"Water Cobra"

Mbala to Mpulunga, Zambia

Route from Mbala to Mpulungu, Zambia's only port.

A view of Mbala airport from the air

Cameraman Des Seal, sound recordist Terry Meadowcroft and I arrived at Mbala Air Force Base where we were met by director Mark McMullen, associate producer Amy Lansdown-Nasson and British contributer and cichlid breeder/exporter Toby Veall with whom we would be staying at the Kalambo Lodge on the Zambian southeastern shore of Lake Tanganyika.

Mpulunga, Zambia's only port, on southern Lake Tanganyika. click image for an elarged view of the western town and port area.

We drove to Mpulunga on the southern tip of Lake Tanganyika, this being land-locked Zambia's only port, the hub for its fishing industry and the destination for the MV Liemba. From here we travelled by small boat up the lake to Kalambo Lodge, an approximately 30minute ride.

100,000 fisherman use gill nets around the shores of Lake Tanganyika, one possible cause for the decline in water cobra numbers	Drying Lake Tanganyika sprats, Stolothrissa tanganicae, and Lake Tanganyika sardines, Limnothrissa miodon, on the dock at Mpulumgu.
The boats from Kalambo Lodge docked at Mpulungu