Zambia 2024

Getting To Know Zambia: Learning In Lusaka

Eleven hours on a bus gives you, amongst other things, plenty of time to think and, in the case of our monster trek to Lusaka, the chance to reflect on our three weeks in Malawi. Did we enjoy it? There were many elements which we absolutely loved, but we’re not certain that “enjoy” is an appropriate word, simply because life is so different, and because so many things are decidedly difficult, that travelling the country requires constant effort.

Let’s start with the good. Wonderful scenery, amazing locations, and a population which effortlessly earns its reputation as the “warm heart of Africa”. Friendly, helpful people everywhere. However, Malawi is a very under developed country and the lack of infrastructure is at times a challenge. Getting anywhere, even over short distances, is an exercise in logistics. In addition, there may be some great points from which to view magnificent scenery, but each location is otherwise very limited in terms of worthwhile destinations. It’s not like you’ll find a wealth of museums, architecture or iconic buildings, it’s just not like that. Nor will you find organised walking trails or the like. All this, coupled with the difficulty of getting around, feels a little….restrictive.

Lastly, we are not usually in the habit of eating, and thus spending our evenings, at the accommodation in which we stay. In Malawi there are really no alternatives, the lack of infrastructure and lack of development means that restaurants as we know them don’t exist in any number. Or indeed at all. Following on from Kenya safari where evenings were inevitably spent at our remote lodge, there’s only really been Diani, and to a lesser extent Cape Maclear, where we’ve had the freedom to “go out”. It feels like there’s a piece of our travel jigsaw missing, as a result.

Conclusions? Malawi is a beautiful country with spectacular scenery and lovely people, but it’s not without its challenges. Fair to say it wouldn’t be everyone’s ideal destination……especially if you aren’t willing to risk driving. For us, with the benefit of a rental car, the positives easily outweighed those negatives and we have experienced a beautiful country.

And so to Zambia, by reputation one of Africa’s more peaceful, stable countries and one with, on the face of it anyway, a genuine democracy. As we make our way on, we are expecting to find that Malawi remains the least developed country we see, and that things will change noticeably as the journey unfolds. Lusaka suggests that we have made a correct assumption in that respect.

Our passage through Zambia will be a brief one now, due to a change of plan – a change of plan born entirely out of economics and budgeting. In fact, we weren’t even meant to be in Lusaka yet, the intention was to spend a night in Chipata and then head up to the national park at South Luangwa, but the cost of that option was enough to blow our minds let alone our budget. More than one safari lodge wanted more than £3,000 for a 3-night stay…no, really, they did. The cheapest we found was around £850. Do we really want to spend that much money on three days doing something we’ve already done in Kenya and will be doing again in Namibia? No, is the short answer.

And so we’re in Lusaka instead, where the subject which dominates every conversation is drought. “The south has had no rain in nearly two years”, someone said back in Chipata; it’s the first subject anyone talks about here in Lusaka, and it’s the opening item when we catch a glimpse of TV news. It’s also one of the main reasons behind the “power shedding” policy of the Government, long bouts of power outage across the entire nation, which seemingly started out at 4 hours per session but are now regularly longer than 24 hours.

With limited time here we take the unusual step, for us, of pre-ordering a guide for a walking tour of the city on our first day in Lusaka. Darius is good, too, talking us through Zambia’s complex history, diverse population and current political situation, as well as taking us on a tour which really shows the city’s different sides, from the cramped downtown with its manic markets to the gleaming shopping malls which feel no different from the West, and to the grand embassies and parliamentary buildings of which photography is strictly illegal.

Freedom monument, Lusaka

Lusaka is sprawling and not necessarily spectacular, but is striking in one very definite way. On the journey here we spent long hours watching rural Zambia pass by the bus window, looking like little or nothing has changed in a very long time: straw and bamboo houses, tribal communities and tiny remote villages where roadside fires and idle bodies were the dominant sights. Here in Lusaka, we’re in a different world, one where evidence of investment is clear, where there are cinemas and well stocked supermarkets, where KFC, Shoprite and Steers betray footholds from other economies. Two different worlds in one country, already.

Darius is proud of recent developments in Zambia, proud of what he believes is its genuine democracy, supportive of the Government’s efforts to strengthen the economy (“we’re doing alright” is his stock commentary), and happy to try and explain Zambia’s complex story.

He whets our appetite enough for us to make a beeline next day for the National Museum, where we try our damnedest to understand that complex tale. The museum is, as Darius was, eulogistic in its praise of national hero Kenneth Kaunda – in fact about a quarter of its floor space is dedicated to a veritable Kaunda biography. Our feeling is that not only is that idolisation justified but so is the praise for subsequent Governments and Presidents – after all, achieving relative peace, harmony and democracy in a country with 73 different ethnic groups is pretty impressive. And that number of 73 doesn’t include latter day immigrants from Europe and elsewhere.

Within the museum, a map of the historical migrations of the different tribes and where those people are now settled, really brings home the reality of this disparate population, not least in the fact that more than 70 different tribal languages are still spoken within Zambia’s borders. The museum walks us through the different eras of the country, through its time as Northern Rhodesia and the period of British control managed virtually entirely by the British South Africa Company run by Cecil Rhodes. Sections of the narrative are less than complimentary about the so called “Scramble for Africa” when European powers competed to exploit the natural resources of the region.

In answer to our questions, Darius tells us that contemporary Zambians view the British colonial era with mixed feelings. There is an awareness that “we” brought structure, organisation and strength to the economy, but it is coupled with a resentment that we unashamedly plundered the region’s resources. Well, like it or not, that’s precisely what colonising nations did. All of them.

Rhodes it was who conceived of the grandiose scheme of the Cape To Cairo Railway, which, had it been completed, would have been a monumental civil engineering project enabling freight to travel the whole length of the continent in both directions. It didn’t, of course, ever get completed, but the sections that do exist have and still do enable Zambia to export its natural resources such as copper. Which of course was always one of Rhodes’s money making aims. As a result, Zambia has direct rail access to two ports, Cape Town and Dar Es Salaam, the Dar alternative being prioritised as a second alternative during the years of sanctions against trade with South Africa.

Our relationship with Lusaka has been a bit like travellers’ speed dating, a rapid intake of information which no doubt only scratches the surface of the complex character beneath. Lusaka is not what anyone could call an attractive city, its modern advances having plainly been piecemeal, resulting in odd juxtaposing of old, new, decrepit, shiny, traditional and blandly modern. The only real buzz is around the markets where the atmosphere is lively and edgy at the same time: don’t walk through here with unguarded pockets.

There are though some peaceful green spaces, a bold Anglican cathedral and a sight which has followed us through two countries: the improbable but stunning colour of the jacaranda blossoms painting amazing deep lilac blotches against both city concrete and rural dust.

Our speed dating session is done. We journey south again now, teaming up once again with our old friend David Livingstone in the city which bears his name.

Taking the road out of Lusaka towards the airport it feels irreconcilable that we are still in the same country as the empty barren lands and remote tribal villages that we spent hours passing on the bus a few short days ago.  Miles and miles of ever more arid land and skeletal leafless trees passed by that day, dotted by market clusters reminiscent of Malawi, and the occasional bush village with bamboo roofs on tiny houses. Now, on the airport road, it’s swanky head offices of insurance companies, giant hotels with in-house casinos and drive thru fast food outlets. The two faces of Zambia are poles apart, one covering the greater part of the country’s geography, the other the lion’s share of its economy. It’s hard to imagine how the two halves ever meet.

The airport is clean and modern too, and today the domestic terminal is quiet and relaxed. There’s an endearing bit of “old school” about it as we walk across the concrete apron to our waiting prop plane rather than being ferried a couple of hundred yards by bus like at most airports.

Just under an hour later the little prop plane is touching down at Livingstone and we’re smiling at the fact that the luggage carousel is a static wooden bench. We’re further amused when our backpacks are two of the first three bags out.

And so to Livingstone where the mighty Zambezi forms the border with Zimbabwe and cascades over the Victoria Falls….

Livingstone: Thrills And Adrenaline At The Victoria Falls

We arrive in the town of Livingstone with high expectations and an even higher level of excitement, yet as we are welcomed into our digs by the ultra friendly staff we have no indication of just how many thrills the next few days will bring. Once in a lifetime experiences are, unbeknown to us, lurking in the trees.

Our first glimpse of the waters of the Zambezi is as the mighty river swings around to come alongside the road, its calm waters feeding lush greenery on either side in total contrast to the surrounding tinder plains. The surface looks solid, glasslike, mirroring the cloudless sky, serene enough to kid the unsuspecting visitor that to cross it on foot is possible, so perfect is its sheen. Yet this deceptively tranquil river is less than a mile from the falls, less than a mile from this calmness being thrown over the edge, cascading over the Victoria Falls and crashing into the canyon below. In less than a mile these serene waters will be falling hundreds of feet to become the raging torrents of the next stage of the journey to the ocean. Yet for now, the waters are blissfully unaware of….

Our spell is broken by the driver. 

“There are lots of elephants here just now”, he says, “they have come from everywhere. You will see elephants while you are in Livingstone. Plenty elephants here just now.” Well there’s a thing.

All that we have read tells us that this is not the most spectacular time of year to visit the Victoria Falls, with the dry season well underway and the water levels approaching their lowest before the rains return. And then, this year, there’s the drought. Nevertheless we arrive in Livingstone with those high expectations, this is after all one of the seven wonders of the natural world and we are more than eager to take it all in. Even with that uncontrollable level of excitement, we have no inkling that our high expectations will actually be exceeded.

Our first sortie is down to the border where we obtain a temporary permit to cross briefly on foot into Zimbabwe, a permit which only allows us to walk across the famous Victoria Falls Bridge above the gorge, then back across the bridge into Zambia. The views to the base of the canyon more than 150 metres below are fabulous, how incredible it must have been to travel by train across here on the rails which still glint in the sun, on this wonderful feat of engineering. Part of Rhodes’s brainchild Cape To Cairo Railway, the bridge, built in Darlington, England, and shipped here in sections, wasn’t completed until nine years after the man’s death. He never got to see this particular masterpiece, nor the demise of his grand plan. 

Back on the Zambia side, we head into the National Park. Following trails from the Livingstone side of the bridge, we soak in our first views of the mighty Falls, and even though this may be dry season, the drama of the Zambezi cascading over the sheer canyon side is awesome. Just imagine what David Livingstone thought as he was brought here by local tribes and became what is believed to be the first white man to set eyes on this incredible sight. He must have been spellbound: spellbound enough indeed to name the falls in honour of his Queen.

There’s places named the Knife Edge Bridge, Danger Point and the Devil’s Cataract: names sufficiently dramatic to match the drama of nature. We climb down to a place where the ferocious waters clash, known as The Boiling Pot (though the locals say Boiling Point), and stand on the rocks watching and being deafened by the raw power surging past just a few feet away. It’s been a terrific hike, and for us a fabulous double, having visited both the Iguazu Falls and the Victoria Falls in the same year. Amazing sights.

Livingstone itself is a cool little town, still overtly African but with three added characteristics: a town on the cusp of a spectacular natural site, a town which is a base for adventure, and a border town to boot. We can feel all three influences heavily as we wander its streets, markets and craft stalls – there is an upbeat vibe which is impossible to miss. Blue striped taxis compete for business, would-be vendors call “looking is free today” and there are coffee joints called Cafe Au Lait and Happy Bean. We’ve already made a significant cultural move from the remote corners of Malawi.

At one end of the High Street (Mosi Oa Tunya Road), the Livingstone Museum takes us first through Zambia’s ethnological history with much detail of the evolution of the tribes and tribal ceremonies, before we reach the life story of the man who gave his name to the town. Pioneer, explorer, missionary, mentor, reformer…. the man led a remarkable life driven by ambition, belief and what must have been more than his fair share of bloody mindedness. His legacy 150 years after his death is spectacularly rich and completely inescapable in these parts.

If setting eyes on the falls and the Zambezi isn’t enough of a thrill, our stay in Livingstone is to deliver a whole load more in the way of excitement. First, a serene boat trip on the mighty river delivers more than just a sunset, with abundant wildlife perhaps giving clues as to why Dr Livingstone named it the Wild Mile. A solitary hippo surfaces for air, a crocodile basks in the last hour of sunlight, a huge wading bird which looks almost as big as an ostrich struts along the bank – apparently it’s called a goliath heron.

Suddenly, just as dusk is falling and we’re heading back to the jetty, one of the crew takes the microphone. “Elephants crossing ahead”, he casually announces.

A hundred yards or so in front of the boat, a herd of elephants has taken to the water, pushing their giant forms into the river and swimming through the deepest channel with effortless grace. Of all our previous elephant sightings this is the first time we’ve seen a group swimming together, and it’s a wonderful sight. Witnessing them cross the Zambezi is an extra perk after a beautifully peaceful and serene cruise.

Midstream, one of the bulls mounts a female and mating begins: elephants prefer to mate in water rather than on land for reasons of ease and practicality. When you weigh as much as they do, having the water to take some of the strain is a definite plus – in fact it’s difficult to imagine, errr….no, let’s stop that train of thought now.

With the hiking trails and the views of the falls and the sunset cruise with its lovely elephant bonus behind us, one last amazing experience awaits, this time with an adrenaline rush up there with our zipline, rafting and bobsleigh thrills of previous trips. A trip to the Devil’s Pool is next on the agenda, an experience which is literally a taste of life on the edge.

Our guide takes our group of seven – we’re joined by two American couples and a German guy – first on a slaloming speedboat to a viewpoint way above the surging Zambezi, right on the tip of the escarpment, looking down at the clouds of spray with their integral rainbows. These are fabulous viewpoints away from the public hiking trails, on Livingstone Island in the middle of the Zambezi, an island which you can only access on guided tours such as this.

On Livingstone Island

And then it’s time for excitement, time perhaps to test our courage, to get that adrenaline racing. The seven of us, with guides at front, rear and centre, step into the fast running waters and wade out into the Zambezi, following an anchored rope under strict instruction to not let go even if we stumble. Up and down the rocky contours of the river bed, we reach the end of the rope and it’s time to hold hands in a human chain until we reach the next set of rocks.

We clamber over, one by one, under strict supervision, and now we’re here, at the Devil’s Pool, one of the most thrilling places we have ever been. Next, we take our turns to swim across the pool to two guides opposite – to the very top of the Victoria Falls, the world seemingly falling away below into the abyss of water spray and rainbow. Somewhere down there, nearly 400 feet below, is where the cascading waterfall finally hits the bottom.

Now, the ultimate thrill. One by one we climb on to that last rock, laying on our belly to look down over the precipice into the incredible scene below. We are literally laying face down on the very edge of the Victoria Falls, our legs held by the guides. There is nothing but water and spray separating us from the giant chasm below, just the hands on our legs and our hands on the rock stopping the raging waters from making it the last thing we ever see. This must be one of the World’s most unique experiences, and boy is that adrenaline racing now. Wow.

It’s still racing as we reverse the journey, wading back along the rope through the fast flowing water until we’re back on Livingstone Island – and still racing as they rather comically serve “high tea” to us still in our wet swimming gear. How very colonial. How very British.

It’s been an amazing, truly amazing, once in a lifetime experience. Yet another day of travel we will never forget. We came to Livingstone and the Victoria Falls with high expectations which were there to be shot down. We will leave with a clutch of amazing memories and a once in a lifetime experience.

NOTE: The Devil’s Pool experience is a benefit of being here in the dry season. When the waters are high, the views may be more spectacular, but that amazing experience is off limits. Great timing huh.