September 1, 2016 and it’s 6 months since we arrived at Flatdogs Camp, what an exciting 6 months of our lives!
Highlights: our guests, the wildlife, our staff, the simple life in Mfuwe, walking to work and viewing truly amazing wildlife that you never tire of, learning a new career at 55 yrs and 52 years old in hospitality, learning how generous people are in the world through volunteering and them living on minimal salaries to give back to people in need, invitations from guests to come and stay with them, free fitness when you walk around the camp daily up to 15 k’s when the camp is busy, great food, our housekeepers Kenny and Alec thanks for all the washing , cleaning and taking care of us at home, our amazing home with such great karma, only traffic jams are the elephants in camp, celebrating our 22nd wedding anniversary in camp with a bottle Verve (thanks to Jo and Graham, thanks to Jess for teaching me Resrequest and Proflight res system.
Downside: Missing our grandchildren Emily Kaylah and Hugh, Hugh’s first birthday party August 27, cost of flying to Australia is soooo expensive over $5500.00 return for 2 of us, the long 20 – 25 hours of flying from Mfuwe to Sydney, the risk of catching malaria, swimming in the ocean, the northern beaches, our friends, long days and nights.
Wendy and Jamie celebrating Wedding anniv, 6 mths Flatdogs, 22 yrs marriage 1 Sept 2016
Shockers:
Jamie and I have made some rookie mistakes, well Ade and Jess would probably call them shockers! Wendy thinking she was helping and updated the camp medical kit while Jess was out of the country, sorry Jess!, parking a safari vehicle at our house overnight in the wet season – I was outside at 1am in the pouring rain trying to cover the dash board!, having no idea about the rules of an all day drive, introducing a wake up/pick up system with Richard at reception – in the words of Ade “the current system has worked for 15 yrs”,
Working and living in a remote, rural bush environment of Zambia you can never predict what will happen next. You draw on your life experiences and we are both 110% committed to doing the very best for Flatdogs. Jamie and I truly love our life here and very grateful for the opportunity.