Of all the countries in Africa, there is nowhere quite like Zambia. It has somehow escaped the pressures of tourism that have beset countries like Kenya and Tanzania, retaining its natural warmth and charm.
Visiting this land-locked central-southern African nation is like visiting the ‘real Africa’, rather than the safari park atmosphere of some of its more well known counterparts.
The capital city, Lusaka, is a vibrant and bustling place, the roads thronged with mini-vans, cars, land rovers and motorbikes.
While more and more Westernised shops are springing up, these jostle with local markets and shops selling the colourful, multi-patterned chitenge (a multipurpose cloth worn by many Zambian women).
Lusaka might be a bit of a culture shock for visitors unused to travelling in Africa, but the sheer exuberant life of the city is highly contagious.
We hadn’t come to Zambia to visit Lusaka, however, and were soon heading out in our four wheel drive towards Zambia’s largest National Park – Kafue.
The drive out was an experience in itself, with large sections of the main road consisting more of pot holes than tarmac, and periodic stops at checkpoints where soldiers peered curiously into our vehicle, machineguns slung casually over their shoulders.
We eventually reached our destination after many hours of chaotic driving across the increasingly uncertain road, and settled into the New Kalala Lodge, situated on the edge of Lake Itezhi Tezhi.
This massive man-made lake, with the skeletal remains of drowned trees poking up out of its surface, is home to axe-toothed hippos which wallow in the shallows while crocodiles slip silently off the lakeshore and disappear ominously from view under the murky waters.
We toured the lake in a small flimsy-looking boat, our ‘captain’ navigating around the dead trees with care. On more than one occasion he had to take evasive action when a hippo took exception to our presence and stormed towards us underwater, a trail of large bubbles tracking its worrying progress in our direction.
Back on land, we drove into the park proper, navigating the dirt tracks that crisscrossed through an ever-changing landscape – open sa-vannahs, vast stretches of sun-dappled Miombo woodland and the shadowed depths of Baikea forest.
Much of Kafue is rarely visited, meaning that sightings of the park’s wild denizens are as authentic as one can get. Rather than the depressing safari experience of some other African parks, where lions and cheetahs are surrounded by open-top safari vehicles overflowing with vocal tourists, wildlife encounters in Kafue tend to involve you, and you alone.
The most easily seen of the big game were elephants, which rumbled their way through the bushes, toppling trees and munching their way through the forests without pause.
At times, elephant encounters were a little too close for comfort. We rounded a corner on a very narrow track and almost bumped into a large bull elephant, who uttered a deafening trumpet of outrage and mock charged the vehicle. There is nothing quite like a charging elephant for providing the impetus for a quick, hasty retreat.
We were also lucky enough to be treated to a sighting of the exceptionally rare African wild dog, with great views of a large pack of these cryptically patterned canines relaxing in the middle of the road, tongues lolling while pups tugged at their large ears.
From Kafue we travelled to the small park of Lochinvar, which is famous for its large herds of the endemic Kafue lechwe (a graceful antelope found only in this area) and its abundant birdlife.
In fact, with over 420 different bird species, it’s a birdwatchers’ paradise. Wattled crane prowled the shallows in a stately manner, while further out were shimmering pink mirages of greater and lesser flamingo.
Being a predominantly wetland habitat, Lochinvar heaves with waterbirds, as welling as being host to over 50 bird of prey species, from the familiar osprey and peregrine falcon, to the exotic secretary bird and the beautifully plumaged African fish eagle with its haunting cry.
It was while trundling about along the edge of a floodplain that disaster struck. What I had originally taken to be solid ground was in fact thick mud and with an ominous sinking feeling the car came to a rather abrupt halt. I jumped out of the vehicle, sinking up to my knees, to find the car buried up to its axles. We were going nowhere.
The three of us set about trying to excavate the car out of its muddy prison, colourful phrases filling the air, when out of nowhere a large group of Zambians appeared. I don’t know where they had come from, as there didn’t seem to be any habitation for miles around, but I doubt I have ever been so pleased to see another human in my life.
With typical Zambian altruism, they immediately set to work helping us dig our way out. After half an hour of digging, heaving and pushing, I was able to shift the car backwards onto dry land, leaving us all liberally coated in mud from head to foot. This rather messy experience summed the Zambians up to me – ever willing to help, regardless of the situation, and always with a wide beaming smile.
With our rather battered car now back in action we headed north to the world famous South Luangwa, which offers the luxury safari experience that many people expect from their African adventure. Large, well appointed lodges offer camping in style, while knowledgeable guides take clients off into the bush to find the wildlife which inhabits this area in abundance.
If you want to be assured of seeing Africa’s most famous animals, then South Luangwa is a must, with most of the wildlife seen in close quarters. A large pride of lions literally brushed their way past our vehicle, amber eyes regarding us calmly, while the gory remains of their breakfast attracted a horde of flies.
A young male padded past my window, a buffalo calf’s head firmly clamped in his powerful jaws. Although a more traditional safari experience than Kafue and Lochinvar, South Luangwa was no less enjoyable.
Zambia is a place that you can spend months exploring – indeed I ended up living there for over two years and still didn’t feel like I had seen everything. There is simply so much to do, from the ‘adrenaline capital of the world’ Mosi-oa-Tunya (Victoria Falls) with its bungee jumps and death-defying white water rafting, to the off-the-beaten-track Bangweulu Swamps, haunt of the mysterious and enigmatic shoebill stork.
It’s the people that really make it though, from their vibrant tribal culture to the lively Lusaka nightlife. Zambia has it all, so what are you waiting for?