Chanter’s Lodge, Livingstone – A good choice for budget travel

It is a week since returning from Zambia, but it has been difficult to do posts up until now. During the Zambia part of the trip our base was Chanter’s Lodge, which is a short walk from the town of Livingstone and owned by a British guy called Richard Chanter. It has ten rooms of varying sizes. The family room with its two double beds and bunk beds suited us (two friends who wanted a bit of personal space, but happy to share a room). It also has a restaurant and pleasant pool area. We only paid $79.00 a night and got good service and a nice breakfast. It would have been better if there had been a little more attention to detail here and there, but for the money we paid we were satisfied. Chanter's is located in a suburb of Livingstone which has a mixture of homes owned by local people and budget accommodation. Some of the properties are very desirable, others faded and in need of restoration. We have been to local bars, seen people going about their business and it has been good to get a sense of life in a Livingstone suburb.

We loved the facilities at the Zambezi Sun, David Livingstone Safari Lodge and most of all at the Royal Livingstone. The trouble with these places is that you are in a sanitised tourist bubble (albeit a very luxurious one) and are far away from the people whose country you are visiting. Having said that I like a bit of luxury and think it is good fun to mix travel styles. To find out more about Chanters Lodge see http://www.chanters-livingstone.com/

If you are in Livingstone visit Olga's

Olga's is a project in Livingstone, Zambia, which provides educational and training opportunities for disadvantaged young people. You can help them and enjoy a good meal by visiting their Italian restaurant, they specialise in pizza. The project also includes a guest house (not sure what it is like) and sales of local crafts. On the basis of a visit their last night I recommendend a visit. For more information check out their blog http://olgasproject.blogspot.com/ The picture is copied from their site.

Exotic pets at the Royal Livingstone

The Royal Livingstone in Zambia has some very exotic ‘pets’ indeed. As you walk around the grounds of the hotel and the surrounding area you are likely to see baboons, monitor lizards, giraffes and zebra. It was disappointing not to see some baboons, but I managed to capture a giraffe and zebra on camera and here they are.

A traditional Zambian village

We have just returned from a ‘traditional village’ called Mukuni . It is a genuine village and you get a bit of a feel for how people live. The population is 7,000 and many people live in traditionally constructed houses like the ones pictured. Although traditional it geared at tourists and at the end you get to do an obligatory tour of a craft market. Difficult to say whether the stuff we bought was made there or massed produced. We proved to be terrible at haggling, but enjoyed the overall experience. Best of all the guide is local and all proceeds appear to benefit local community projects. You can book the trip through Chris Mweetwa chrismweetwa@gmail.com.

Livingstone Island - another great way to see the Victoria Falls

Livingstone Island is a short distance from The Royal Livingstone Hotel. When the Falls are full you have to get there by boat. You get the opportunity to see the Falls from very close indeed. During the dry season you can swim in Devils Pool and peer down a huge precipice. This time of year that isn’t possible, but you can still have a dip in the water as I did. The current is extremely strong , but the guides make sure you are safe. You round the trip off with drinks of your choice and refreshments. We went in the late afternoon so had high tea, which included various tartlets, scones, chocolate brownies and cream profiteroles. Mine were washed down with Pimms and lemonade. Overall a fantastic experience.

 

The Victoria Falls – amazing however they are viewed

The main reason for including Zambia on this trip has been to see the Victoria Falls. You can fly over the Falls in a helicopter or for an adrenaline rush a microlite flight. On the helicopter trip you see the Fall from all angles and as long as your camera has a good zoom, you can capture some good pictures. At a $130 per head for 15 minutes, this is an expensive trip, but the experience makes it worth it in my view.

On foot the experience is almost as awesome. An opportunity to experience bits of the Falls close up. At the moment the Falls are very full so there is a lot of spray and in certain parts on the ground you just get drenched. It is possible to get good views and keep dry though.

You can also take a steam train, but were told that it is more of a fine dining and train enthusiasts experience than a getting a good view of the falls experience. With so many things to do in Livingstone and in just a few days, I think we’ll give the train a miss.