ZAMBIA
ZAMBIA - where I was brought up has been responsible for inspiring me in my mission to teach and inspire other people about my African heritage. Here, I begin to tell you the history and geography of this beautiful country. The source of my information is from the late Dick Hobson, who was my boss and mentor in public relations when I worked for ZAL Holdings, then a subsidiary of the Zambian Copper Mining Industry in London.
THE COUNTRY AND ITS PEOPLE
Zambia, whose name derives from the Zambezi river which has its origins in the north-western corner of the country and flows for many hundreds of kilometres through it, became an independent republic within the Commonwealth on 24 October 1964.
Formerly know as Northern Rhodesia, Zambia is 752 620 square km in extent, more than the combined area of France, Belgium, Holland, and Switzerland. It is landlocked and has boundaries with Zaire, Angola, Namibia, Botswana, Rhodesia, Mozambique, Malawi and Tanzania.
Most of the country is on the great Central African plateau 1,000 to 1,300 above sea level. The plateau is deeply entrenched by the Zambezi river and its tributaries, the Kafue and the Luangwa, and by the Luapula river in the north.
Zambia is typical savannah country – covered with trees and with tall grass beneath them. Rainfall occurs generally between November and March and varies from about 1,300mm in the north to about 500 mm in the south.
The population is about 8 million, of whom all but a few Europeans and Asians are of Bantu origin. Most of the present population is descended from tribes, which invaded the present area of Zambia from the early 17th Century. Many Bantu languages (7 main languages) and dialects (52 dialects) are spoken, but the official language of administration and instruction is English.
Zambia’s Brisitish connections began with Dr. Livingstone’s journeys of a century and more ago, and it was in Zambia that he died. The origins of Zambia’s economy were the administration of the British South Africa company from about 1890, when the country was divided into two areas, north-Western Rhodesia and North-Eastern Rhodesia. These were amalgamated in 1911 into Northern Rhodesia. On 1 April 1924, power was assumed by the British Government through the Colonial Office.
Continued below are my special places and recommendations for you to visit in Zambia.
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NSOBE CAMP
NDOLA RURAL GAME RANCH, CENTRAL ZAMBIA, THE HEART OF THE COPPERBELT
Nsobe camp is a beautiful game lodge about 40 miles from my home at Luansobe in Ndola rural, Zambia, where my mother currently lives. It is well worth a visit. Watch this space for images of a visit to Luansobe and Nsobe camp in April 2004 and 2006. |
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By Potipher Tembo
NSOBE Camp in Ndola rural is something out of a tourist magazine with its picturesque scenes which blend nature and artificial beauty.
Though the place is unknown to many a Copperbelt resident, it is becoming popular to many local tourists who want to have a good time away from the madding crowd in town.
Situated about 57 km from Ndola off the Ndola-Kabwe road, a game ranch is promising to become one of the tourist centres on the Copperbelt in particular and Zambia in general.
The place has great potential for tourism if only its abundant natural resources could be put to good use.
The beautiful natural forests in which several species of animals and birds are denizens rank high among the natural resources.
The camp in the bowels of Masaiti district in Ndola rural was at one time a vegetable farm called Miyengwe and it used to supply a number of outlets on the Copperbelt and other outlying areas.
Since the farm was using a generator for electricity, it could not continue vegetable farming on a large scale because diesel was costly.
Nsobe Camp partner, Mark Tomlinson said when Miyengwe stopped supplying vegetables and other farm produce, it had to divert to tourism since the place had all the natural attractions like the forest, birds and a river which naturally woo tourists.
WILD GAME AND BIRDS
The camp has 14 species of wild game and about 300 species of birds.
According to Mr Tomlinson, the ranch has four major activities; tourism, piggery, cattle rearing and fish farming.
A tour of the ranch recently revealed that tourism was booming and developing fast with the number of wild animals multiplying at a rapid rate.
Mr Tomlinson said a substantial number of tourists have visited the camp since it was established in 2003.
“The place is broad based. An average of 50 to 60 people come here for camping and game viewing every week. The number of tourists is likely to increase when more people get to know about this place.
Many bird lovers from South Africa have come here to view birds,” said Mr Tomlinson.
He hinted that $100,000 had been spent to get the wild animals to the ranch. The ranch started with an initial 110 wild animals but the game has increased to 400 within a short period of time.
“We started with 110 wild animals and there are now 400 of them. This means the environment is suitable and we expect to have several hundreds of animals soon,” said Mr Tomlinson.
The 14 species of the game include giraffes, zebras, sables, kudus, elands, impalas, pukus, waterbucks, reedbucks, siatoongas, bushbucks, common buickers and graycebucks. There are also two species of monkeys - the blue and common velvet monkeys.
Being on the camp would make one feel like the Swiss family Robinson. It is really a therapeutic experience to see animals in their natural habitat.
Mr Tomlinson said the animals were increasing fast in numbers because apart from naturally grown grass in the ranch which they feed on, a large area which had been overgrown with wild ginger had been cleared and planted with rhades and panicum maximum grass whose seed was imported from Argentina through a research station in Chisamba although the grass was an indigenous African.
“There is enough naturally grown grass here, but we have planted rhades and panicum maximum grass which is highly nutritious for the animals. Animals need a lot of pasture to be health and to multiply. Even in dry season, there is still enough pasture for the animals here, ” enthused Mr Tomlinson.
The ranch has about five different habitats enabling the animals and birds get to the environment best suited for them.
But Mr Tomlinson lamented that although the number of animals was increasing rapidly, there were poachers who invaded the camp on some occasions.
“There are animals here and there are villagers nearby who want the game. Once in a while, we hear gunshots at night which indicates that there are poachers. We are trying our best to sort out that problem,” said Mr Tomlinson.
The 1,500 hectares ranch has since been covered with a 22 km electric wire fence.
There is one game viewing vehicle at the ranch and campers willing to use it are charged $5.
The camp also charges $5 (adults) and $3 (children) entry fee, $5 (adults) and $2 (children) camping fee while tent hiring is pegged at $25.
For the poor people and children in the surrounding villages who cannot afford to get into the ranch to view the animals, Mr Tomlinson said the ranch once in a while offers free entry and game viewing to them.
“Since there are poor people and orphaned children without money, we sometimes bring them in free of charge and take them for game viewing. They have a right to their environment,” said Mr Tomlinson.
LEISURE CRUISE IN CANOES
Apart from game viewing, tourists can go on a leisure cruise on hired canoes at K10,000 per half day and K20,000 for the full day.
Functions for schools are also held at the camp free of charge but if participants eat and drink from there, they are charged.
To make the place a complete tourist attraction, eight chalets are expected to be constructed at the camp.
One chalet was opened late last month and another one is expected to be opened within this month. Six others would be completed and a conference centre put up by the end of the year 2004.
There is also a restaurant which is run by Mr Tomlinson’s wife Fiona where the tourists break for lunch and refreshments.
A number of tourists talked to at the camp said Zambia was like Nsobe Camp 100 years ago.
“This is a nice place. History has it that Zambia was like this 100 years ago and I hope more places like this one could be set up,” said Adrian Jordan who is from South Africa but is currently working in Kitwe. He has been at Nsobe Camp three times since it was set up.
A Chingola resident found at the camp, Welter Degraff, said he had seen more wild animals and birds at Nsobe in a short period of time.
“The camp is doing a lot of conservation especially with the wild animals it is bringing in. It is sad to see how charcoal burners are cutting down trees elsewhere when Zambia has such a lovely environment,” said Mr Degraff who was echoed by Ndola resident, Carl Edmonds.
Indeed, there are so many places of this nature which are lying idle. If these places were put to good use like Nsobe Camp, Zambia would surely be one of the best tourism destinations in Africa.
MALAWI
I was born in Malawi - a very beatiful country in Southern Africa, where I lived until aged 12. It is where I first became inspired by village dancing including masked dances from the chewa tribe in my mother's village at Nankumba, Ntondwe, 7 miles from the old capital, Zomba.
MALAWIAN CULTURE
Malawians are part of the large Bantu population that migrated northward from South Africa at around the turn of the twentieth century.
Malawi is a landlocked country that lies east of Zambia, north and west of Mozambique, and south of Tanzania. Its area is 45,747 square miles (118,500 square kilometers). The major topographic feature is Lake Malawi, a freshwater lake that is home to hundreds of fish species found nowhere else in the world. Twenty percent of the landmass consists of water. The topography varies from the high Nyika plateau in the north to the Shire River valley in the south that is an extension of the Great Rift Valley. In the far southeast corner is Mount Mulanje, which is among the highest mountains in Africa.
The capital, Lilongwe, is roughly in the center of the country. However, the major
commercial center is Blantyre, named after the birthplace in Scotland of the first
European to discover Lake Malawi, the English explorer David Livingston. Access to the
Indian Ocean is normally by rail to the port of Beira in Mozambique.
In 1999, the estimated population was ten million, with 45 percent of
the population under age 14, and 3 percent over age 65. The population density is one
of the highest in Africa. Among the major ethnic groups are Chewa, Nyanja,
Tumbuko, Yao, Lomwe, Sena, Tonga, Ngoni, Ngonde, Asians, and Europeans.
The most widely spoken language (60 percent of the population) is Chewa, which originated among the Bantu tribes of South Africa. Five percent of the people speak Yao, and 30 percent speak Arabic. The language of government, industry, and commerce is English, which every school child studies. English is spoken in cities but rarely in rural areas. |
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Watch this space for more about Zambia and Malawi.
Rebecca Jeffery
April 2007