Zambia General Information

Overview Zambia is unspoiled, unpackaged and still unknown to the common tourist. A visit here gives you an authentic taste of what the whole continent used to be like: wild, beautiful and perhaps a bit unpredictable. It’s a vast sprawling country full of open spaces. Most of its 10 million population is concentrated around its main cities. Zambia has some of the greatest natural scenery on the continent. It's a gently undulating plateau of forests, savannah and marshland studded with lakes that has not changed much since Dr. David Livingstone arrived. One fifth of the land is covered by national parks and game reserves, where the wildlife lives in relative anonymity thanks to very few people going on safari here. Only nine of the 19 national parks can be visited, making Zambia a hugely untapped safari destination. These parks are relatively remote and very wild, with ancient rivers and forests that support great herds of game. South Luangwa National Park in particular has one of the most prolific animal populations in Africa especially leopard, which are best found on a nocturnal safari with a spot light. Unusual in Africa, night drives are permitted in Zambia’s parks and open up a whole new world. The walking safari was invented in South Luangwa, and you can now go rhino tracking in Mosi-Oa-Tunya National Park. Nothing beats being on foot in the African bush for sharpening the senses and heightening the wilderness experience. The best way to view the game that lives on the waters of the Zambezi River is from a canoe. Gliding silently up to a herd of elephant taking a bath is an enthralling experience. But it's not all big mammals - bird-watching is also superb in Zambia. Standing at the crossroad between east, central and southern Africa, the country boasts a wide and varied range of species - well over 700 at the last count. Lusaka is the capital city and you will probably pass through en route to Malawi or South Luangwa National Park; but there isn’t much to keep you there. You’re more likely to find yourself in Livingstone, once the colonial capital of the country and now a sleepy little town. It is the nearest settlement to the mighty Victoria Falls. Most people know the Victoria Falls from the Zimbabwean side and forget that they can also be viewed from Zambia. Victoria Falls is one of the world's seven natural wonders and a must-see on any visit to southern Africa. They can be viewed from the Mosi-Oa-Tunya National Park where there are plenty of paths and viewing spots to explore the Zambezi before it plunges into the gorge 100 metres below. The Zambian side is a more peaceful place to stay than the tourist hustle and bustle of Victoria Falls town in Zimbabwe. There are also superb lodges, hotels and campsites. Livingstone has much more of an African feel to it than its sister town on the other side; goats roam the dusty streets, and colourful African markets and curio sellers sit amongst the faded colonial architecture. It has woken up a bit in recent years with the advent of more hotels and restaurants to meet the demand of travellers arriving at the new international airport. Livingstone is the centre of a mind-boggling array of adventure activities focused on the Victoria Falls. The Zambezi River offers outstanding canoeing upstream and white-water rafting and river boarding in the depths of the falls downstream beneath the falls. The Bakota Gorge offers abseiling, rock climbing and hiking, or you can throw yourself into the gorge on a bungee jump, flying fox or gorge swing. From Livingstone airport you can take a scenic flight in either a helicopter or a microlight, which affords the best possible view of Victoria Fall’s immensity and power. Requiring no effort whatsoever, apart from lifting your drinking arm, is the boat ride on the Zambezi River to watch a breathtaking African sunset. A few drinks are obligatory and this is one adventure activity that fully deserves its nickname: the ‘Booze Cruise’.

What is Zambia's history? A Scottish doctor named David Livingstone reached the Upper Zambezi in 1851. He discovered and named the Victoria Falls, which the Kololo people had already called Mosi oa Tunya - The Smoke that Thunders. The people who lived right beside it and held it sacred called it Shongwe (Rainbow). After many more explorations of central Africa, Livingstone died in a village near the southern shore of Zambia’s Bangweulu Swamps in 1873. He was followed by agents of Cecil Rhodes's British South Africa Company (BSAC) in 1890, who signed treaties with several African leaders and proceeded to administer the region as Northern Rhodesia. Its capital was the town of Livingstone. In 1935 the seat of government was moved to Lusaka. Rhodes’s ambition was to make Africa British from Cape to Cairo. (Hence the name of Lusaka’s main street, Cairo Rd.) To obtain income, the BSAC imposed a Hut Tax. The Livingstone-Ndola (DRC) railway was financed by the Hut Tax, and those who objected or didn’t pay met with harsh penalties; their huts were torched and their land was handed over to white settlers. The discovery of copper in the 1920-1930’s soon made Zambia’s Copperbelt one of the worlds’ most concentrated mining areas. The BSAC, which owned the mineral rights, was to profit handsomely - £83 million by 1963. The mines required a large labour force and by the late 1930s about 4 000 European skilled workers and some 20 000 Zambians worked in the Copperbelt. So many African workers in one place created a unity that cut across tribal boundaries. This was eventually expressed in the state motto, ‘One Zambia One Nation’. In 1948 the African Mineworkers Union was formed. They staged several strikes demonstrating against unfair taxes, poor conditions and white rule. A 58-day strike in 1955 ended with victory for the miners, and the mining companies were forced to move Africans into management. In 1958 young nationalists formed the United National Independence Party led by Kenneth Kaunda, which engaged in a continuous and largely peaceful campaign for independence. In 1960 the British Prime Minister Harold McMillan in his famous ‘There is a wind of change blowing through Africa’ speech acknowledged that the days of colonial rule in Africa were coming to an end. Elections were held in Zambia in 1964, and Kuanda became president of a newly independent Zambia. Kaunda remained in office for 27 years, but independence was not a great success story. He controlled a one-party state and his attempts to ‘decolonise’ the economy by nationalising it produced inefficiency and corruption. In 1990 there was a series of food riots and an attempted coup, and the demand for change became so urgent that Kaunda had to concede. Free elections were held in 1991. They were won by the newly formed Movement for Multi-party Democracy led by Frederick Chiluba who became Zambia’s second president. Chiluba didn’t do much better, however. He inherited an empty treasury, a foreign debt of US$7 billion and a country of people who were poorer than they had been at independence in 1964. There was another coup attempt in 1997 and Chiluba declared a state of emergency, throwing numerous opposition leaders and military officers into jail. Then in 2001 Chiluba tried to change the constitution so it allowed him to stand for a third term. The public outcry was immense, and amid increasing allegations of corruption, he agreed to stand down. He named Levy Mwanawasa as his successor who won that year’s elections. In a surprising turn of events, Mwanawasa impressed the country in early 2003 by removing Chiluba's presidential immunity and bringing him to trial on corruption charges. The new government has to prove that they can manage the country effectively and legally. Only then can they attract the international investment desperately needed to kick start the economy.

What does Zambia look like? Zambia is a big country and takes its name from the Zambezi River, which rises in the north-west corner of the country and forms its southern boundary. This landlocked country is hemmed in by a whole host of other countries: the DRC, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia and Angola. At 752 614 sq km, it’s bigger than France, the Netherlands, Belgium and Switzerland combined. The landscape is mostly flat savannah, with areas of tropical grassland and woodland, broken by small hills, and underlying crystalline rocks. These rocks contain the bulk of the country’s wealth in the form of minerals. The 150km long corridor known as the Copperbelt, along the north-western part of the country, is the mainstay of the economy. The main rivers are the Kafue, Luangwa and Zambezi that form deep valleys and a swift discharge of water in rapids and waterfalls. The most famous is the Victoria Falls - not much good for transport but very suitable for hydroelectric schemes and white water rafting adventures. Lake Tanganyika, the second deepest natural lake in the world, touches Zambia’s northern borders. Along the southern border stretches Lake Kariba, the largest manmade lake in Africa.

What is Zambia's weather like? The general height of the land gives Zambia a more pleasant climate than that experienced in most tropical countries. There are three seasons: cool and dry from May to August, hot and dry from September to November, and warm and wet from December to April. Livingstone and the Zambezi and Luangwa valleys become stiflingly hot and humid around September and October before the rains arrive in November. The wet season brings frequent heavy showers and thunderstorms, followed by spells of bright sunshine. Plants grow profusely and rivers and streams fill up almost overnight. During the cool dry season, night frosts may occur in places sheltered from the wind. The countryside dries up gradually and grass fires, fanned by high winds, are a feature of this time of the year. What do the people speak? The official language in Zambia is English, and is widely spoken even in the rural areas. There are 73 recognised ethnic groups in Zambia, and some of them have their own languages with various dialects. The main groups and languages include Bemba, Tonga, the Ngoni, Lunda, the Luvale, the Kaonde and Lozi. After English, Bemba is the next most commonly understood language. Here are a few words of Bemba. If you use them in Zambia, any Zambian will be pleasantly astonished. • Yes – ééya; eendíta • No - Iyóó; ááwe • Hello - Shani • Thank you – Natotela • How are you? - Muli Shani? • I am fine - Ndi Bwino • Good – Suma • Good bye – Shalapo