A Review Of A Zambian Safari To The Victoria Falls

March is at the peak of the rainy season in Zambia. Additionally it is the green season once again -

water and also green everywhere. This morning is special and that we are ready to go!

We live in Chingola on the Zambian Copperbelt. It comes down to 400 kilometers northern of Lusaka,

the capital of Zambia. My wife , Molly and I had decided that I have a few days off from function. I

work as a geologist for one of the mining companies. So you guessed right, rocks and also minerals

are my opportunity ! But so is the particular Victoria Falls. I really like that it was our own destination

for that day's 'trip'?

Livingstone is home to the awe-inspiring, mystic...Victoria Falls. It's over 500 a long way south of

Lusaka. Now you know why there were to brace ourselves for this 'small journey ,' a trip masking

some 1000 a long way - a great test of driving ability for a day! the feel of the morning implies fine

weather, but as usual mid-day rains were expected. You learn to predict such with age, you know : -

)!

It is 6:00hrs each day and we are packed ready to go. The children, you will find four nice guys we

wouldn't enjoy being without, are flying around. The littlest Martha says, "start to see the falls for us

also and come back home safely." They had to remain simply because they were going to college

later that morning hours.

I threw the particular hold all carrier in the boot in our family car. It's a Toyota Chaser, a saloon car

still good on the wheels. It still pushes effortlessly on asphalt roads and that has been our type of

street all the way; from Chingola to Livingstone. Virtually cutting Zambia in two. See the butterfly-

shaped map of our magic country Zambia.

Kitwe Zambia's Second City

We have been on our way...and stealing from the Chinese saying "a journey of thousand miles starts

with a measure ". Just about thirty minutes later we arrived in Kitwe. This is the first town outside

Chingola. It is the hub of the mining activities in Zambia and the town is centrally located on the

Copperbelt. Its 'wealth' arises from the four surrounding mining towns of Chililabombwe, Chingola,

Mufulira and also Luanshya.

Kitwe has a small central company district surrounded by residential areas. There are a few high

buildings within the company district. But clients are growing and is today encroaching onto the

particular nearby suburbs. Fancy offices are coming in the suburbs. You know, they pull down houses

to replace them with office blocks.

Kitwe is really a small cosmopolitan city , sort of busy, people crisscrossing, shopping and several

with all sorts of wares for sale. Hawker traders are everywhere. It's such as everyone is selling a thing

and everybody is buying...incredible! the particular central business district is small, just a few blocks

or so and that we were on the other side from the town center.

Ndola, the Friendly city

We left the city behind as we went on. Another half an hour later we arrived at Ndola, the capital from

the Copperbelt Province. Called the friendly town of the Copperbelt. Ndola was built being a

commercial and distribution center. You can still see the impressions of its former glory any time

times were great. It has suffered the particular fate of the previous regime's economic studies ! The

manufacturing companies possibly shut down or transfered elsewhere. A the majority of hurried

privatization took its toll right here !

The central company district of Ndola is much larger and much more spacious. The highways are

wide and also clean. The shops are numerous and you see a lots of people and cars everywhere.

Lots of high buildings too! several years ago the beauty was total. There was a lake on the river in

which bordered the town heart in the south. It separated the town from your southern suburb of Itawa.

The airport terminal of the Copperbelt is beyond Itawa. Planes land here directly from Jo'burg (to the

south Africa), Lubumbashi (n R Congo) and also East Africa. It absolutely was built before the airport

terminal in Lusaka.

The little lake within Ndola has a history. It used to be large and also serene. Quite a elegance really.

Now only a boating club still exists but the h2o spots, which was previously the usual weekend

exercise , are gone. Now you see people in a dugout canoe fishing unlawfully.

What brought about this sad story? "one bright" fellow brought from abroad a water lily, a water

hyacinth we all called Kariba grass. It attacked the particular lake and almost chocked it in to

extinction.

So there is no boating, no h2o spots, nothing! merely a small dam in the heart of what was the lake.

The municipality is busy fighting the particular wed, claiming back again the lake. The particular lake

is slowly and gradually coming back growing. Seems like great times are usually coming ahead, i am

hoping ?

Kapiri-Mposhi

We are usually back on the road as well as over an hour later we all made it to Kapiri-Mposhi. Here is

the only town within Zambia with a hyphenated name. Kapiri as it is normally called is really a small

town but on a rail and also crossroad. It must develop to meet the challenges of crossroad

settlements. It's here where the chinese language great railway in order to Dar-es-Salaam begins.

The Tanzania Zambia railway Authority (TAZARA) railway connects Zambia towards the east coast

of africa in Tanzania. Utilizing Chinese technology the particular hills were minimize and the valleys

have been buried during construction of the railway series. Over a thousand such engineering fits are

located on its three ,000 plus km length to eastern Africa.

Kapiri is really a gateway to eastern Africa. If you feel exciting you can drive towards the northeastern

of Zambia. Then cross Tanzania to Dar-es-Salaam on the east coat of Africa. I have performed this

trip once and also driving just over a lot of kilometers to the boundary was my regular pastime in my

before life. But that is one more story!

We did not stop at Kapiri but drove through the small but growing mall.

Kabwe, the First mining Town

Forty minutes approximately later, hello Kabwe. I think the Bemba speaking people will not object if I

repeat the name means 'small rock'. Kabwe has a great history. It absolutely was once called busted

Hill. Yes you can guess it, the particular famous Broken mountain Man, a skull of our recent

ancestors (homo rhodensiensis) - we as humans are homo sepiens. This skull has become resident

in a uk museum. The busted Hill Man skull was discovered at the outset of mining operations.

Kabwe is the first mining town in Zambia. There's a billboard stating just that at the entrance of the

town. The particular mining operations ceased in 1994 but Kabwe did not be a ghost town.

Help came from the fact that it lies on the Great northern Road that joins Lusaka, Zambia's funds city

and the Copperbelt in the north. Grinding has taken root right here. The central company district

continues to be a hive of exercise. It's rather a sprawling town heart , spacious and lots of room. The

largest textile producing company in Zambia is found in Kabwe. It is really an example of Chino-

Zambia federal government partnership.

Lusaka, the capital City

We were back again on the road and right after one and a half hrs of driving brought us into Lusaka.

Hello Capital...and the traffic is just dissipating after the morning rush hour. Its 10 :00hrs two hours

following the factory and workers in offices had managed to slip into their work places! (we wouldn't

want them to listen to me say in which ).

Lusaka was once described the fastest growing city in Sub-Sahara africa. In 1964, with independence

from the uk , Zambia was born using a 'silver spoon in its mouth', or should i say a copper spoon?

With the pleasure in the air and pride boosting the egos Zambians were a contented lot. The

neighbouring countries to the south counseled me still under colonial rule. The economic system was

booming buildings were going up almost everywhere. The government was creating schools; in fact a

school in every district along with a hospital too! training was free. The times were great. Bam ! !

Wake up Zambia!

The country has dropped on bad luck. Bad policies, high essential oil prices, etc did get paid to that.

Today it's a struggle for Zambians BUT you will find signs that far better times are but to come.

However Cairo road is still a fantastic major street. Gorgeous skyscrapers cover the particular

horizons. Shops are in every building. And the people... They're almost everywhere. Lusaka's

population is two million people which is 20 percent of Zambia's population... All in one city. Like

every great multicultural city in africa you will find anything you want. The street venders are

everywhere selling all kinds of goodies and also nice ones also !

When you look in the cars on the primary streets of Lusaka no one would blame you if you briefly

thought you were within Japan. Japanese cars are everywhere. And most are usually brandy new

also ! Cars from to the south Africa, the UK, philippines , and France are all found here. Brand new

buildings are popping up everywhere and in sundry places as if area is in short offer. Is this country

bad , you might ask.

Sorry I digressed... We all decided to surprise Molly's cousin at the girl home. Well, maybe I should

say we had been more interested on the homemade breakfast? remember we started off without

them that morning. If you do greetings and enquiries about her youngsters who were then in class

and her spouse who was busy at work , they were at each other! speaking and hooting gladly like

schoolgirls - who ever said schoolgirls do that, I wonder ?

Suddenly it was lunchtime and a quick light lunch was offered. But we chose to leave before the

family was back. We all didn't want a further delay that would outcome if the family came while we

were still with their home. Remember the Victoria Falls was still further than the distance we had

previously covered from Chingola.

Oh, before we forget. Looking back again we probably went through rains two times or three times.

You stop to count rainfalls when it's a daily occurrence. I never appear to stop enjoying this though!

Windows shut , a touch of heat from your car AC, the best music on - this time it was an African beat

by Oliver Mtukudzi from Zimbabwe. The sound of the particular raindrops and the swishing sound of

tires on the wet asphalt road, occasional vehicles going the other way ! Just imagine that feeling , the

sense of security against the components of the weather - rainfall and wind when you drive past.

Unfortunately driving in the rain provides Molly some soreness. Poor her! your woman couldn't enjoy

in which great pleasant feeling !

Kafue

Kafue is similar to a dormitory town being a mere thirty-five kms south of Lusaka. That was our own

next town however it took about half an hour - what with the high-traffic and a few turns on the

particular hilly road. The particular turns are great for individuals with a dare demon attitude. Imagine,

you're driving down the particular hillside and then up the slope... And abruptly a speeding vehicle

shoots out of a bend! But we kind of enjoy in which. The excitement of danger, you know!

Kafue is a stone dispose of from the banks of Kafue River that the town derived the name. The Kafue

River comes out from the Kafue Flats as it meanders on its way lower stream. The Kafue Flats are

home to Lochinvar National Park, a bird refuge situated up stream of the river inside flats. More

than 741 bird species happen to be recorded in Lochinvar and the counting proceeds ! Birders, this is

your paradise.

Outside Kafue we all cross the bridge over the river. There is a new bridge today. The former bridge

would be a "transplant" from the uk , a present from the uk Overseas Office. The stay lasted almost a

century on this site. RIght after its usefulness was gone the bridge has been replaced with a brand

new one - a western technology! And that's what we drove on.

Mazabuka, the "Sweetest town "

Hello Mazabuka! the city is nicknamed the particular "sweetest town" within Zambia due to the

glucose cane and the glucose factory. Zambia glucose Plc owned through the Ilovu Sugar party has a

sugar stick plantation. It's situated a few kms away from town on the Kafue Flats.

In it is meandering the Kafue gets very close to Mazabuka.

Zambia Sugar creates more sugar compared to the country's local requirement. The surplus ends up

filling up part of the African 1 / 4 on the market of the european union. Opportunities are great within

Zambia. Just recently one more sugar company offers sprung up on the other side from the Kafue,

outside Lusaka.

Mazabuka is now going through a lot of activities. The city is growing steadily, maybe , the

'sweetness' is attracting all and sundry. However Mazabuka is right on the Great North street in the

farming prevent of Southern state , once called the maize belt. Large quantities of maize grain was

previously grown around in the 1960's and also 70's. Not any a lot more , at least not as much!

We are on our way again. This time we had been heading for Monze, the suburbs on the highway.

We went past it without having stopping except in order to slow down a little in order to avoid the

wrath from the traffic police. They "pitched a camping tent ", I mean, put up a road block to test for car

street fitness, driving licences and road tax. So we had in order to pretend that we have been driving

below the utmost speed limit through a built up area.

I don't know about you, but it seems to me that the traffic police are the same almost everywhere.

They'll delay you unnecessarily. When they prevent you just watch these walking towards you slowly

and gradually and majestically, such as they own the world. You get filled with chagrin as you see the

minutes tick by. Such a torture they're!

Back on the road and one more trading center, a really small town flicks by. We don't trouble to stop

because our own target the Victoria Falls is still much too far ahead.

Choma

It is now Choma town. Once again directly on the highway. The particular traffic is light currently of

the day. So generating is a pleasure. We all stopped for some refreshment. Nothing beats a little

stretching after sitting in the car for so long like we had suffered. Choma is another town I love so

much. This love emanates from individuals old university times as a student on a field excursion - you

know, learning rubble and all, geology once again !

During my college student days and on two occasions we ventured into the Zambezi Rift Valley,

south of here, to have a take a look at a coal downpayment and how it was getting mined. You know,

coal formed under extreme heat due to a huge covering layer of rock deposited many millions years

ago. Coal is a cousin of black gold, 'oil', but unfortunately it won't pull in as much cash. What a feel

bad for !

So I digressed again... Choma is really a neat town using its main buildings and also shops all on the

throughway. We took some drinks along with a little rest in a popular stop for buses and motorist. And

we had to leave. This was only just about 50 % way to Livingstone from Lusaka.

As we all leave town it is raining again and that i m pleased to take note this. Molly is really a 'touch'

too unhappy. "This horrible rainfall is back again", i'm able to almost read the girl mind and audibly

she remarked, "will not it ever quit raining?" Bad me I answered in order to spite her. " you know , we

need the rains , at least the farmers do". I deliberately avoided looking at the girl but I could feel the

mood. I realized what she considered. I was incorrigible just as the persistent rainfall itself.

Kalomo is an additional of those trading centres on the highway. A lot of grinding activities in the

encircling area and stores to "siphon" hard earned cash from your farmers. It's a two-way thing really.

Farmers are happy to buy products after selling their crops. Again no stopping. We were today kind of

tied. Just looking forward to a good nights rest in Livingstone. Quickly we were past this small town.

Here is a elegance. There is a town, uncomfortably small though, named after me, indeed me! Well, it

is only a coincidence. The city is called "Zimba" exactly wrote like my name is. Which is why , how

proud personally i think about it. I really pretend the town is termed after "great" me. What a wish!

sadly our desperation has been now heightened and that we really wished we will just be up and also

we're in Livingstone. But unfortunately we had been only driving past my 'beautiful small town.'

We have been now on our own last leg. We had been driving again, the particular Toyota Chaser

ingesting up the road easily , heading to our destination...Livingstone...and the Mighty Victoria

Falls!

Don't forget that! 76 kilometres later and as the French say "bam ! " we had arrived in Livingstone and

safely also...

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