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Two needed Times2 5511
2 Down Cat:scent. c?v?t
5 Across Eagerly competing V?i?p

Civet and vying

1st one is civet.

wow........first time I have used this site. Many thanks.

Welcome to ever growing but elite band, Campbell Clarke.

Very interesting. We all think of "civet cats" as does your compiler, but when we were on safari in Zambia, our guide told us that the civet is actually NOT A CAT!

http://www.wildcatconservation.org/When_Is_A_Cat_Not_A_Cat_.html

True Wendy, but in Crossword Compiler Land they are! ;0)

Wendy,
Oh tell me about the game park in Zambia please. We lived there 1971/74 and regularly went to Kafue Game Park which in those days was a series of thatched mud huts - have things moved on?
Cheers
Julie

OMG Julie,

You’ve just unleashed a whole debate twixt me and my old man. We would have been there mid-1990s. We went to Malawi then on to Zambia. We too stayed in Kafue which was extremely posh, run by South Africans and the waiters wore white gloves when they served us at dinner. Totally over the top IMHO. Accommodation was in properly-built “cottages” with en-suite bathrooms bordering the river. During that trip we also went to the Busanga Plains which was when our guide Dorian told us about the Civets – henceforth we referred to them as “civet-dogs!!”

The camp at Busanga was incredibly basic, so basic that the lions roared outside our hut which was made of dried grass and I was expected to walk across open land to the long-drop toilet. One look at the toilet was enough for me. Lord only knows what horrors would have bitten my b*m!! When I said I wasn’t prepared to do it, after dinner, Dorian called “the man” who called to the other man “BUCKET FOR MADAM!” While on the plains I got disgustingly bitten by tsetse flies – anyone who’s experienced those, will know that the first thing you know about that is the red stain on your white socks!! The owner of the camp was incredibly kind and gave me some ointment which helped no end.

I understand that they now have proper ensuite facilities at Busanga which, because of the rainy season, are dismantled each year.

We also went to Chamilandu (by jeep) then across the river which was full of all unmentionable big things! Our host there (Clive) couldn’t help me to carry my suitcase because he’d been bitten by a scorpion the previous night.

Nuff said. The experience is one which I wouldn’t have missed for the world but I have to say I’d never, ever, go on a remote safari again!!

The owner of the camp at Kafue took us out on the aluminium flat-bottomed boat and ran over a hippo. The guide was furious because he said that the hippo would never forget and would be quite likely to raid our camp.

I apologise in advance for those poor gits who have to read the drivel of an ancient tourist, but in my defence, she did ask!!

Hi Wendy,
Yes I did ask for it and thank you very much for replying. Wow yes it has moved on. I have always wanted to go back but my husband always thinks you should never go back and that I must remember it as it was - basic - and definitely not posh. The lions roared outside the hut but I was more frightened that the geckoes in the thatch would fall down onto the bed. There certainly was no ensuite in the 70's but there was basic plumbing and an outside stone sink with running water for doing the washing up. When there was a long queue for the sink the local boys would let me queue jump in exchange for a palmful of Squezy. Many thanks for filling me in on all the changes it brings back many happy memories of lovely Zambia. Of course there was a lot wrong with the country but we just put it down to Z factor !
Cheers
Julie