[TRAVEL]: 5 Nights in Zambia – September 2019

Back In Zambia – September Edition

So I know what you are thinking. “Didn’t you just do a blog post on Zambia?”. The answer is, yes, but not for my September trip. I contemplated whether I should even write this blog post, but I love posting my wildlife photos plus this trip involved lunching at a new location as well as a music festival. What can I say? When Zambia calls, I answer.

Round 2 of Zambia

While my trip in August was for the Lower Zambezi All Species Fishing Competition, you can read about that awesome trip here, this time was purely a social visit. I headed up to Zambia to spend time with my parents and to attend the Zambezi Shores Festival .

It was so great catching up with old friends, as well as making some new friends. However, the majority of the time, I spent relaxing and reflecting. I mentioned in this post how I feel when I’m by the Zambezi River and what life lesson it reminded me of.

How I Spent The Last Few Days Of September

After an awesome week in Cape Town celebrating with friends that got married, it was a much-needed trip to unwind a bit. Plus I was incredibly heartsore with my bestie immigrating to Australia. It had been a few years since I had been with my mom on the river (usually my dad and I go up together for the fishing competition). We spent most of our afternoons reading our books in the shade of the trees or dipping in a swimming pool with the heat. We went down to Tsika Island one day (you can read about that island here). Then for 2 days in a row, we spent time at the beautiful Muchichili Safari House.

Zambezi Shores Festival

This was the second annual Zambezi Shores Festival but my first time attending. Hosted by friends of ours, it was so well organized. It began with a warm-up on Friday night at Gwabi River Lodge. This is where I first heard Train Gang, an acoustic guitar duo from Zimbabwe. They were brilliant – I’ve definitely become a fan of their music.

Saturday’s lineup included Train Gang; Ruiter Piet ; Ann Jangle; Naming James; Gerald Clark; Academie; Basson Laubscher & The Violent Free Peace; Southern Gypsey Queen (another one of my favs); Albert Frost; Shadow Club; Cactus Agony; DJ Dinner Jacket and then DJ Bongwater. So it was a full afternoon and evening of performances. I didn’t stay the whole time, we flew back to Joburg on Sunday so I decided to rather leave at sunset. To see the full line up and more on the bands that played, you can click here.

Ann Jangle is currently cycling from the Cape to Kenya all in the name of raising awareness for African Wild Dogs and to uplift communities through music. You can donate to her cause through her website here, plus each download of her new album contributes to her African Dream Parade tour.

The Eco Side of The Zambezi Shores Festival in September

The beautiful people behind the festival made sure that conservation efforts and community involvement were their main focus. To ensure a balance between the event and conservation of the Lower Zambezi there was support from DNPW, Police, Immigration and the local communities. Whilst music played into the night, all efforts have been made to ensure noise levels are kept to a minimum so the speakers were faced towards the Zambian banks which is an area populated by local communities only.

Reduce, reuse and recycle was the motto for the day! There was a big team on hand to ensure absolutely NO waste was left behind.

The leftover plastic bottles were given to local children who benefit from the Shoprite recycling initiative in Chirundu and the tin cans were recycled by locals who earn a small living from making pots.

Compostable toilets were used on the day and helped benefit community gardens after.

The hay bale seating was left to the animals in the area who have been affected by the drought in the Lower Zambezi valley. You can check out the “before and after pic” here.

Some More Snaps From Our Time On The River

Until next time beautiful Zambia x