.

Chris plans to build the three massage rooms around these lovely rocks, on stilts, over the water. They will all have glass floors so that guests can watch the fish in the lake below them while they are having a relaxing massage. Every room will be completely open at the front to take advantage of the spectacular views of the Congo and Mvuna Island. There will also be steps at the front of these rooms, leading down into the lake, so that guests can enjoy a cup of warm, ginger tea at the water's edge after their massage, manicure or pedicure, or even have a swim among the fish.

As you can see from this photograph, the water is very clear here, with shallow rocks that the fish love to swim around. 

The open air gym and yoga deck are to be built in the rocky bay close to the massage rooms. They will also be built on stilts over the water. Because these structures will have no walls, guests will be able to enjoy the uninterrupted views and cool lake breezes while they exercise. 

Our heavenly skies

I could post pages and pages of incredible photographs of the moods of the sky here. These are just a few pickies taken over the past month. They speak for themselves. 

 

 

 

 

The cycles of the moon

Full moon is a very special time of the month on Lupita. It usually rises behind our house, like a brilliant, white ball. Before we hung the blinds in our bedroom windows I would sometime wake up in the middle of the night thinking that I had left the bedroom light on, only to realise that it was the full moon shining in through our window that had woken me up.

Full moon for the fishermen along the banks of Lake Tanganyika means no fish for their families. Because these fishermen attract fish to their hand lines with kerosene lanterns, the bright light of the full moon dulls the intensity of their lanterns and so they do not go out to fish. On nights when the sky is dark, when it is new moon or before the moon has risen, the lake is adorned with the fairy lights from the fishing boats. I have counted 250 lanterns in one evening before.

The lights that you see in this photograph are not the lights from houses. They are fishing lights on hundreds of small, wooden, handmade boats.  

Another "spiritual" sunset from the island. This is our sundowner view every night, and some poor guys are stuck in traffic!

A view from the mainland, with Lupita and the distant DRC in the background. Scenes like this simply soak up stress!

The roof structure for the bar & lounge is coming along. It is a double-story building with a substantial viewing deck. The view of the lake from here is going to be AWESOME!