Livingstone,
the Zambezi River and Victoria Falls ...great
places to discover the Real Africa!
The
first buildings to be erected at the new
Livingstone were made of poles and mud, with tin
roofs. The site was high up on a sand ridge in the
middle of a forest of teak trees. The railway line
had only reached the station, about one km away -
quite a distance to walk on the sandy roads. The
people were not happy in the new Livingstone and
wondered what was to become of them. Then the BSAC
decided to move their administrative center from
Kalomo to Livingstone. From 1907 to 1935,
Livingstone was the capital of North Western
Rhodesia, and this was a time of prosperity. It was
during these years that many buildings were
erected. We
often consider these times as being romantic, and
to us it must seem that way, but life was not easy.
Water was a continual problem - it had to be pumped
up from the Maramba River and bucketed to the
houses. The toilets of all the houses were sited at
the back of the yards where the bucket brigade
using ox-carts came every morning to empty the
sanitary buckets. All the roads were deep sand,
making a walk of any distance tiresome. A tram-line
was laid from town to the railway station and then
on to the boat club. Small cabooses were made for
people to sit on and they were pushed up and down
the hill by servants. Many of the old houses which
were built at this time have fallen into a state of
disrepair. But some are being lovingly restored and
are well worth looking for. In the future if the
economy continues to pick up more will be restored
and this will enhance the beauty of
Livingstone.
This
has led to an increase in tourists visiting Zambia,
especially Livingstone. For
full information on services at Livingstone Tourism
Association, see the web
site: www.livingstone.com,
e-mail: lta@zamnet.com .
A
delightful characteristic most ATA delegates share
is their eagerness to explore new parts of this
fascinating continent. With 53 unique countries and
an endless variety of topography, cultures and
wildlife species, it's truly a lifetime quest. The
trio (below) is a fine example of ATA's jet setters
- Robert D'Angelo of Philadelphia, Elyse White (95)
of Harlem, and Robert Eilets of New York City,
whose photos are seen on our web site and magazine.
Like most members, they are anxious feel the spray
and catch the splendor of Victoria Falls.
Livingstone Tourism Association has provided the
following historical sketch, written by Mr. Gill
Staden, a well known journalist from the
area.
Natural
Mystic Lodge ~ On the
Zambezi:
Located
on the Zambezi River near Victoria Falls, Natural
Mystic Lodge offers a unique vacation experience
for every travel adventurer. Victoria Falls is one
of the world's greatest natural spectacles and was
inscribed as a World Heritage Site in 1989 for
being one of the most spectacular waterfalls in the
world. Visitors can gaze at the mighty
Zambezi as it flows into the wide edge of the
Victoria Falls gorge. This waterfall is the world's
largest curtain of falling water, although its fame
has spread far and wide, the magic of the site has
been preserved for all to come and see. P.O. Box
60638, Nakatindi Road, Livingstone, Zambia. Members
of Livingstone Tourism Association. Members of
Zambia National Tourism
Board.
Email:
mailto:nmlodge@zamnet.zm
http://www.naturalmysticlodge.com
- Phone: 260-3-322812, Cell: 260-97-791278
http://www.destinationzambia.com
- http://www.zambiatourism.com
The
City of Livingstone was born on 25 February, 1905,
much to the annoyance of the white pioneers who had
come to the area. These hardy men and women had
settled themselves by the river, 5 km upstream from
the Victoria Falls and they felt that a move up to
the new Livingstone would be disastrous for trade.
The British South African Company (BSAC), who
administered this area of Central Africa had, in
1905, completed the Victoria Falls bridge and felt
that it was about time to move the pioneers from
the mosquito-infested swamplands by the river where
the people had lived for the past 10 years. The
BSAC had to enforce the edict by giving fines of
one shilling per day for anyone who failed to move.
Eventually the old settlement was abandoned. There
is not much to see at the original site, known as
the Old Drift, only some non-indigenous trees and
the graves of some of the many who died there. It
is now within the Game Park.
Profiles
of Zambia in World
Media
Africa
Travel Magazine's Zambia "Success Story" will
continue to grow in length and depth all year, as
our reams of notes, treasured photos and mementos
become transformed into words and pictures for
broadcast, print and Internet media. The message
from Zambia's genial Minister of Tourism and
Natural Resources, Hon. Patrick Kalifungwa
sets the stage for "Ethno Tourism." His warm
personality combined with his ministry staff's
dedication, won friends and influenced people
before, during and after the congress. These
efforts signal greater rewards to come for Zambia
Tourism, as ATA members spread the word about this
exciting destination near and
far.
North
Western and North Eastern Rhodesia were amalgamated
in 1935 to form Northern Rhodesia and it was then
that the capital was moved to Lusaka - a more
central location. Livingstone continued to thrive
for some time because it became a manufacturing
center. Factories made blankets, textiles, clothes,
cars. But slowly, as the economy started to
decline, so did the wealth of Livingstone. After
Independence in 1964, Northern Rhodesia became
Zambia and shortly after that Zambia adopted the
politics of humanism, which is akin to socialism,
and a one-party government. More and more Zambia
cut itself off from the outside world. The price of
copper, their main export, decreased. The economy
did not diversify. Zambia became poorer and poorer.
Livingstone suffered badly as tourism was not
encouraged and the manufacturing base declined. It
left Livingstone (along with the rest of Zambia)
with extremely high unemployment and dreadful
poverty. Finally the people stood up to be counted
and voted in a new government which espoused a
multiparty democracy. Since then Zambia has opened
its doors to the outside world and taken on major
economic reforms. 
