A couple of friends asked me to join them on a two-week trip to Zambia, I had no plans for the summer of 2022 and happily tagged along. Victoria Falls and Kariba Dam I had visited on the Zimbabwean side in 2014, so why not watching from the other side. Besides Livingstone seemed a must-do. The whole trip went differently as planned but above all it turned into a one-month journey by bus and train and took me to the very remote village of Ching’ombe, but that’s another story.
Victoria Falls Zambian Side
Lusaka – an incredible plan is born
Luckily my friend William Gioradani in Vienna had arranged a pick-up by his friend Joseph from the airport. I met William on the day of my departure in Vienna, where he entrusted me with 3500€ in cash to pay for an artificial leg. William grew up in Zambia and founded an NGO Natuleya to support the people village Ching’ombe, where he grew up.https://natuleya.org
That very evening, I meet his friends, Cornellius and Raymond and we partied away in a fancy club. Surprisingly I did not collapse. The flight from Vienna via Addis was so extremely bumpy that I was completely exhausted from being afraid when we finally landed.
Welcome party in a club in Lusaka – Joseph, Cornellius, Raymond – all from the village of Ching’ombe
I used the day before my friends arrived to find the bus and the train station. The idea was to take the train from Zambia to Dar-es-Salam, after my friends left. My inquiries were not very successful, the office building of TAZARA train company was deserted. It even seemed to me that people had moved in! They were helpful, but I came to understand that this was not the kind of train company I expected.
A common sight in Lusaka’s street vendors display single shoes
Walking longer distance in African cities as a European draws more attention than you want, so after theses excursions I stuck to my neighborhood near the Protea Hotel by Marriott. It is a fine hotel, but near a noisy road and without a terrace or garden, so the next day I moved to StayEasy Hotel nearby. It has a garden, a pool too cold to use in July, and a shopping mall is within a two-minute walk.
Lusaka Bus station
EasyStay Hotel
Mobile phones are the life line in Africa- selling SIM cards employs millions of people
The SIM-card business needs cyberguards
Reunions in Lusaka
Since there is really nothing to see in Lusaka, I invited myself to Joseph’s home, to meet Constavius. The young man had lost his lower leg after a snake bite was not treated properly. He told me his story and a plan was hatched. During the 10 days I was travelling with my Austrian friends, his prothesis would be adjusted. So the question was how did Constavius and his brother get back home. The village can only be reached by an off-road vehicle. I offered to pay for the petrol, if I could come along. We had a deal.
Meet Constavius and his brother at Joseph’s home
My friends’ arrival was rather hectic, they had a horrible delay, Clarissa’s luggage was lost and Martin’s credit card was swallowed by an ATM, all on their first day. Andreas, who has been in a wheel-chair since childhood, was exhausted from the long flight. Only Reinhard was healthy and not missing anything. They had one day to fix all these issues and then we headed west to Kafue National Park.
Clarissa buying new clothes from street vendor after her luggage was lost
From Kafue National Park to the Emergency Room
If you have visited the National Parks in Tanzania, Kenia or even Zimbabwe, don’t bother coming. There is very little to see, a few antelopes and zebras.
Road from Lusaka to Kafue National Park
Kafue National Park – very little to see
It is a very long haul from Lusaka, the roads are very well maintained, only one stretch was really bumpy.
We stayed in gorgeous bungalows overlooking a lake, the view was breathtaking, especially when the sun set. The owner had lived in Africa all her life and moved here from Zimbabwe after Mobuto kicked out all Europeans and South Africans. She started farming again, in addition she opened this hotel. One evening she had a friend visiting, same story. He left Zimbabwe after his wife was beaten to death by people trying to take over their farm. The evenings at the bar listening to their stories are burn in my memory forever.
Musungwa Lodge at Kafue National park
Kafue National Park
Owner of Musungwa Lodge at Kafue National Park
On the third day, disaster struck, Andreas had difficulties breathing. Soon it was clear he needed medical attention and I offered to accompany Andreas and his sister Clarissa back to Lusaka. Neither phone reception nor internet worked, only whatsapp. I asked friends in Vienna to google the best hospital in Lusaka and we raced back. When we got closer to Lusaka, I called the hospital to announce our emergency. Google guided me through Lusaka and we drove straight into hospital. . His sister took the chance to check on her lost luggage and yes, it had arrived. Sadly, Andreas had to stay in the hospital until the day before his departure back to Austria. Clarissa did not want to leave him alone and stayed in Lusaka.
Andreas spent 10 days at Lusaka Hospital. Only after enough money was deposited via credit card, he was admitted
Clarissa getting her luggage back at Lusaka Airport after 5 days
Log book for lost luggage at Lusaka Airport
So I the driver took only me back south, after a few hours I met up with Martin and Reinhard and we continued as planned to Livingstone.
Siavonga – Kariba Dam
The final stop of our trip together was Siavonga, a small town on the Zambian side of Kariba Dam. This gigantic dam is shared by Zimbabwe and Zambia. When I travelled through Zimbabwe in 2014 we crossed ocean-like artificial Lake Kariba (5000 km2) by ferry during the night. The lake was created after the dam was built, which required the resettlement of more than 30,000 Batonka tribespeople of Zambia and the evacuation of thousands of wild animals (“Operation Noah”).
The most gigantic room at Lake Safari Lodge in Siovonga overlooking Kariba Lake
This time was less adventurous, we stayed at the very comfortable Lake Safari Lodge which less nothing to be desired.
A road follows the crest of the dam and allows to cross into Zimbabwe. The dam was under construction, for what reason we could not find out.
This was the time to say goodbye to Martin and Reinhard, they stayed for another day before flying back to Vienna. I squeezed myself into a minibus heading to Lusaka. Lucky me I got to sit in the very last rows, there must have been over twenty people on a bus licensed for about 12 people. What worried me was that in case of an accident I would be the last one to get out, if …We arrived safely in Lusaka and the next morning we sat off to Ching’ombe.
Saying good-bye to Martin and Reinhard in Siovanga
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