A bump in the road

Livingstone was hot and apart from Victoria Falls views and add ons didn't feature much iconic landscape.
After my first night I'd woken with a touch of stomach discomfort. Not the first time. Alex, Athena and I headed for the old Vic falls bridge which provided a free version of the better positioned falls views. As the bridge connects Zimbabwe and Zambia it's a border crossing with a bungee and zipline for thrills. You ask for a bridge pass at immigration and stroll onto the bridge for as long as you like. About 10 minutes was sufficient.
We then headed to the nearby Radisson which had riverside views down to the falls, and famously zebras at times in the park like grounds. Not today.
I got dropped back at camp, feeling a little worse for wear, and considered a few more days of rest to deal with the gut rumbles. Figuring Lusaka looked a little cooler, I booked a bus for the 7 hour journey, as well as a nearby "luxury apartment". I was realistic about the apartment which was more of a step up from the cheaper accommodation.
Late afternoon another cyclist arrived. She'd been staying with friends for a bit nearby but was getting organised to head into Botswana. We talked about our travels, bike stuff and future destinations. Dinner rolled around, with all 4 of us contributing to a shared meal.Then an earliesh bedtime with plans set for tomorrow.
The next morning a sizeable herd of elephants paid a visit moving through the camp and around the opensided kitchen dining facility. Myself and Madeg spent the next 30 minutes observing and filming, judiciously retreating when annoyance was signalled either by the square on ears out stance, or short mock charges.
After they departed I finished packing and headed off. Unfortunately I'd dislodged my rear mirror whilst packing and not realising hadn't recovered it before departure. 3km up the road I ran into the elephants again. They were emerging from the scrubby bushes seperating the campground from the road, and slowly moving across. After 5 minutes they started to move along, and the backlogged traffic started to filter through. I slipped by alongside a van as a barrier. I then realised my mirror was missing and parked up & jumped in a cab to retrieve it. The older driver was specialising in slow travel and I was now counting the minutes remaining before the bus departed without me. Eventually arrived back at the bike, well overpaid for the short trip and hoofed it with the bike to the bus station. I arrived in ample time, and rolled the bike fully assembled into the luggage compartment. Phew !
Lusaka terminal was described as well organised. It wasn't. We sat in the road for 10 minutes in a version of bus gridlock. Considering previous overseas bus rides I'd prepared for some unloading chaos based on prior experiences. This was pretty similar. Somewhere in the chaos of the swarming touts and 'helpers' someone picked my pocket, and my phone disappeared. Focused on getting my bike unloaded safely, and security of the bags and gear it took until I needed to navigate to my apartment to notice. Clearly this was a problem.
Over the next 30 minutes I checked everywhere I could bit to no avail. I'd lost my pictures as well as my digital payment capability, essential due to the earlier loss of my physical Wise travel card in South Africa.
Taxiing to the apartment was a chore. Upon arrival I realised there was no aircon or power, with load shedding being habitual. We circled the area looking for a place with a Genset to but the taxi clearly was just taking pot shots. Given the evening I directed us back with the hope things would improve.

I've also added some photos from Madeg to compliment those I had already uploaded.もっと詳しく