Maramba River Lodge - Zambia

Maramba River Lodge provides a most attractive all-year-round accommodation base in a shaded woodland setting. The Lodge is situated on a bluff overlooking the Maramba River. They are often visited by the resident wildlife with elephant wandering through the grounds at certain times of the year. Ideally located just 4km from the Victoria Falls and just outside of Livingstone, Zambia.

Accommodation

Luxury Tents  

Each tent is individually decorated to a theme with our own handcrafted furniture. The en-suite bathroom is tiled throughout with a shower open to the African sky.

Chalets 

 Maramba’s private chalets are spacious and airy and nestle under mopane and mahogany trees.

Safari Tents  

 The Safari Tents offer en-suite bathrooms and mosquito nets all under thatch. These small yet well appointed tents offer the perfect compromise between budget and room facilities.

Dome Tents 

 Our Dome tent area named ‘The River Camp’ is set on the bank of the Maramba River They add a great variety to our other accommodation.

Activities

 

Bungee jumping
Bungee jumping from the Victoria Falls Railway Bridge
 

Zambezi white water rafting
Zambezi white water rafting, acclaimed as the wildest one-day white-water run in the world.

Victoria Falls tours
Victoria Falls tours allow you to get up close to the Falls, feel the spray of the smoke that thunders, be sure to take an umbrella.

Helicopter flights
Helicopter flights over the Falls allow visitors to see the raw, powerful beauty of the Victoria Falls from the best possible angle – above.

For more information please contact us at 

res@zambia-reservations.com
www.zambia-reservations.com

Top Five Things to See in Zambia

Here’s a list of the top five things you should do if you visit Zambia. a country in Southern Africa. Zambia lies southwest of Tanzania. With plenty of opportunities to see amazing natural beauty, go on thrilling wildlife safaris, and experience Africa’s unique culture.

These destinations will give you a taste of what this interesting country has to offer.

1. Victoria Falls/Mosi-oa-Tunya (Zambia/Zimbabwe): Arguably the world’s largest waterfall. Victoria Falls in Southern Province never ceases to amaze visitors. This is Zambia’s — and Zimbabwe’s — biggest tourist attraction. It lives up to its local (Tongan) name, Mosi-oa-Tunya, meaning “The Smoke that Thunders.” Most visitors stay in the nearby towns of Livingstone, Zambia or Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. The upper falls is in Zambia, while the lower portion is on the Zimbabwe side. Both offer different and spectacular views of this natural wonder. Of special note are the two statues of the explorer and missionary David Livingstone locate on each side of the falls. Livingstone is still revered by many Zambians, and the City of Livingstone is named after him.

 

The best time of the year to visit the falls is between July and September, when the Zambezi River is aplomb with water. In November and December, the falls are almost dry and look like a canyon. Heavy rainfall fills the Zambezi between January and May, and it’s difficult to see the falls through a wall of mist created by falling water.

For a few weeks in November, the water level is so low that visitors can swim in the “Devil’s Pool.” It’s an experience of a lifetime and highly recommended if you visit at that time. The pool lies at the edge of the falls with a 105-meter (350 foot) drop on the other side. Although it looks terrifying, the Devil’s Pool offers brave souls the sensation of swimming in a whirlpool bathtub. If you’re an adventurous sort, there’s also bungee jumping or zip lining from the Victoria Falls Bridge and whitewater rafting in some unruly rapids below the falls. Keep in mind that these activities can be dangerous. In January 2012, an Australian woman nearly died when she bungee jumped off the bridge and the cord snapped, sending her plummeting more than 110 meters (360 feet). Thankfully, she survived both the plunge and the crocodiles below.

2. South Luangwa National Park: South Luangwa NationalPark is one of many national parks in Zambia, and the most popular, because it’s filled with abundant wildlife. It’s a short flight or a ten-hour drive from Lusaka via Eastern Province. Flying is more convenient but can be expensive. The daytime and nighttime game drives in South Luangwa are fabulous.

       

 

  

For high-end lodging, stay at the Chichele Lodge, the presidential retreat of former Zambian president Kenneth Kaunda (1964-91), or at Mfuwe Lodge. There are numerous less expensive lodges and bush camps in and around the park.

3. Lower Zambezi River: The Lower Zambezi River basin in Southern Province is a short drive south from Lusaka and a great place for a long weekend getaway. There are several lodges near the towns of Chirindu and Chiawa not far from the confluence of the Zambezi and Kafue rivers. It’s great for bush camp excursions, hunting, fishing, and boat cruises, and popular with tourists who want to fish for tigerfish or camp “in the bush.”

 

4. Northern Circuit: Zambia is keen to promote tourism in Northern Province on the Tanzanian border. Kasaba Bay on Lake Tanganika, one of Africa’s Great Lakes, is currently under development as a major tourist destination. Once it’s completed sometime in the next decade, the area will boast several high-end resorts. Fly to the Mbala airport near Kasaba Bay, or into the regional capital, Kasama. Hire a car and travel the back roads through beautiful country with subtropical forests, colorful villages, and spectacular waterfalls overshadowed by Victoria Falls such as Chishimba Falls.

 5. Saturday Dutch Market: Every last Saturday of the month, Zambia’s largest open-air market sets up shop at the Dutch Reformed Church in the Kabulonga area of Lusaka. Artisans from Zambia and neighboring countries bring their arts and crafts to you. It’s one of the few places where you can find Zimbabwean soap stone sold next to Zambian copper plates. You can also taste a variety of ethnic dishes and buy produce. If you miss this market, try the smaller Sunday Market at the Arcades Shopping Centre in Lusaka that happens every week. Be sure to bargain – the vendors will reduce prices below their original quotes and expect you to barter.

 

  

Please make sure to visit our website for more information on accommodations:

website: www.zambia-reservations.com or email us at: res@zamibia-reservations.com

   

Interesting Facts About the Victoria Falls

The Victoria Falls have been billed as the Greatest Falling Curtain of Water on this Planet, making it one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World.

• The Victoria Falls is considered to be the largest waterfall in the world.They are not the widest waterfall or the highest waterfall but with all dimensions taken into account, including almost the largest flow rate, they are considered to be the biggest curtain of falling water in the world.
  
  
  

•  The Victoria Falls are 1700m wide and are made up of five different “falls”. Four of these are in Zimbabwe and one is in Zambia. They are known as The Devil’s Cataract, Main Falls, Rainbow Falls and Horseshoe Falls in Zimbabwe and the Eastern Cataract in Zambia
  
  
  

• At its highest point, in March/April, it is estimated that 500 million litres of water per minute flow over the Victoria Falls. During the dry season, it can be as low as 10 million litres. The 1958 flood of the Zambezi saw the Falls reach record volumes of over 770 million litres per minute. Only the Iguazu Falls rivals the Victoria Falls in these terms (its record being only slightly less, at 750 million litres per minute) but a dam has decreased this, although the Boyoma Falls (formerly Stanley Falls) in Congo (formerly Zaire) has a higher total annual flow. 
• The spray created from the plunging waters, forced up and out from the gorge, rises some 400m to 800m into the air, and can be seen from 30 to over 60 kilometres away, and is best witnessed in the cool hours of the early morning. As the water droplets condense they fall as localised rain, creating rainbows and supporting the rainforest on the opposite side of the gorge, which is especially well developed opposite the Main Falls on the Zimbabwe side.

Real Colinial Elegance The Victoria Falls Hotel

Built in 1904, The Victoria Falls Hotel was the very first hotel to be built in Victoria Falls. The hotel exhudes original colonial Edwardian charm but recent refurbishments offer guests the modern comforts one would expect from a luxury hotel.

The Victoria Falls Hotel perfectly depicts the era of grand travel. The corridors of the hotel reflect the historical link to the era in which is was created with drawings, paintings and photographs of the major political figures of the day adorning the walls.

Victoria Falls Accommodation:

 

The rooms at the Victoria Falls echo its rich colonial heritage and are decorated accordingly. All the rooms have air conditioning, digital satellite television and a safe.

There 161 rooms which are broken down as follows:
37 Standard rooms,   58 Traditional rooms,  48 Deluxe rooms including 2 interleading rooms for families

7   Junior suites, 4   Honeymoon suites, 1   Royal Suite.

 Facilities in each room include:
 Digital satellite television, A safety deposit box,  Bath, basin and shower,  Bar fridge (in deluxe rooms and suites only ), Hairdryer,  Air conditioning,  Smoke detectors & sprinkler system,  Telephone,  Shaver socket
 Complimentary early morning tea & coffee,   En-suite bathroom ( toilet, bathtub and shower)

 

Top Activities to enjoy around the Victoria Falls Hotel:

 

Visit the Victoria Falls rainforest, Zambezi River Cruise, Hogh Tea at the Stanley Terrace at Victoria Falls
Beauty Salaon, Elephant back safari, white river rafting, Bungy jumping, Zip line, Helicopter flight of Angles
Steam Train Trip

Victoria Falls Bridge

The Victoria Falls Bridge crosses the Zambezi River just below the Victoria Falls and is built over the Second Gorge of the falls. As the river is the border between Zimbabwe and Zambia, the bridge links the two countries and has border posts on the approaches to both ends, at the towns of Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe and Livingstone, Zambia.

 

History of the Victoria Falls Bridge:

The bridge was the brainchild of Cecil Rhodes, part of his grand and unfulfilled Cape to Cairo railway scheme, even though he never visited the falls and died before construction of the bridge began. Rhodes is recorded as instructing the engineers to "build the bridge across the Zambezi where the trains, as they pass, will catch the spray of the Falls". It was designed by George Anthony Hobson of consultants Sir Douglas Fox and Partners, not as is often stated, Sir Ralph Freeman, the same engineer who contributed to the design of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. At the time of the design of the Victoria Falls Bridge, Freeman was an assistant in the firm who, in those pre-computer days, was calculating stresses.

The bridge was constructed in England by the Cleveland Bridge & Engineering Company, before being shipped to the Mozambique port of Beira and then transported on the newly constructed railway to the Victoria Falls. It took just 14 months to construct and was completed in 1905.

The bridge was officially opened by Professor George Darwin, son of Charles Darwin and President of the British Association (now the Royal Society) on 12 September 1905. The American Society of Civil Engineers lists the bridge as a Historic Civil Engineering Landmark.

Constructed from steel, the bridge is 198 metres (650 ft)long, with a main arch spanning 156.50 metres (513.5 ft), at a height of 128 metres (420 ft) above the lower water mark of the river in the gorge below. It carries a road, railway and footway. The bridge is the only rail link between Zambia and Zimbabwe and one of only three road links between the two countries.

The Victoria Falls Bridge did not bring the first train or the first railway to Zambia. To push on with construction of the railway north as fast as possible, Cecil Rhodes insisted that the Livingstone to Kalomo line be laid before the bridge was finished. Then a locomotive was conveyed in pieces across the gorge by the temporary electronic cableway used for the transportation of the bridge materials and nicknamed the 'Blondin' by the construction engineers. The locomotive was re-assembled and entered service months before the bridge was complete.

For more than 50 years the bridge was crossed regularly by passenger trains as part of the principal route between the then Northern Rhodesia, southern Africa and Europe. Freight trains carried mainly copper ore (later, copper ingots) and timber out of Zambia, and coal into the country.

The age of the bridge and maintenance problems have led to traffic restrictions at times. Trains cross at less than walking pace and trucks were limited to 30 t, necessitating heavier trucks to make a long diversion via the Kazungula Ferry or Chirundu Bridge. The limit was raised after repairs in 2006, but more fundamental rehabilitation or construction of a new bridge has been aired.

During the Rhodesian UDI crisis and Bush War the bridge was frequently closed (and regular passenger services have not resumed successfully). In 1975, the bridge was the site of unsuccessful peace talks when the parties met in a train carriage poised above the gorge for nine and a half hours. In 1980 freight and road services resumed and have continued without interruption except for maintenance.

Today one of the Victoria Falls Bridge's main attraction are historical guided tours focusing on the construction of the bridge and which include a walking tour under the main deck. On the Zambian side there is a small museum about the bridge which is free to enter and contains cafe selling refreshments. Also located on the bridge is the Shearwater 111 metres (364 ft) bungee jump including a bungee swing and zip-line. Concerns about safety of the attraction were raised in late 2011 after the bungee's cord snapped and a young Australian woman fell 24 metres (79 ft) into the fast flowing river with many crocodiles.

The bridge was originally referred to as the Great Zambesi or Zambezi bridge, later becoming known as the Victoria Falls Bridge.

New Pioneers Camp in Zimbabwe

Wild Frontiers Zimbabwe has announced that Pioneers Camp, a new luxury camp on the Zambezi River, is now open.
The camp is situated 17 kilometres from Victoria Falls inside the Upper Zambezi National park.

It has 1.5 kilometres of river frontage and currently hosts three tents.  A further three are expected to be completed by the end of this month.  The tents are en-suite with flush toilets and solar powered geysers and lighting.

The camp also hosts a central lounge and dining.

This new permanent tented camp is located inside the park, on a peacefully quiet stretch of shoreline with a natural spring-line through the site.  This water source attracts an abundance of wildlife throughout the year, making for fabulous game viewing opportunities right at the camp.

Activities include:

Game drives,

Boat cruises,

Canoeing,

Walking and fishing in the park.

The camp also offers a daily shuttle into town for activities.

 

 

A slight change done to the Ultimate Kalahari, Okavango Delta & Vic Falls Safari

The Tour "Ultimate Kalahari Kalahari, Okavango Delta & Vic Falls Safari" has had to change one establishment in their tour.
Due to the unexpected closure of Monkey Island in the Okavango Delta, they have been forced to replace Monkey Island with an alternative property. We are delighted to announce that they have been able to include Nxamaseri Island Lodge.
This change does not affect the price for the 2011 season.

For a full itinerary detail please click on the Namibia Reservations link: http://www.namibiareservations.com/ultimate_kalahari_delta_falls.html
of contact us at info@namibiareservations.com to make a booking.