| "I will make this land better known to men that it may become one of our haunts. It is impossible to describe its luxurience."
David Livingston, Journals.
Overview
Home to the magnificent Victoria Falls, and to some of the most untouched land in Africa, Zambia is a truly beautiful country. Relatively poor - it has only just begun to recover from the sudden fall in world copper prices in the nineteen seventies - it is a country that understands and values the importance of making the most of its natural resources, its climate and its wildlife.
As a result, the tourist infrastructure is very well maintained, and, in places, quite exceptional; which, given its vast range of terrains (mountain, valley, escarpment, plain), and its highly defined seasons, makes Zambia the perfect place to launch demanding itineraries.
Zambian Journeys
Victoria Falls apart, places of key interest are the two Luangwa wildernesses, the extraordinary Lower Zambezi river basin and Kafue National Park, Zambia's oldest national park.
Exclusive, wild and luxurious, the accommodation everywhere in Zambia is first rate. The properties themselves are small and generally owner run, and prove excellent bases from which to explore the country's wildernesses. Vast and almost empty, most destinations are both remote and wonderfully inaccessable, making the fly-in safari the most viable method of travel.
Apart from night game drives and exploring (by land or water) its many wildernesses, one of Zambia's main attractions is the chance to walk through the likes of South Luangwa National Park. For those for whom this type of safari is something of an unknown quantity, walking the wild is a little like becoming a child again. Everything is that bit more intense, new and in the moment. And, acting almost as a counterweight to sensual rawness of the walk, the picnics and evenings that break it up would grace even the most lavish of nineteenth century caravans.
Depending on individual needs, it is easy in Zambia to tie in plains-based safaris with water pursuits, making for an itinerary that is as varied as it is exciting.
Welcoming, diverse and, as of yet, refreshingly underused, Zambia works well either as a destination in its own right or as part of a package designed to take in the likes of Botswana, South Africa or Mozambique. |
