Roxanne Reid - Africa Addict
  • Home
  • Book author
    • Travels in the Kalahari >
      • Photo gallery: Travels in the Kalahari
      • Book reviews: Travels in the Kalahari
    • A Walk in the Park >
      • Photo gallery: A Walk in the Park
      • Book reviews: A Walk in the Park
    • The Essential Guide to Self-Editing >
      • Book reviews: Essential Guide to Self-Editing
    • Betrayed
    • Book reviews online
  • Editing & proofreading
  • In the media
    • Travel features
    • Health features
    • Online media
  • Blog
  • Testimonials
  • Links
  • Contact

How to fall in love with Zambia

29/11/2012

2 Comments

 
Man on bicycle, Zambia
By Roxanne Reid
Zambia is a riot of colour, bicycles and smiling people. It’s a medley of small shops with engaging names. And its roads aren’t nearly as bad as some people would have you believe.

We entered Zambia from the Caprivi region of Namibia, so the village architecture continued without much change from what we’d seen there – the tree-branch skeleton, filled with globs of mud and topped with thatch.

Every now and again we saw a village with a shopping centre consisting of faded, ramshackle shops with names like Second Chance Grocery, Happy Investment (wouldn’t you invest in that?), Young Don Barbershop, Promising Point Bar or the Last Hope Auto Shop. There were signs of the religious underpinnings of the Zambian people in shops with names like Shower of Blessing, the God Bless Shop and the Blessed Grocery. And there were indications of foreign influence in the China shops, a Yaweh Pharmacy and a Moosa’s Grocery. But my all-time favourite was Where God Says Yes Barber.
Rural shop, Zambia
Dotted throughout the countryside are small patches of cabbages, cotton, maize or sweet potatoes, whatever people can coax from the soil. Along the rural roadside, stalls display large enamel dishes piled high with tomatoes or purple sweet potatoes; others offer pumpkins, or basketry, or wooden chairs and even beds. No matter how poor people are, they seem to be trying to make a plan to earn some cash, no matter how small their plot of land or how many hours it takes to ply what skill they have. 
Village market, Zambia
Women here carry their babies wrapped in a chitenge on their side, rather than on their backs. (A chitenge is a bit like a kikoi or sarong and a fashion essential in Zambia). It seems nicer that way for the little ones, who get to see mom’s face occasionally, instead of just her back. Many women seem keen on high-fashion in the hair department too; even in the rural areas we often saw braids of endless variation, wigs, weaves or straightened hair, anything to express their sense of style.
Bicycle repair kiosk, Zambia
Bicycle repair shop
Bicycles and beer
It wasn’t unusual to see a woman sitting side-saddle on the back of a bicycle ‘taxi’, a chitenge-wrapped baby on her hip. In Zambia the bicycle is king, and there are thousands of them. Simple black bikes of the sort you don’t see in South African cities anymore – no gears, a bell on the handlebars and a mirror so you can see what’s coming up behind you. It makes the perfect transport, lightening the load, speeding up your journey. 
 
Many bikes have homemade baskets about three-feet wide on their back carriers. One might be filled with a fat black pig, another with clothes of all colours, obviously going to a stall somewhere to be sold. You might also see a bike strapped with ten or more empty 25-litre plastic drums, on its way to collect water from the village pump, or someone pushing a bike loaded with four or five newly filled drums up a steep hill in the heat of the day. 
Mosi beer and Mazoe orange juice, Zambia
Mosi beer is everywhere too, made from maize instead of barley. We liked it a lot, not gassy, a bit like Millers but less sweet, only 4% alcohol. And we succumbed to Mazoe orange juice made in the citrus district of Ndola; it tasted better – more real orange – than any orange squash I’ve ever had at home. We snatched a few bottles to bring home with us and a Zimbabwean friend’s eyes sparkled at the sight of it, a remembered treat from days gone by.

If bicycles, Mosi and Mazoe are pure Zambia, so too are power cuts, predictably unpredictable. In our fortnight in Zambia, we experienced five. Twice, it meant we couldn’t get fuel in a town we were passing through because the pumps weren’t working. Luckily we could make it to the next town, but the lesson is that it’s always a good idea to fill up whenever you can. Don’t wait till you’re low on fuel. If you limp into a town on your last dregs of fuel and there’s no power at the pumps, you’re just going to have to make like the locals and wait it out ­– usually for an hour or two.

But don’t worry, this is Africa, truly Africa, and there’s plenty of time.  

Like it? Pin this image!
How to fall in love with Zambia #Africa #travel
More about Zambia

Copyright © Roxanne Reid - No words or photographs on this site may be used without permission from roxannereid.co.za
2 Comments
Jacky
5/12/2012 06:54:18 am

I really have enjoyed the blogs on Zambia. It allows me feel like I am travelling with you. Keep them rolling. J

Reply
Roxanne
5/12/2012 01:42:11 pm

Thanks Jacky, always nice to get positive feedback. Zambia is indeed a lovely country to visit.

Reply

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Get email links to the latest posts

    Buy my books
    Travels in the Kalahari, amazon.com e-book
    E-book 2012​

    A Walk in the Park, amazon.com e-book
    2nd ed e-book 2015
    The Essential Guide to Self-Editing, amazon.com e-book
    E-book 2017

    About 

    I'm an independent travel writer and book editor with a passion for Africa - anything from African travel, people, safari and wildlife to adventure, heritage, road-tripping and slow travel.
    My travel buddy and husband Keith is the primary photographer for this blog.
    We're happiest in the middle of nowhere, meeting the locals, trying something new, or simply watching the grass grow.
    Use this website to discover new places to go, revisit places you've loved, or take a virtual tour of destinations you only dream about.

    Categories

    All
    Baviaanskloof
    Books
    Botswana
    Camping
    Cape Town
    Chobe
    Conservation
    Drc
    Eastern Cape
    Etosha Namibia
    Food
    Free State
    Garden Route
    Gauteng
    Issues
    Kalahari
    Karoo
    Kenya
    Kruger National Park
    Kwazulu Natal
    Lesotho
    Limpopo
    Linyanti
    Madagascar
    Malawi
    Mozambique
    Mpumalanga
    Namaqualand
    Namibia
    Nature Parks
    Northern Cape
    Okavango
    Overberg
    People
    Photography
    Richtersveld
    Tanzania
    West Coast
    Western Cape
    Wild Creatures
    Zambia
    Zimbabwe

    Archives

    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010
    October 2010
    September 2010
    August 2010
    July 2010
    June 2010
    May 2010
    April 2010
    March 2010
    January 2010
    November 2009


Copyright © Roxanne Reid - No words or photographs on this site may be used without written permission from roxannereid.co.za

Privacy Policy, GDPR and POPIA compliance
​* We promise that we take data safety seriously and use your private data only to offer a personalised experience
* If you subscribed to our newsletter, you will receive our newsletters. You can always unsubscribe by following the link in email or by emailing us
* If you gave us your name, it will only be used to personalise the newsletters
* We have never sold, we are not selling, and we will not sell any of your personal data provided to us
* The blog uses cookies to track activity. It is anonymous except for telling us your location and what you did on our blog
​
Photos from berniedup, Lucy_Hill