Zambia accommodation

Zambia Travel Guide

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The area which is now the Republic of Zambia (formerly Northern Rhodesia) was initially inhabited by hunter-gatherer tribes for thousands of years and something of a crossroads in the migrations of Bantu and specifically Nguni peoples. This explains the fact that Zambia has nine major ethno-ling ... more...

Numerous European traders found their way into the region in the early 1800s in search of ivory and slaves but the region was not colonised until the late 19th century when it would prove to be a major link in the expansionist plans of Cecil John Rhodes.

By 1964, when Zambia attained independence under Kenneth Kaunda, there were 70 000 British settlers living in Zambia and the copper mines in Zambia’s northern Copperbelt were producing significant amounts of the metal, but the copper price slumped in the early 1970s, leaving the newly independent country with a large gap in its finances.

After a decade of economic collapse in the 1990s, matters began to pick up in 2002 with a sudden surge in copper production and demand. The government is also diversifying and aims to reduce dependence in minerals by boosting investment in agriculture, tourism, gem-stone mining and hydro-electricity.

While not a sporting giant, Zambian independence took effect on the last day of the 1964 Summer Olympics, making it the only country to have entered the Olympics as one country and left it as another!

One Man’s Utopian Dream

Christina Lamb’s much admired book The Africa House is subtitled “The True Story of an English Gentleman and his African Dream”. Published in 1999, it tells of the journalist-cum-author’s chance encounter with Mark Harvey and her subsequent visit to his family home at Shiwa Ng’andu. Shiwa House and the estate were developed by Harvey’s grandfather, Sir Stewart Gore-Browne, who moved out to Africa from Surrey, England, to build a mansion in the bush in the 1920s. It was surrounded by his own utopian village, which included the provision of schools, hospitals, playing fields, shops and a post office. Gore-Browne also assisted with the development of state infrastructure throughout the region, becoming active in liberal politics. He is, to date, the only white man to have been given a State Funeral in Zambia. The eulogy was delivered by none other than President Kenneth Kaunda. It’s a long way from Weybridge in Surrey!

Did you know?

Currency: Kwacha

Independence: From Britain on 24 October 1964

Official language: English

Head of State: President Rupiah Banda

Capital: Lusaka

Top Traveller's Tips

Lusaka – visit House no 494 in Chilenje, from where Kenneth Kaunda led the Zambians to independence.

Zambian rivers – a third of Africa’s water is said to originate in Zambia and it has some mighty rivers to show for it. The Kafue is the most scenic and the Zambezi the most spectacular.

Livingstone, once the capital, is now the tourism capital. If it is adrenalin-inducing, it is available here. www.livingstonetourism.com

Victoria Falls – known to the Zambians as Mosi-oa-tunya, the smoke that thunders. One of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World, the falls can be viewed equally well from the Zambian and Zimbabwean banks of the river. Take a raincoat and cross the so-called Knife-edge Footbridge for a closer look ... www.victoriafalls.co.za

Kafue, Lochinvar and Lower Zambezi National Parks offer game not easily seen elsewhere in southern Africa, such as the lechwe and the puku. Sable and sitatunga are also more easily found in the Zambian parks.

North and South Luangwa take pride of place as the most scenic national parks in the region. There is no better place to drink a gin and tonic than on the Luangwa River at sunset.

The Africa House – Stewart Gore-Browne’s mansion is open to the public. For a more laid-back experience, stay at Kapishya Hot Springs on the western side of the estate and drink champagne in the bubbling waters.

Festivals & Fun

The Kuomboka – Leaului. The Litunga moves from one palace to another, aboard his flotilla, dressed as British Admiral. Truly. (Feb/Mar)

Lusaka Music Festival – a different musical theme every year (June)

Livingstone Cultural and Arts Festival – in the presence of a number of traditional rulers and a lot of oblivious music fans (September)

Features, creatures & Flower power

Black cotton mud is not strictly a flower but it can take on a life of its own. Overlanders and 4x4 drivers should be especially wary in the rainy season when travelling in Zambia’s national parks, and especially in the south of Kafue. The black stuff can creep up on you and swallow up your wheels in no time!

Critics Cuisine

Eureka Campsite, south of Lusaka, for a cooked breakfast and Sky News + 260 1 272 351

No Name Restaurant, Livingstone. German food, perversely, but damned fine peri-peri chicken + 260 97 820 919

Fringilla Farm, 100km north of Lusaka, for the best pies in Zambia and a good butchery at which to stock up with local beef and sausage. +260 1 213 885

Kapishya Hot Springs – book dinner and enjoy all home-grown produce. It will be the meal of your holiday +260 1 228 682

Mosi – in a continent where national pride is attached to the beer, few are as good or as proud-making as a Mosi to slake the thirst after a dusty day in the bush. It’s no coincidence that it is named after the biggest curtain of water in the world, the Victoria Falls.

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