Coming Home!

by Tammy-Jane Gray
(Winterton, Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa)

Hi you lovely couple,

My name is Tammy-Jane (TJ for short).
I came across your website (thankfully), while searching for the old Zambezi Boat Club we
used to hang out at as kids.

Well, so many stories I don't really know where to start, so here goes nothing.....

I was born in Livingstone in 1959, where my father was a tobacco farmer and auctioneer.
We had lions and elephants roaming around our home in those days.
My dad and his cousins would need to go on "culling trips" for at least three weeks, so
of course Sudza, Venison and Biltong were part of our staple diet.

I read the Zambezi Boat Club had burnt down a few years back. I recognized it immediately
though. Same green roof and verandah. There was a huge German man called Jurgen, who was
the caretaker at the time. He always chased elephants out of his garden and when a tad drunk,
would jump off the cruise boat on the Zambezi and wrestle with the crocodiles!
Trust me when I say we witnessed this firsthand.
My dad and other members of the club would arrange for us kids to stay on one of the islands
with our cook men for a night or two. As you can imagine, it was probably one of of the
most exciting times of our lives! Until the one night, a rather perturbed hippo rushed up on
the bank to stomp our bonfire out!(Never forgot that).

To name but a few, I learnt to use a rifle when I was only 9 years old and driving at 11.
Best childhood ever!
We obviously did the trek after 1970 and ended up in Marandellas, (then Rhodesia).
Having been shunted to Europe in the early 1980s then through work, travelled most of
east Africa from 2010.
In the interim, I've been back to a number of African countries, but never had
the chance to go back home. Now finally after so many years, it's on the cards!
It's true what they say when Africa remains in your blood!
Life for me has taken a turn that I never imagined possible, so coming home it is!
I have many Zambian friends living in South Africa and Sweden, who have been
incredible friends and looked after me in times of distress, therefore "payback time"
is on the cards, so I wish to request your help in putting a trip together for them and me.
My guess would be approximately 9 adults (maybe more). I'm anticipating maybe March 2024.
p.s.
Apologies if I waffled on unnecessarily, and I do hope to hear from you.
Best,
Tammy-Jane Gray
+27 664 149 645