Zambia African Safari

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Saturday, April 23, 2005

A Centennial Celebration at Victoria Falls Bridge, Zambia

On April 22, a threesome officiated at a centennial celebration! From Zambia came Alice Simango, the Minister of Southern Province and Joseph Punyuka, the mayor of Livingstone town. Nkosilathi Giyana, the mayor of Victoria Falls town, represented Zimbabwe. The ceremony was for the Victoria Falls Bridge centennial celebrations, which is part of the “Visit Zambia 2005” campaign that kicked off in December 2004.

The Victoria Falls Bridge was built by Cleveland Bridge Company of Darlington England. It was designed by Sir Douglas Fox, a knight.

Why the centennial celebrations?

...Because Livingstone town was established in 1905, that is 100 years ago. The Victoria Falls Bridge was completed in April of 1905, that’s a 100 years ago. It was officially commissioned on September 12, 1905, still a hundred years ago.

Now add a winner! Dr David Livingatone, the famous Scottish missionary, explorer, etc., was the first white man to site the waterfalls locally known as Mosi-oa-Tunya, laterally translated to “the smoke that thunders.” This was on November 16, 1855, 150 years ago. Dr Livingstone named the falls after Queen Victoria of England. So it’s a centennial and 150 years memorial celebrations!

Who is organizing this? Another threesome! The Zambia National Tourist Board, the National Heritage Conservation Commission, and the Livingstone Tourism Association. These constitute the “Visit Zambia 2005” campaign . It’s a chain of events put together to commemorate a centennial and 150 years.

Tuesday, April 19, 2005

Traditional Ceremonies, a Zambian Safari!

Would you have known it? Zambia has numerous traditional ceremonies. But a word of advice! They generally do not follow the normal calendar. The weather elements and a bit of "sniffing" or such related matters bring things to bear on the date… if you get the drift...

But seriously, the timing of most traditional ceremonies depend more on natural factors such as rainfall, the season, the month, etc. If you happen to be around when one of these ceremonies is on don’t miss the opportunity. Seize it! Just ask your tour operators they’ll advise you.

There are more than 21 annual traditional ceremonies cerebrated in Zambia. They generally manifest customs, social life, rituals, oral history, material and spiritual culture. They provide a valuable insight to a traditional culture that has been passed down from generation to generation. One of the most colourful traditional ceremony is the Ku-omboka.

The name Ku-omboka means "to get out of the water onto dry ground". Every year during the rainy season as the floodwater of the upper Zambezi valley rises, the Lozi people make a ceremonial move to higher ground. You should see it .

Remember the “sniffing and things” I mentioned above? The Chief decides that it’s time to leave (anytime from February to May). The drums signal this. The Lozi people are on the move. They pack their belongings into canoes .…and the whole tribe leaves en mass! The chief rides in his royal barge called the "Nalikwanda". It’s got zebra stripes that run up and down and make it look great on the water.

Just imagine the jostling that gets under way when it’s time for the people to get selected for this great honour, the honour to paddle the royal barge. A troop of traditionally dressed Lozis paddles it with pride. It takes about six hours to cover the distance between the wet season capital Limulunga and the dry season capital Lealui,

This crossing when completed successfully is celebrated with traditional singing and dancing. Great traditional beer and all! This ceremony dates back more than 300 years ago.

But alas, this year’s Ku-omboka has been cancelled for lack of sufficient waters in the Zambezi. The rainfall was rather low this last season. How disappointing! But next year is coming.

Tuesday, April 12, 2005

The "Eagle Has Landed" A Safari Lager!

It has absolutely nothing to do with Hitler’s German but everything to do with Zambian safaris. It’s a new lager and new on the market…and available too for your safari. Eagle Lager has already been acclaimed as the “Great Taste…and Real Zambian” by lager connoisseurs.

The “eagle has landed” is a project but with difference. The “eagle story” started in July of 2003 when a concept to develop a beer from an entirely Zambian raw material was muted. Therein lies the importance of the “eagle story” and the eagle lager too!

They had to pick a crop that grows everywhere in Zambia. Sorghum was chosen. A lager was to be brewed from it. The Zambian Breweries sorghum project was started. The Financing came from the Cooperative League of the United States of America-Small Holder Enterprise and the Marketing Programmes (CLUSA-SHEMP), a project funded by USAID/IFAD.

The sorghum project selected peasant farmers. They were put into groups. CLUSA-SHEMP provided the sorghum seed and trained farmers how to growing quality crops for brewing the lager. And who were the lucky farmers? 4,000 were selected!

Before the projected started there were just about 400 farmers who grew sorghum. And today the number has grown five times. Over 2,140 grew the crop last season (December –March). Their harvest should translate into 300 tonnes of quality sorghum crop.

It is estimated that not less than 60,000 people in the extended family scenario of the 14 chosen rural districts in Zambia will benefit from the sales of their sorghum. This will impact directly on poverty alleviation.

This project is an example of the cooperation between the public and the private sector. So the “eagle has landed” is a beer launch by Zambian Breweries. It’s a lager brewed for Zambian safaris…and brewed to reduce poverty at the same time. When you drink it you’re helping the poor. Just remember that!