Zambia Mention the word "Zambia" and you will
conjure up widely divergent impressions in the minds of
Elephant encounter. (Lower Zambezi, Zambia).
different people. Even experienced travelers
may need to spend a few minutes scanning back and forth across an African
map, from east and west and north to south and back again, before being
able to pinpoint the exact location of the country. However, those who
visit Zambia never forget it. It becomes, to them, the true essence of
Africa, Africa in its purest form, the Africa that armchair travelers
have been reading about and dreaming of in dusty old manuscripts for generations.
From the small, hospitable villages that line the banks of the fabled
Zambezi River, where tribal elders still do battle with the elephants
to drive them away from their annual maize crops, to the age-old images
of women bearing buckets of water or firewood on their heads as they climb
hills with babies strapped to their backs, Zambia is the Africa that we
used to know, or at least thought we did.
Lusaka Lusaka is a city with a certain shabby charm,
and its people are friendly and cosmopolitan. The
Canoe safari. (Lower Zambezi River, Zambia)
name Lusaka is derived from that of a Lenje headman,
Lusaaka, whose ruled a nearby village when the railway came through in
1906. A railway siding was built at the spot, and a capital city has grown
up around it. Until that time, the area was relatively uninhabited, except
for a notorious population of marauding lions. In fact, on the very night
that the siding was laid, lions killed several oxen almost beneath the
wheels of the shunting engine. The town was chartered in 1913, but when
the First World War broke out, attentions turned elsewhere, building stopped
and the town stagnated. It roused itself from that stagnation in 1929
and has spent little time looking back since.
The country gained its independence in 1964, provoking
the usual rush of name-changing and building. Before the country's economy
collapsed, several new office towers rose over the city center, their
designs throwing style and dignity to the winds as monumental scale took
priority over beauty and imagination. Today, a modern skyline rises above
the surrounding bush.
Lower
Zambezi National Park The Zambezi River is often heralded as the fourth
largest - and, more importantly, the least spoiled
Zambezi River (Zambia)
- river in Africa. From its source in northwestern
Zambia, it flows for almost 1,700 crocodile-choked miles (2,700 kilometers)
to its mouth on the Indian Ocean coastline of Mozambique. Canoeing safaris
and fishing are the most popular activities conducted on the river, with
emphasis being placed on wild adventures where game animals frequently
provide visitors with close and exciting encounters. Wild and undeveloped,
the Lower Zambezi National Park is the biggest game area in the Lusaka
region. It is located directly opposite Zimbabwe's Mana Pools National
Park.
Victoria Falls Victoria Falls, actually situated on Zimbabwean
territory, is arguably the most famous tourist
Group shot at the falls. (Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe)
attraction in all of Southern Africa, a place
of legends and unquestionably one of the greatest natural wonders of the
world. A solid curtain of water, fragmented only briefly by four small
islands of startling green, the wide Zambezi roars over the edge of a
sheer 330 foot (100 meter) high veld escarpment in an explosion of thunder
and spray. At its widest point, it is almost a mile (1,690 meters) across.
In times of flood, it discharges as many as 143 million gallons (546 million
liters) of water each minute. But the statistics are hard to fathom. Suffice
it to say that the mighty cascade of the Zambezi River, as it plunges
into the Batoka Gorge, is the widest curtain of falling water on the planet,
and it remains, even to frequent visitors, a truly magnificent spectacle.
The falls were formerly known as Mosi oa Tunya, the "smoke that thunders."
So it was called when David Livingstone was led to it by Sekeletu of the
Makokolo on November 16, 1854. He renamed it after his queen.
People Zambia's 8.5 million people are mostly Africans
of Bantu origin. They belong to a number of different tribes and speak
73 different dialects, although the official language is English. There
are seven major tribes in Zambia. Some have lived in the country for centuries
while others are more recent settlers. The Lozi, based on the Barotsi
floodplain, are one of the more fascinating tribes. Fiercely independent,
the Lozi pledge allegiance to their king, the Litunga. They have a colorful
culture that centers on the annual Kuomboka ceremony. Lozi tribesmen are
often encountered on canoeing safaris on the Lower Zambezi.
Travel Tips Even though our trips seek to avoid the most stricken
areas, all visitors should take precautions
Elephant. (Lower Zambezi, Zambia)
against bilharzia and malaria. Visitors should
also keep an adequate store of drinking water on hand, as stores and service
facilities are sometimes difficult to find. Visitors are advised to carry
bottled water (or, alternatively, equipment for treating or boiling tap
water), as the tap water is not always fit for drinking.
While crime is not as big a problem in Zambia as it
is in some of the neighboring Southern African countries, it is always
wise to be careful and to take reasonable precautions. For the latest
information on security issues in Zambia, please consult the U.S. State
Department's consular warning sheets.
Film is not widely available in Zambia, so visitors
are advised to always keep several spare rolls on hand. There is no greater
disappointment than seeing that extraordinary lion - always better than
the last one - at close range and then discovering that your stock of
film is depleted. Visitors who are thoughtful enough to bring binoculars
wind up being the envy of everyone in the bush.
Temperature/Weather Zambia lies within tropical latitudes. The Zambian
calendar can be divided into three general
Morning coffee. (Lower Zambezi, Zambia)
seasons: summer, winter and spring. During the
summer months, from November to March, temperatures
can be exceedingly hot and humid with almost daily rainfall. Dramatic
electrical thunderstorms often sweep across the countryside. Winter and
spring temperatures are far more pleasant and are generally accompanied
by a dearth of rain, particularly during the winter months. During these
months, minor irritations such as bugs and mosquitoes are less of a problem,
enabling visitors to devote a greater degree of attention to avoiding
the hippos lounging in the paths of their canoes.
Reading List In order to make the most of your trip to Zambia,
the following reading lists will help you gain a better understanding
of the landscape, culture and people. Here you can also purchase any books
you might need for your Global Adrenaline trip!
Global Adrenaline, Inc.
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Chicago, Illinois 60602
USA
Tel: +1-866-884-5622 (toll free in USA)
Tel: +1-312-863-6300 (outside USA)
Fax: +1-312-873-4440
Email: info@GlobalAdrenaline.com
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