Zambia: The Land That Thunders
By Adriane Berg
If you have dreamed of Safari, or boating down a jungle river, or witnessing the mesmerizing dances in a traditional African village, but felt that such adventure was not available to your family, think again. Zambia, a country in the heart of central Africa can provide all you desire in a safe, friendly and accessible manner.
Zambia has its share of game parks, such as Luongo and the very popular Kafuie, where the “BIG FIVE” (lions, elephant, water buffalo, rhino, and leopard) cavort. But the beauty of Zambia for the family traveler is the accessible destinations that provide a smorgasbord of sight and sound experiences. Although animal sightings come fast and furious, you and your children need not have infinite patience or display impossibly quiet behavior. Plus, financially the Kwacha (Zambian currency) is at 5 to a dollar, a very generous exchange rate for US travelers appalled by the undaffordability of Europe and even Asia.
Victoria Falls-The Smoke That Thunders
If you make one excursion to The Land That Thunders it will most likely be to Victoria Falls, at Livingston. This Disneyesque version of an African tourist town remains real enough to satisfy even the most jaded traveler. My fellow travel writers agreed than the 5 star, Royal Sun Hotel was really a six star. We gazed at the Zambezi River from multiple level patios off the hotel’s courtyard. Each of us was assigned our own butler. A colleague whose clothes were muddied from rafting, found them washed, pressed and hung up in his closet.
At the Royal Sun, families can eat at private tables along the river or in the elegant dining room complete with colonial extravagance in carpeting, fabric and lighting.
Or take the marvelous boat ride along the Zambezi and float along side hippos; watch as elephants on the shore wave to you with their trunks. Then dock for a grilled lunch on the bank.
The Royal Sun knows how to accommodate any need. Ask for Hamilton whose life I have promised to “ruin” by revealing him as the gem of the resort. Do you need to book a safari on the back of an elephant? Or to fly above Victoria Falls in a micro light (a piloted kite-like contraption that gives you bragging rights without the fright of hang gliding)? Hamilton is the man for the job. If you have special nutritional requirements, or want advice on maneuvering with utmost mobility, Hamilton will help you.
The Royal Sun has a first class day camp for typically developing children, and offers to design a program for anyone with any level of ability if contacted in advance. I suggest three weeks at minimum, especially if you want to take the elephant walk safari where you venture out into the bush on the back of a pachyderm, then have a close petting encounter with them after the journey. You will start out at 6:30 am or 4:00 pm before or after the hottest of the sun, and have an experience you thought was only found in novels or in your rich imagination.
While the Royal Sun is grand and sophisticated, a young family might prefer the Zambezi Sun. I believe this hotel is higher in class than its rating. A third class hotel, it is easily fourth class, and arguably close to five. It’s nosier than the Royal, mostly because it attracts families with children. Its traditional red mud and wooden beam décor is the stylized version of an African Village, complete with trade markets, and out door cooking.
You may stay at either resort and take a short shuttle or short walk to use the facilities of either. The Royal Sun has massage at the pool and high tea in the afternoon. So if kids are in day camp or on a supervised safari, you may want to luxuriate in this very adult style.
Africa-The Greatest Show On Earth
Shake off the temptation to rest, and take in the sightseeing and naturalist marvels of the area. It starts with Victoria Falls a well-developed tourist area. This year marks the 150th anniversary of the missionary, Dr. Livingston, who discovered the area. To visit the falls you need only darn a rain coat, available on sight and take a walk. Victoria Falls is a romanticized and spectacular sight. Visit the small park dedicated to peace just this year, through the auspices of the IIPT-International Institute for Peace Through Tourism. Zambia is an ideal country for such a park, as her national motto is “Zambia Peaceful and Free.”
The Falls is a catalyst for adventure travel. The rapids create some hectic white water rafting. My colleague’s bungee jumped off the falls. The attendants were so safety conscious and caring, and the exercise so exhilarating, that I pledged to try it myself next time, and resolved to conquer my fears. I did enjoy the thrill of a helicopter ride over the falls. The sheer breadth of the Zambezi, the open bush, and the rushing water provide a thrill equivalent to my copter rides into the volcanoes of Hawaii.
Of course, for most of us travel in Africa is all about the animals. Zambia has some of the best game parks in Africa, and is where the walking safari originated. But, if safari is not in the cards for your special needs family, Victoria Falls does a credible job of showing off its wild life without requiring you to live in a tent or wait quietly for long periods to enjoy a viewing. I took a mini game drive through the nearby (under 5 minutes) park at noon. This really is the worst time of day to view animals as they are smarter than tourists and rest in the hot sun under the brush. Nevertheless, I saw giraffe, water buffalo, rhino, kudu, hartebeest, wild boar (Pumba), numerous birds, including the giant stork, impala, and monkeys.
A delightful excursion that seems to be don’t miss for tourists is a sail down the Zambezi at sunset aboard the African Queen. This is no “Tugboat Annie” Tub. The boat is new and smooth, and boasts an open bar with what the Zambians call snacks. Don’t be fooled this is real food. Start with a few cashew nuts and you may think it ends there. But the service continues with russets, chicken skewers, fried fish puffs, and fruits and more. For us it was dinner, but it’s more than snacks in any ones estimation.
A Real City at the Falls
There is more to Victoria Fall than its luxury resorts, Victoria Falls is a real city, with discos, town hotels and local restaurants. I made fast friends with the owner of the Livingston Hotel. This is a 21 room, in town hotel, with fresh clean rooms and the friendliest owner. It’s mostly for domestic and business travel. But the savings are enormous and a wonderful choice if you want to spend your money on sightseeing and not on accommodations. Do say that I sent you and do call a few weeks ahead of time with your plans. You cannot imagine how willing the owners are to open up their “home” to you and your family.
If you crave some excitement I suggest a hot spot like the Water Bemba where I heard “J.K. and the K-millions” strut their stuff singing contemporary songs in Bema while the audience rocked. No wonder, a little Amarulla (like Bialeys but lighter) goes a long way.
And you’ll even find a chain restaurant. Ocean Breeze, brings you seafood in a family atmosphere if you or the kids crave a Benigans or Fridays sometime during your trip.
Perhaps the most critical aspect of Victoria Falls for families, especially those with special needs, is how easily you will fit into the scene. Africa can be a handful for the casual traveler. Zambia is no exception. Malaria warnings come with instructions to start preventive treatment while still at home. It’s best never to drink tap water and to brush your teeth with bottled water as well. Given this, it’s comforting to know that the two Sun hotels are on constant spray alert, and include invisible safety features like automatic anti mosquito infusions in the rooms, that begin at dusk. If, like me, you are hyper sensitive to all chemicals, and react very badly, the room infusion is in your control.
Now For Something Completely Different
Victoria Falls is an easy tourist destination, and clearly the most advanced in facilities outside either of the Zambian Safari Parks. But if you want something completely different, or if you find yourself on a business trip to Lusaka the capital, you may want to follow an itinerary with your children that I had the pleasure of designing for myself and a thirteen year old companion.
I suggest you hire a van from Gem Star, or one of its reputable competitor tour van companies. They supply a knowledgeable driver, a tourist guide and the transportation in a comfortable, air-conditioned van. In my case the tariff was $350 and the van could seat up to six people, very comfortably. My excursion took ten hours, and, as I am known as a tourism slave driver, I put my guides through some mighty paces, and they took it with a smile.
History and Shopping
Start out your trip with a house tour of Lusaka itself. This is a very African mix of office buildings, shanty neighborhoods, markets and thatched huts along well paved roads. Take in the local history by getting a lecture on the liberation of Zambia from the British by visiting the compound of its first President, Kenneth Kuanda. No words can bring the message of the importance of personal freedom and governance home better than to have your child witness the spartan bed, tiny rooms and austere living conditions of this statesman and his large family during the fight for independence. You will wonder at the family’s decision to stay put even after the election and victory.
Lusaka also has its share of excellent shopping. Bargaining is in order and the currency exchange allow you to buy a great deal. Do not hesitate to make your purchases. Similar articles are twice the price in Victoria Falls, and more than that at the airport. The traditional market is the top dog, but I also liked the Cultural Village. This at first seems small and disappointing for a cultural village, but is absolutely authentic and will serve your souvenir purpose.
Lusaka has a museum, in a rather sad state. But this is also an opportunity to have children understand what “emerging nation” means. As with any foreign venue, a walk through food markets is a must. I bought a small broom for twenty-five cents as a fond memory of the generous nature of the people I met in the market. But small children should be kept away from the shanty towns, as Zambian children may shout and ask for money or even playfully run after you and it can disturb a child’s equilibrium and your own. There is clearly poverty, but the people sustain themselves. Don’t expect the extreme suffering that is depicted in midnight infomercials, but if anything less than 5 star preys on your mind, have a tour operator pick and choose your sightseeing spots.
Magic by the Lake
Once out of Lusaka the adventure begins. I took the road to Lake Kariba. The Lake is one of the largest in Africa, and is man-made by damming up the Zambezi. I thought of it as the Lake Powel of Zambia, but such references have no weight once you arrive. In fact the very essence of what makes Zambia worthwhile to the tourist is how counter intuitive the country is. Instead of being greeted by a vast techno industrial water way, I found lodges where a $6 buffet allowed my companion and I to choose a live bream fish for grilling, and languish on the veranda overlooking the lake. We could have swam, but as victims of the boot camp school of tourism he and I pretended to spend a moment of rest on a lounge chair, just to say we did it.
Then it was on to “Jurassic Park”! We rented a speedboat with the most knowledgeable driver and guide for an almost 3 hour tour of the waterway. Houseboats, and larger boats are also available. Zimbabwe, on the other side of the Lake is in political disruption at the moment, but the first class mansions and hotels still dot the shore. The dam, built in 1911, is a veteran of the Africa legend. It seems that things went wrong, with structural collapses and stresses, until sacrifices were made to the god of the river. Your guide will give you an idling tour of the area, and then take you to the main attraction, the Island of the Elephants.
No one had told us that there were animals on the islands formed when the land was flooded. One draw back of Zambia is its almost humble reluctance to tout its wonders. A good brochure would make all the difference. As it was, we stepped out of our boat onto a pristine island and encountered blanched animal bones, and footprints the size of dinosaurs. Of course we had encountered the tracks of a family of elephants that live on the island and ply the waters. But it was the giant kudu tracks, looking suspiciously like raptor prints and the Jurassic-like foliage that set the scene. By now my wide-eyed companion and I were ready to abandon caution and take a walking safari on a deserted sandbar in the middle of the Zambezi-way cool!
Back on land we visited the fresh fish markets where our guide and river host explained the fare and picked up some dried fish for themselves, ten times cheaper than in Lusaka. I passed on the fish, but had already bought hand carved giraffes, hippos and elephants from the craftsmen that dot the road. We learned that merchants from South Africa visit these stands and resell the items in tony Capetown. At a dollar each for an elegant necked giraffe and twenty dollars for a major statue we were way ahead in the souvenir game.
The trip back to Lusaka is long and dark, but many a tale can be told along the way. Zambian legend is filled with the colorful, the riveting and the terrifying. If the kids don’t mind, have the driver point out the Mountain of Disasters!
Adventure is Everywhere
There are numerous other do it yourself experiences you can have along the route, up to about 7:00 pm and starting very early in the morning. There is a cockatiel farm, where you can see crocodiles eat chicken and be handled just like any roadside family attraction in Florida. You can request a visit to a farm, reminiscent of “Out of Africa”. Or ask the guide to take you to the botanic gardens. Don’t expect Cypress Gardens or any slick venue—Zambia does not do slick except in Victoria Falls and the top game lodges. Instead opt for fun. There’s something memorable about seeing the same old thing in an exotic setting.
How the Zambians Live
I could not resist visiting the hut compounds along the road to see real Zambian native living. They are not in deep brush, but easily accessible from the road, as if you were turning into it someone’s driveway. The compounds consist of a communal kitchen, neat and painted in faux smoke to simulate a fire. The pointed hut roofs are of straw and the smoke escapes from roof holes. The entire community, about six to ten families cook in this kitchen eat under a lean to tent. Each family has a one-room bedroom, toilets are “au natural” , and cows come to greet you. The men will ask if you want a drink and be happy to show you their bar—usually a stone structure with no floor or doors. I respectfully declined, more because of the sanitation concerns than the quality of the bar, which seemed fully stocked. As in Asia, it is customary to tip the head of the family, give the children small currency, especially if they allow a picture to be taken (it goes without saying that you will ask permission.)
(I understand that to some tourists this visit is tantamount to putting “natives “ on display. It has always been my notion that meeting the people in their homes is the top connection one can make with a new country. As the one-time owner of a grand Victorian home, I often had strangers ring my bell to request a look, or ask if the neighborhood ever did house tours. Once the son of a first owner showed up to take photos for his aging Mom in Illinois who had previously lived there. I said yes, and we spent a wonderful few hours talking history).
With the lady of the village, I spoke with “hand and foot,” in sign language, as she spoke no English and I no Bemba. But my admiration for the way she had faux painted the walls of her hut was clear to her. She showed me how she died the mud and applied it with her thumb so that every dot bore her thumbprint. I could imagine cloth with such a texture and pattern. So she and I exchanged interior decorating ideas. What else is new?
In the end visiting an unusual but growing country like Zambia takes curiosity, a love of your fellow man, an adventurous heart. It does not take tons of money, physical stamina, or years of study. Take the kids to this beautify country and tell them that I sent you.