The south Luangwa National Park in Mfuwe, Zambia is known for its beautiful rivers and diverse biodiversity. In my first year in Africa, I was out in the field tracking lions along a dried up river bed driving through what we call cotton soil. This cotton soil is created by elephants stepping in the mud, leaving behind a large imprint in the soil, and that soil drying with large holes across the landscape. It is horrible to drive through and makes travel slow and very uncomfortable.
We had been looking for this lions for sometime, weaving through the thick Mopane woodland and up and down the river bank but our signal was coming from every which way. When we finally got a strong signal we followed it swiftly until we heard a large clang under our feet. “Was that the prop shaft?...”, “If it was, we are in trouble.”
We step out to investigate under the car and see our front prop shaft in total disarray and our front left wheel was deep in a hole from the cotton soil. The pressure on the front axel from driving through the cotton soil had cracked the CV joint that attached the front prop shaft and axel together. I picked up the receiver to listen for the lions, they were close. The ping from the receiver had quickened and gained strength, and with that so did my heartbeat since we’d both need to get out and under the car to remove the front prop shaft to hobble back to camp. I look at my colleague and we both spring into action. After cracking away as fast as we could, we removed the front prop shaft from under the car. Then got to work freeing the front tire from the hole in the ground by cranking it up and stuffing branches and rocks under the tire, anything for traction. I checked the receiver again, the pings were the same, strong and steady, but we managed. It was time to limp home in rear wheel drive and count ourselves lucky that the lions weren’t in a curious mood.
Getting stuck out in the field is just a reality everyone must face in this profession. It doesn’t mean one is a bad driver or doesn’t know what they are doing, it just means we are working in harsh conditions and everyone has to be prepared for it to go south. And honestly it could've been worse.
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