“Livingstone I Presume?”
- Virtual Traveller 86
- May 6, 2020
- 2 min read
Day Two: Country No. 11
ZAMBIA Arrival Time: 11:03pm
Lusaka
So, there is no direct flight from Chad to Zambia, at best you have to fly first to Addis Ababa (in Ethiopia). If I was really doing this tour of 26 countries I would have planned a very different itinerary!
Zambia’s capital is Lusaka, “one of the fastest growing cities in central Africa.“ The population “almost trebled in the immediate post-independence era...There has been no influx control and the city is bursting at the seams...It is a sprawling, metropolis with many multi-storey buildings, high-walled suburbs and busy shantytowns.” (Zambia Tourism).
Whilst in the capital I thought I’d do some cultural activities and so looked at a couple of museums and some street art. The Freedom Statue stands on Independence Avenue and is a sculpture of Mpundu Mutembo. At the end of 1963, Mutembo was arrested by the colonial military powers of the time. He is said to have been “ordered to break free from the chains or suffer the consequence of being gunned down. Shockingly, as he stood in front of 18 soldiers armed with guns, he broke the chains in full view of the soldiers. Photographers were there to capture the moment.“ Once independence was won, Mutembo became a national symbol and the sculpture “represents the breaking of colonial chains of oppression that had shackled Zambia’s people.” (Ref: Zambia’s Freedom Statue; Taste of Southern Africa 14/12/2018).
Zambezi River and Victoria Falls
It takes about an hour to fly from Lusaka to Livingstone. As the name suggests, Livingstone is within close reach of Victoria Falls. The Victoria Falls were brought to the wider world’s attention by the Scottish Missionary and Abolitionist, David Livingstone, in 1855. Originally known as the Mosioatunya Falls (meaning ‘The Thundering Smoke’), the Falls lie on what is now the border between Zimbabwe and Zambia. They are said to be ”twice the size of Niagara. At a point where the Zambezi is 5,000ft (1,700m) across, it tumbles down a sheer precipice 355ft (108m) high at a rate of 33,000 cubic ft (935 cubic m) per second.“ Livingstone renamed ‘the most wonderful sight I had seen in Africa’ in honour of the then English monarch, Queen Victoria. (Read more at historytoday.com).
I can only imagine the noise they must make - and how wet you would get as you observe them! Stunning seems to be a word I am using a lot in this travel blog...I must go and look at my Thesaurus for some alternatives!
Departing Zambia: 01:56am
I’m trying to raise funds for NHS Charities and for the Scoliosis Association UK. You can read more about why I am doing this, on my Virgin Money Giving Page:
Many Thanks to all those who have donated already. 😊
Sources: https://www.airpano.com/360photo/Victoria-Falls-Zambia-Zimbabwe-2015/ https://www.airpano.com/360video/Video-Victoria-Falls-Full/ https://www.airpano.com/360photo/Victoria-Falls-Zambia-Zimbabwe/
Google Earth and Street View
Mazuba Kapambwe, Freelance Writer. 03/08/2018, Ref: https://theculturetrip.com/africa/zambia/articles/a-street-art-tour-of-lusaka/
Richard Cavendish, History Today Vol. 55, Issue 11; November 2005 Ref: https://www.historytoday.com/archive/david-livingstone-reaches-victoria-falls
Comments