On to Zambia

Trip Start Jul 09, 2008
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Trip End Jul 30, 2008


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Flag of Zambia  ,
Friday, July 18, 2008

We left Nambwa Camp early and drove to the Zambian border. The Namibian side was fairly straight forward but I got separated from everyone else and got put back further down the queue, much to everyone's amusement. It was a very squashed affair with everyone pushing to get to the counter in a very small hot and smelly room. Eventually I made it through and we continued to the Zambian side. Here things were much more complicated as we had been forewarned. People were everywhere and it was difficult to work out where we should start. First we had to get our passports stamped and pay the £75 each visa costs. Next Andy and George were shown into a small back office to sort out the 3rd party car insurance. Then it was on to the custom office where they checked that we were entitled to bring the vehicle into Zambia and pay the carbon tax. Rather interestingly the guy wrote down our details using his 'Viagra' pen! Then it was on to a tiny caravan to pay the local council tax and to a slightly bigger caravan to pay another tax. We had to laugh as often chicken and fish were noted down as passengers in the car details of previous vehicles.

We drove to Katima Mulino and crossed over the wonderful new bridge and got our first view of the mighty Zambezi Road to Zambia full of cattle!
Road to Zambia full of cattle!
 . On our way to Livingstone we stopped off at Kasangula at a trucker stop for a beer while the boys played pool. We paid in Rand which seemed acceptable in most places and received some of our change in Kwacha, the local Zambian currency. The large amounts on the notes were misleading as although we had about 7,000 kwacha we worked out that it was worth about a pound sterling!

Eventually we arrived at Livingstone. A large bustling town and probably the most well know of Zambian towns because of the Victoria Falls. The town gets its name from David Livingstone who first saw the falls in 1855 having heard about the 'smoke that sounds' from the locals. We drove through the town to Stanley Safari Lodge set high up on top of the hill just outside Livingstone. The lodge was amazing with incredible views over the Zambezi valley and we could even pick out the smoky spray of the falls themselves.

The property was beautiful and we were to stay in one of the suites that also had stunning views across the valley and its very own plunge pool.  The swimming pool was an infinity pool that worked incredibly well falling away over the valley below. The gardens were filled with birds, tempted by the food put out and I was able to add a few more to my extensive list of birds I had seen on this trip. The lodge is fenced so it was safe to walk around as no predators could enter and there was no chance of finding a lion on your bed when you returned back after dinner. After camping this was idyllic and we determined to make the most of it. The main house was open on the side to allow you to see the beautiful views and there was something about the place that reminded me of old colonial Africa in the way it has been designed.  Our suite had a beautiful mahogany four poster bed and was tastefully decorated with African artefacts and old maps and photographs.
That night we went to see the lunar rainbow at the falls a phenomena caused by a full moon having been lucky enough to time our stay to coincide with this. Lunar rainbows (also known as moon-bows) are rainbows that occur at night as a result of the light from the moon. It was an incredible sight to see this white rainbow stretch across the falls but it would be the next day when we saw them in daylight that would totally blow us away.
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