Continuing from last week where we left Lily in Mozambique on her pan-African odyssey.
After leaving the lovely Azura Quilalea Resort I lfew by light aircraft to Pemba where I stayed at the Pemba Beach Hotel. Pemba itself is a very attractive old port situated on the northwest tip of the peninsula which forms the southern entrance to Pemba Bay. Pemba Bay is a large, deep, semi-enclosed natural harbour on a stretch of coast renowned for its wide, sandy and clean palm-lined beaches, protected by a coral reef that guarantees safe swimming as well as good snorkelling. Pemba’s old town is typical of many of Africa’s original colonial towns and luckily much of it has been beautifully preserved. It is a lively place with plenty of restaurants, shops and cultural activities to while away the balmy evenings. Whilst in Pemba I explored many other places including Ulala Lodge, Chuiba Palms and Londo Lodge. One word of warning (although I thought of it as one of the most fun things to do) – a lot of my transfers were done by speed boat where you sometimes have to wade onto the beach from the boat – dress appropriately! Londo Lodge is an easy ride from Pemba and great for people looking to escape to an island paradise without epic distances involved. As I arrived at Londo there was a pod of dolphins swimming out to greet us!
The next part of my journey was my journey to Zambia. This wonderful country is a fantastic safari destination and I had been eager to explore more. Starting in Livingstone I spent the night at Waterberry Lodge which makes a great based for exploring Livingstone and the world famous Victoria Falls. The lodge has a secluded position on the banks of the Zambezi River, looking over to the Zimbabwe Game Reserve on the opposite bank. All seven chalets are named after birds and I occupied ‘Swallow’ which was as near to the Zambezi River as you can get! The usual activities and excursions are available from visiting Livingstone with its Maramba Market, old colonial buildings, Livingstone Museum (with huge amount of David Livingstone memorabilia), Victoria Falls, fishing, birding, cruises etc. The next day I went to visit one of our luxury options in the area, the famous Tongabezi Lodge. Tongabezi was one of the original lodges on the Zambian side of the Zambezi river, established in 1990 by Ben Parker and the late Will Ruck-Keene, who were pioneers of eco-tourism in Zambia. Privately owned and run, romance and exclusivity is combined with warm and attentive service. We visited the Lookout which is Tongabezi’s latest concept to promote relaxation, rejuvenation and space. There is a high tech internet desk and library, and it has multiple decks with Zambezi River views for casual dining, private dining and reading. As always, guests can do as little or as much as they like with the choice of game drives, sunrise/sunset boat trips, fishing, lunch on their private island, sanpan floating candlelit dinner, bird watching and guided bush walks, walks in gorge below the Falls, guided canoeing on Zambezi, visits to Simonga Village, visits to Mukuni Park, a cultural museum tour, croquet at Tongabezi etc – all of which are included in their rates.
The next day I was transferred to the waiting motor launch on the jetty for our Livingstone Island visit and brunch. As we sped across the Zambezi, to the island where David Livingstone on 16 November, 1855 first viewed the Falls and exclaimed ‘ sights such as these must have been gazed on by angels’. I felt very privileged we were to be able to experience this island as it is located on the very edge of the Falls in the midst of a thundering mass of water.
My next adventure was canoeing on the Zambezi to Tongabezi’s sister camp, Sindabezi Island. What a lovely place set on a shady, picturesque island in the middle of the Zambezi River. Sindabezi was selected by the Sunday Times as one of the best remote places to stay in the world… and we all loved it. There are just five open sided thatched chalets and two honeymoon chalets with open fronts which allow guests to soak up the sights and sounds of the African bush and the river in a perfectly untouched setting. After spending the night here we transferred the following day by plane to Chongwe River Camp. This is where I got to spend the night admiring the hippos and to go on a safari in the Lower Zambezi National Park.
Next week read all about Lily’s expedition into the South Luangwa where she went on a walking safari and spent the night with some friendly lions! She then finishes off her epic tour on the banks of Lake Malawi.
