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Lusaka has been accorded several names its enthusiasts. ”The real Africa” and the “Sleeping giant” are some that come to mind as rapidly as the Victoria Falls-considered a wonder of the World.
The ‘Real Africa’ due to some of Africa’s purest game parks and ‘sleeping giant’ for its mineral stock, untapped energy sources such as the [...]
Written by Travel News on July 28th, 2009 with
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Lusaka has been accorded several names its enthusiasts. ”The real Africa” and the “Sleeping giant” are some that come to mind as rapidly as the Victoria Falls-considered a wonder of the World.
The ‘Real Africa’ due to some of Africa’s purest game parks and ‘sleeping giant’ for its mineral stock, untapped energy sources such as the mighty Zambezi River and vast expanses of arable soil underutilized.
Zambia’s capital city is one of the highest points at an altitude of 1, 300m above sea level and it lies at the junction of the main highways to the north, east, south and west covering about 70km square. There are air links to most of the major tourist destinations in Zambia from Lusaka International Airport which also acts as landing for most international flights 25km from the centre.
Zambia airways flies to and fro Jo’ burg and has scheduled flights to Mfuwe, Chipata, the Copperbelt and Livingstone. The domestic railway goes to Livingstone, Kapiri Mposhi and the Copperbelt while the Tanzania Zambia Railway – Tazara – comes down as far as Kapiri Mposhi, where the Zambia Railways train links it to Lusaka. Buses arrive from Harare, Lilongwe, Johannesburg, Livingstone and the Copperbelt. Check out Lusaka flights here.
Local buses are generally available for those with a character of steel to guard against petty theft scenarios, and the discomforting pushing and shoving that comes with it. There are several local car rental services to counter that, and even though they are expensive, they might save you more in comparison to the theft.
Once you have you transport figured out, let it take you to the best attractions starting with the simply beautiful Munda Wanga Environmental Park. A naturalistic environment has been set up within it to keep the wide animal variety in character. The Park is a noble cause with the intention to educate Zambians on the importance of Wildlife conversation and of course to keep the foreign currency flowing in form of tourism.
A sanctuary within the park keeps safe a number of yellow baboons and elephants are found in plenty in the same Mundi Wanga. Tigers, The African painted dog, bears and lions are another reason you will have to visit the park while in Lusaka. Some of the rarest plant species will be found in the environmental park’s garden together with other exotic variety of plant life.
From the park to church, check out The Anglican Cathedral regarded as one of the best local attractions in town. The beauty of the stained glass windows of the cathedral are surprisingly mesmerizing and worth the quick visit.
The best bet for a true feel of Lusaka is probably when you go shopping. The shops are mainly grouped along the broad double carriageway of Cairo Rd with the different markets among which the Soweto Market is famous. It’s a hive of activity with thousands of stalls filled and cleared every day with a myriad of products. Motor spares dealers, restaurants, hairdressers, fishmongers, fruit-sellers and rows and rows of “salaula” – discarded clothing from the West sold to Africa by the bale are at your disposal.
There are two modern shopping complexes, Manda Hill and Arcades, located within one kilometer of each other. The two complexes combined house approximately 90 retail shops, including two large Supermarkets: Shoprite and Spar, GAME (a Walmart-type store), bookshops, Blockbusters Video, clothing and jewelry stores, drycleaners, baby shop, music shop and furniture stores. Arcades has a five-screen cinema complex and Lusaka’s only bowling alley. There are smaller shopping areas scattered throughout the city, some specializing in textiles, others in crafts, etc.
Sporting activities have been on the lips of many as a worthy pastime with world class golfing facilities, tennis courts, swimming pools soccer and polo fields to mention a few. The Lusaka Golf Club will quench the golfers urge to madly hit a small white ball far into thin air in the hope that it lands into a hole only a few feet wide. There are polo matches on the weekends at the showground while the Hash House harriers organize walks and runs on Saturdays at 1500hrs.
Even though not in the centre of Lusaka, the Victoria falls also called “Mosi-O-Tunya” “the smoke that thunders” will definitely spice up your trip and help in meaningful travel chit-chat with friends back at home. They are 295 or so miles (6hr drive) from Lusaka near the border town of Livingstone. The Zambian Wildlife at the South Luangwa National Park and Kafue National Park are to die for. Of course not literally. They have budget cottages as well as numerous full service lodges and each of them is approachable by road although Luangwa visitors prefer to fly over the 400 miles of the terrible network. Close to Lusaka, there are a few getaways within a one-hour drive or less.
As the sun plays hide with Lusaka, venture out to a nightclub or roadside Shebeen and shake a leg with the local people. Dance the night away to the sounds of Rhumba, Kwela, Techno or good old Rock ‘n Roll.
The beautiful countryside and pleasant climate are surpassed only by the warmth and friendliness of the Zambian people. To have an idea of the people of Lusaka, let’s take a look at the statistics of the country.
There are more than 70 Bantu tribes, who speak 70 different languages and dialects, including Bemba, Tonga, Nyanja, Lozi, Luvale, Ndembu (Lundu) and Kaonde. Some tribes are small, and only two have enough people to constitute at least 10 per cent of the population. English is the official language and Zambia is officially a Christian nation, though traditional beliefs, Islam and Hinduism are also practiced. Lusaka has approximately 1,100,000 people according to statistics gathered in the yr 2000.
Warm sunny summers, interspersed with cooling thunderstorms and mild winters with loads of sunshine make Zambia an almost ideal destination for tourists and inhabitants alike. However, It can really heat up between October and March if there’s no rain. The average rainfall, between November and April, is about 950mm. Summer temperatures range from 20 degrees to 32 degrees C. Winter temperatures from 10 degrees to about 26 degrees and humidity is usually below 40 per cent.
Tags: Africa, car, hotel, lion, mall, national, paris, rent, sea, sell, tourism, travel, usa, weekend, winter, work
Written by Travel News on July 28th, 2009 with
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