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In This Issue Editor’s Note from

First Secretary of

Tourism,

Marsha Holdway

Chimfunshi

Chimpanzee

Orphanage and

Wildlife Sanctuary

Events and News

Update

TOURISM NEWS

Newsletter from Tourism Section at Embassy of Republic of Zambia, Washington D.C. USA

June 2016

Welcome to Chimfunshi Chimpanzee Orphanage and Wildlife Sanctuary.

World’s Biggest Chimpanzee Orphanage and home to the First African Primatologist,

Innocent Chitalu Mulenga, M.Sc.

Let’s Explore!!!

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Marsha A. Holdway First Secretary of Tourism,

Embassy of Zambia, Washington, D.C. Welcome to this month’s edition of the tourism newsletter!

I am particularly excited about this second edition as it covers a very inter-esting story on a hidden treasure of Zambia, the world’s largest Chimpan-zee Sanctuary and Wildlife Orphanage (Chimfunshi).

I was recently privileged to meet with Africa’s first primatologist of Chimfunshi, Mr. Innocent Chitalu Mulenga at the Embassy of Zambia

Washington D.C for discussions on how the Mission could partner with Chimfunshi in promoting and highlighting its programs and efforts in protecting and caring for chimpanzees.

This edition will also highlight some of the tourism events that the Mission has embarked on as well the ‘promised’ sharing of my experience at the “Devils Pool” in Livingstone, Zambia. In addition, this news-letter will give you some highlights of what is trending in Zambia from the Zambia Tourism Board (ZTB).

We hope that you will enjoy the ride with us as we endeavor to share our experiences and journeys with you!

EDITOR’S NOTE

Chimfunshi Wildlife Orphanage is one of the oldest and is the largest Chim-

panzee Orphanage/Reserves in the world. It is a non-profit organization dedi-

cated to the care and wellbeing of over 132 chimpanzees rescued from poach-

ers, dilapidated zoos, circuses, and from the Bush Meat trade. Chimfunshi was

founded in 1983 by David and Sheila Siddle and started as a family-run wildlife

orphanage outside Chingola, Zambia. Today, Chimfunshi is managed by a

Board of Trustees to ensure the long-term sustainability of the Sanctuary.

Innocent Chitalu Mulenga, the first African Primatologist, is the General

Manager. The Chimfunshi property encompasses more than 4200 hectares. In

addition to providing the Chimpanzees with forested enclosures, part of this

land is dedicated to five villages where the Chimfunshi staff and their family live,

a School, a Clinic and the Education Centre dedicated to Research by

Primatology students from around the world.

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David & Sheila

Siddle In the 1980s, David and

Sheila Siddle operated a

cattle farm by the Kafue

River in North Western

Zambia which is in the

Copperbelt province.

They wanted some time

for themselves after the

children had left the

house. That lasted until a

voluntary game ranger

rang their doorbell – with

a heavily injured baby

chimpanzee in his arms.

He and his colleagues

had rescued it from

poachers, with no one

betting on its survival.

David and Sheila took in

the little great ape,

nursed him to health and

called him Pal. Since they

didn’t know much about

Chimpanzees, they treat-

ed him like a human ba-

by, giving him warmth,

closeness, protection and

food. And against all

odds, Pal survived and

was raised by the Sid-

dles. Until this day, Pal

World’s Largest Chimpanzee Orphanage Chimfunshi Wildlife Orphanage is a not for profit organiza-tion, dedicated to the care and wellbeing of 120 chimpan-zees, many that were rescued from poachers, dilapidated zoos and circuses and from the bush meat trade. Chimfun-shi started as a family-run wildlife orphanage in the north of Zambia, and today Chimfunshi is managed by a Board of Trustees to ensure the long-term sustainability of the Sanctuary. Chimfunshi was founded in 1983 when a game ranger brought a badly wounded infant chimpanzee to the cattle ranch of David and Sheila Siddle. The Siddle’s nursed that chimp – named "Pal" – back to health, thereby establishing a tradition of care and respect that forms the legacy of the sanctuary. Once word of Pal’s recovery spread, the Siddle’s were inundated with orphaned chimpanzees. Chimfunshi combines the protection of the chimpanzees and other wildlife, as well as social and educational projects for its growing community. Addi-tionally, Chimfunshi supports the local farmers surrounding the project, through pur-chasing their fresh produce to feed the chimpanzees.

Chimfunshi have a number of project improvements underway that need support in fulfilling their vision, both for the welfare of the chimpanzees and other rescued wild-life, and for the wellbeing and future of the Chimfunshi and surrounding communi-ties. To name a few project include:

Expanding the Twampane Community School, which has had a major spurt of stu-dents from 33 children at the beginning of last year, to over 120 children from pre-school to year 7 today. Chimfunshi has introduced Adult Literacy classes to the staff and their families this year and are already seeing the impact of these classes. The goal is to ex-pand the Community School to be able to offer higher school grades, as well as a science and computer laboratory, home economics and manual arts workshop, to give the stu-dents the same access to education as others would living in urban areas.

Building of a veterinary clinic and laboratory facility to be able to provide the best onsite care for the chimpanzees and rescued wildlife.

In 2015 a Community Health Clinic was building, however the Clinic can not open its doors without housing for Healthcare staff. Due to the distance from the closest town, accommodation onsite must be built. Currently, injured or unwell staff and their families must travel nearly 30kms to seek basic medical care, often travelling by foot or by bicy-cle. Providing housing is of the essence.

As a not for profit organization, Chimfunshi operates entirely on donations and sponsorship, and without the financial support of donors and sponsors, visitors and volunteers, the sanctuary and its inhabitants could not survive. To find out more information on how you can show your support, email the Marketing and Fundrais-ing Manager, Sharon Rose at rosie@chimfunshiwildlife.org.

Website: http://www.chimfunshi.com Facebook: Chimfunshi Wildlife Orphanage and Trust

Instagram: @chimfunshiwildlife

HISTORY OF CHIMFUNSHI CHIMPANZEE ORPHANAGE

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MANAGEMENT AT CHIMFUNSHI CHIMPANZEE ORPHANAGE

Sebastian Louis, MBA,

Board Chairman Sebastian Louis is an independ-ent entrepreneur and consultant in the field of corporate finance.

Since the early 1990s, he had accompanied his brother Stephan on numerous trips to Chimfunshi supporting, working, and actively advising him.

“Every insect, every worm, every plant, every animal has a right to life. We all know that countless habitats and species are endan-gered or are already extinct on our earth. This is causing major tears in our ecosystem because all living things are closely inter-linked and interdependent: biodi-versity is what keeps nature in balance. We all know it, but too few act. I want to act and this is why I’m doing my part to protect species and promote animal wel-fare, especially for our closest relatives, the chimpanzees, and that’s why I’m committed to CHIMFUNSHI.” - Sebastian

Innocent Mulenga Meets Diplomats at Zambian Embassy in Washington D.C.

During a short break from a post-graduate pro-gram at the London School of Economics in the U.K., Innocent traveled to Washington D.C. visit family. During the visit, he had a chance to meet with Charge d’Affaires, Mr. Joe Chilaizya, the First Secretary of Tourism, Ms. Marsha Holdway, and other Diplomats at the Embassy.

First African Primatologist at World’s Largest Chimpanzee

Orphanage Innocent Chitalu Mulenga, M.sc.,

General Manager at Chimfunshi

Innocent Mulenga is the first Primatologist of African descent. Currently, he is the General Manager (GM) of Chimfunshi Chimpanzee Orphanage and Wildlife Sanctuary. Chimfunshi is one of the worlds’ oldest as well as the biggest Chimpanzee sanctuaries in the world. Since 1983, Chimfunshi has cared for

and protected well over 200 Chimpanzees rescued from Poachers, Zoos and Circuses, as well as from the thriving Bush Meat trade.

Innocent started working at Chimfunshi as an Education Officer in 2005 and was promoted to a Project Manager under Tony Rauch, GM at that time. Born and raised in Lusaka, Zambia, Innocent graduated from University of Zambia in 2004 and later earned his Master of Science degree in Primate Conservation from Oxford Brookes University in the United Kingdom in 2007. In 2009, Innocent was named as the Interim General Manager by the Chimfunshi Board of Trustees. He was later confirmed as GM thereby becoming the first African to manage the biggest Sanctuary in the world.

Since Chimpanzees are not native to Zambia, Innocent’s research has focused on identifying the origin of the Chimps using DNA Analysis. Chimfunshi combines the protection of a wildlife species with social and educational projects in a unique way. They employs more than 70 fami-lies (about 300 people of whom 150 children). Chimfunshi also has a school for about 80 chil-dren and provides basic medical care which will improve upon completion of the new health center/Clinic.

Stephan Louis

In 1988, Hamburg entrepreneur Stephan Louis discovered the Siddle’s Orphanage and became actively committed to Chimfunshi. He founded the Chimfunshi Verein zum Schutz bed-rohter Umwelt e.V. in Germany that same year and, together with numerous donors, provided significant financing for the project. Stephan Louis sadly passed away unex-pectedly at the young age of 57 on July 25, 2011. His vision and commitment led many

chimpanzees to be saved and given a home whilst ensuring a living for several hundred people in Zambia. Stephan

Louis’ brother, Sebastian, continued his brother’s legacy as the new Chair of the Chimfunshi e.V. board in 2012.

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Zambia

GOLD Indirectly linked to Chimfunshi,

Gonzaga University has been visiting Chimfunshi for approxi-mately 14 years. The University brining students as part of their study abroad program, usually spending 3 weeks onsite, then travelling to Lusaka. During alternative years, they also visit the Zambezi region in North-western Province. During one of their student tours, Zambia Gold was established.

Zambia Gold is a small organi-zation run entirely by students from Gonzaga University that exports fair trade goods from the Northwestern Province of Zambia. Through practicing ac-companiment, Zambia Gold cultivates a partnership be-tween students from Gonzaga and the people of Zambezi, Zambia in pursuit of sustainable economic and educational de-velopment.

Zambia Gold honey is USDA Certi-fied 100% organic by Oregon Tilth. The USDA seal on the label guaran-tees that Zambia Gold is grown, harvested, and packaged in an envi-ronment free from pesticides, herbicides, antibiotics, and genetically engineered crops.

Partners & Research at Chimfunshi

In recent years, Chimfunshi has evolved into a major center for education and research. The sanctuary offers the unique opportunity to observe the complex social behavior of chimpanzees in their almost natural habitat and in large social groups. It also allows a number of social and educational projects in the field and a chance to get to know the people and culture of Zambia.

Animal welfare and research thus complement each other perfectly: primate researchers from around the world come to Chimfunshi to investigate the chim-panzees’ social behavior, communication and cognition. Scientists conduct ob-servational studies while learning about the daily lives of people in an African country. In addition to observations of the chimpanzees that teach some stu-dents the methods of behavioral research, field trips are offered to investigate the unique flora and fauna of Zambia. The prerequisite is that the scientists pre-sent their findings on site and exchange with the local staff. Student researchers are asked to teach at the local school and develop and execute projects together with the local students.

The Education Center at Chimfunshi not only attracts international primate re-

searchers but also students from America and Europe as well as school classes

and their teachers from Zambia. Chimfunshi works closely and regularly with

scientists from the Max Planck Institutes for Evolutionary Anthropology (Leipzig,

Germany) and for Psycholinguistics (Nijmegen, Netherlands), the Free Universi-

ty of Berlin, and Gonzaga University in the United States.

Interested scientists wishing to conduct research at Chimfunshi can get infor-mation at http://www.chimfunshi.de/en/forschung-page/

Research Publications can be found at http://www.chimfunshi.de/en/ergebnisse/

PARTNERS OF CHIMFUNSHI

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PROJECTS, FUNDRAISING & VOLUNTEERING AT CHIMFUNSHI

Chimpanzee Sanctuary & Wildlife Orphan Care Program African Impact is a multi-award winning volunteer travel organization operating responsible and sustainable volunteer projects and intern-ship programs throughout Southern and East Africa. They have been in operation for over 10 years and have facilitated over 12,000 volun-teers in 12 countries across Africa. They are responsible for bringing the volunteers and research students who go to Chimfunshi to care for res-cued chimpanzees. These volunteers play a vital role in the protection and conserva-tion at a chimp sanctuary Jane Goodall once called “the most wonderful place on earth.” This project allows volunteers a real opportunity to make an impact at a grass-roots level and to experience a new culture and way of life.

“Chimfunshi is the most wonderful place on earth.” - Jane Goodall

Expansion of Twampane School at Chimfunshi

Twampane Primary School was built by the Chimfunshi Chimpanzee Wildlife Or-phanage to serve the children of its workers and neighboring villages as the closest school is 42 km away. Chimfunshi is one of the oldest main source of em-ployment for the people who live in the five neighboring villages. The planning to expand the school for the village children of Chimfunshi is an ongoing focus. The current objective is to improve learning material and to recruit additional teach-ers. The aim is to attract teachers willing to teach English, mathematics and geog-raphy for up to a year while supporting the local Zambian teachers.

In Spring 2016, Children of Conservation Foundation based in Atlanta, Georgia began Phase 1: construction and furnishing of a secondary school to provide class-rooms for 7th, 8th and 9th grades. Over the next two years, they hope to begin the high school project (with a science lab and computer room) to be followed by a home economics center, manual arts workshop and testing center. They are accepting donation and more information can be found at: www.childrenofconservation.org/donate/new-school-in-zambia

Sharon “Rosie” Rose Chimfunshi Marketing & Funfraising Manager

Chimfunshi’s Marketing

Manager is Sharon Rose aka Rosie. Rosie joined the Chimfunshi team in

July 2015, after working with our partner African Impact as the Volunteer

Project Manager. Originally from Brisbane, Australia, Rosie first moved to

Zimbabwe working for a lion conservation project in Zimbabwe, where she

was the Donations and Community Project Manager, before calling Chim-

funshi home for the past 2.5 years. Passionate about animals and making a

difference, Rosie is dedicated to raising awareness of Chimfunshi’s vision

and raising much needed funds to fulfil that vision of building nurses ac-

commodation to be able to open our new Health Clinic which will change

the lives of over 500 people; construct a veterinary clinic, laboratory and

quarantine facility to enable Chimfunshi to be able rescue chimpanzees

again; build new chimpanzee enclosures, just to name a few of the exciting

development plans.

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CHIMPANZEES AT CHIMFUNSHI

Meaning of

Chimfunshi

Man people think that the word “Chimfunshi” comes from the word “Chimps.” It does not and is actually a Bemba word which means, “a place that holds water.”

Chimfunshi Sanctuary has a total area more than 12,000 acres, locat-ed along the banks of the Kafue River in the flood plains with ravines.

Chimfunshi

Today The rescue of Pal started the incredible develop-ment that made Chimfunshi into one of the largest chimpanzee sanctuaries. It took many years until Chimfunshi caught the attention of international animal welfare organiza-tions. At first, research-ers smiled at the two lay-men, but soon they were recognized by experts like Jane Goodall, who became an important source of knowledge for the Siddles.

The Chimfunshi Wildlife Orphanage is currently a home for 132 chimpan-zees: four families live in four large enclosures that measure between 19 and 77 hectares each, and three additional groups live at the Orphanage while their larger enclosures are being constructed. Adjacent to each of these enclosures is a building with several cages, which are used exclusive-ly for daily feedings during which the chimpanzees’ health can be moni-tored, and medical examinations when necessary. The great apes live in the forested enclosure day and night and only enter the cages during one mid-day feeding session. This is necessary to ensure that even the smaller and younger chimpanzees get enough food and that the health of the chimpanzees can be visually monitored.

Some of the chimpanzees were born at Chimfunshi , while others. have been rescued from adverse conditions all over the world. For example, many infant chimpanzees are confiscated by customs in airports. Smug-glers stuff them in very small boxes to sell them as pets or as research ani-mals. Sometimes they are also sold as bush meat and eaten. On the “global market,” chimpanzees are worth up to $ 100,000. Some of them have been kept as an attraction in bars or amusement parks. They are cooped up in cages, chained to posts and often abused. The chimpanzees are usually dehydrated and famished when they arrive at Chimfunshi. Many of them arrive traumatized, and a few are even addicted to un-healthy and unnatural habits such as drinking alcohol and smoking ciga-rettes. They need intensive and prolonged care. Since they have often lived alone and not in larger communities as chimpanzees usually do, they have to be carefully integrated into one of the chimpanzee families at Chimfunshi after being nursed back to health.

Integrating the primates into one of the existing groups is a prolonged and difficult undertaking that requires understanding for the unique personali-ties of the chimpanzees. Just like humans, chimpanzees do not all get along with each other equally well. New chimpanzees are acquainted to others in neighboring cages before they are brought together in shared cages or one of the enclosures. Origin, age, hierarchy, gender and person-ality play an important role. Sometimes a chimpanzee has to be “introduced” to several groups, before he can be integrated.

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Bobby

MEET THE CHIMPS AT CHIMFUNSHI

Projects at

Chimfunshi

Construction of New Outdoor En-closures

Expansion of Twampane School

Completion of Community Clinic/Infirmary

Construction of Veterinary Clinic

Comprehensive Health Check for Chimpanzees

Building Homes for Workers and their Families

Bobby and Nicky Bobby and Nicky were rescued from deplorable living conditions in the Cen-tral African Republic capital of Bangui. Bobby was found chained outside of a restaurant in Bangui as a tourist attrac-tion.

Pal Pal was the beginning of Chimfunshi, as we know today. He was smuggled into Zambia from Zaire and was found in a local market being offered for sale by poachers. Pal was in terrible condition and had clearly been mistreated since his capture. He was malnourished and had severe facial wounds. He had an open laceration down the left side of

his face and his back teeth had been smashed, presumably in an attempt to prevent him from biting his captors. The initial prognosis was that he would not survive, and it was only through Sheila Siddle’s constant care, love and attention that Pal managed to win his fight for life. Pal’s physical scars healed relatively quickly but his drooping jaw is a constant reminder of his traumatic experience. Pal is an all round good guy; all the

other chimps love him. He has no interest in fighting for dominance but he will fight for the females. Pal is well respected by the other chimps and is best friends with Tara the alpha male at enclosure 1.

Nicky

The World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) negotiated for both Nick and Bobby’s release then accompanied the apes on a 3-day trek across Central and Eastern Africa. A bit of a loner, Bobby can often be found sitting by himself some distance away from the others. Gentle and inquisitive, he prefers sifting through dirt or grooming others to typical male displays of dominance and ag-gression. He does have a naughty side though and is fond of throwing rocks at vehicles and sometimes people!

Nicky is the oldest male within the group at enclosure 4. He used to be the alpha male before he was succeeded by Commander, but is still one of the higher-ranking males within the group. He enjoys sunbathing and is often seen sprawled out in the early morning sun (particularly in winter). Nicky is also very inquisitive and will often accompany keepers along the fence during their fence patrols. He is often playing and laughing with the younger infant and juvenile chimps. His other favourite past time is running alongside vehi-cles when they drive along the fence. Nicky is one of the smaller males and can be recognised by the whites of his eyes (uncommon in chimps) and a skin tag under his right eye, which resembles a teardrop.

Donna Zambian Game Ranges confiscated Donna from an animal dealer who was offering her

for sale for US$300. She arrived at Chimfunshi in September 1985, a very weak 1-year-old infant, and was suffering from malnutrition and severe dehydration. Despite her poor condition she regained her health quickly and was able to be introduced to the other chimps in a matter of weeks. Donna was very fearful and aggressive towards humans, which was a clear indication that she must have been badly treated by her captors. It took many months for her aggression to disappear and she was a difficult chimp for a long

time afterwards. Donna eventually integrated well with the other chimps and socialized well with them. Donna began to exhibit good bush skills on her daily walks into the bush, particularly when it came to foraging. Today, Donna is a protective mum to Debbie who was born in December 2001, and live happily in enclosure 2.

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MARSHA HOLDWAY ATTENDS UNITED NATIONS’ GLOBAL CAMPAIGN TO END WILDLIFE CRIMES

THE ISSUE OF ILLEGAL TRADE AND WHAT DEFINES

Many species are protected by national and international laws because their populations are at risk. When people kill or take them from the wild, despite this protection, the animal or plant and its products are all part of the illegal trade. International trade in endangered and threatened species is regulated by the Convention on Inter-national Trade in Endangered Species of Wildlife Fauna and Flora (CITES) which strives to ensure that international trade in wild animals and plants is legal, sustainable and traceable and is not detrimental to the survival of the species in the wild. This means that when people buy animal or plant products that were sourced by killing or har-vesting species illegally, they’re complicit in perpetuating wildlife crime, knowingly or unknowingly. The world is dealing with an unprecedented threat to wildlife. The loss of habitat as a result of farming, mining and new development has dramatically shrunk the natural space available to wild-life. The loss of space, climate change and an insatiable demand for wildlife products, in some in-stances being fed by transnational organized crime, are conspiring to have a dramatic impact on the

seas, savannahs, forests and plains across the world. The effects are catastrophic with 100,000 elephants killed between 2010 -2012 alone and as many as 3 rhinos poached

every day during the same period. Local extinctions are now being announced annually and pangolins now thought to be the most illegally trafficked mammal in the world. This puts a huge burden on countries where these species naturally occur to pr o-tect them, straining already stretched resources.

Why is wildl i fe in such high demand?

There is a deep cultural heritage and history around wildlife products such as elephant ivory and rhino horn in some parts of the world. For centuries, these items have been used in places as religious icons, for medicines and to express creativity throug h intricate carvings. In more recent history, they have been used for practical items like billiard balls, name stamps, piano k eys, instrument parts and firearm decoration.

Today, wildlife and wildlife products are used as fashion statements, status symbols, pets, luxurious delicacies, for gift -giving and by collectors and investors as commodity items, speculating that prices will go up. The illegal trade is not only threat-ening the very survival of species, it is also undermining development and the livelihoods of local communities. For example, the illegal trade in rare trees such as rosewood not only robs the landscape of a beautiful forest, it also undermines the opport unity for employment in legitimate trade, contributes to corruption and then denies governments’ the chance to generate revenue from legal sales. As our human population continues to grow, with more and more people desiring these sorts of products, the responsibility is on us to be better informed and make smart choices that do not threaten the survival of species and their h abi-tats or undermine sustainable development.

What can we do?

This trade thrives on ignorance, indifference and turning a blind eye to the laws that govern it. But the more we know, the m ore we can see how our decisions have a major impact on wildlife, people and the planet. The good news is that we really can real ly tackle illegal trade in wildlife by:

Being better informed about the status of wildlife and wildlife products

Supporting governments and local communities to tackle the illegal trade in wildlife

Spreading the word and encouraging others to get better informed

Reporting crimes when they are witnessed through mobile technology and national hotlines

Working to reduce human-wildlife conflict for land and resources at community level

Making individual choices that don’t threaten species such as not buying products from wildlife protected by law and by sup-porting companies that demonstrate sustainable supply chains and environmentally responsible policies. This campaign is part of an ambitious agenda that is being driven by the UN which recognizes wildlife crime as a serious crim e and a threat to our shared sustainable development. The new 2030 agenda of the UN sets out Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which have an explicit focus on protecting the integrity of our ecosystems by targeting the environmental crimes, that take place both on land and at sea. They say:

SDG14: “Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development”. This goal calls

for an end to illegal and unreported fishing, and destructive fishing practices. SDG15: “Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertifi-cation, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss.” One of the targets of SDG 15 is to: “Take urgent action to end poaching and trafficking of protected species of flora and fau na and address both demand and supply of illegal wildlife products.”

You can be part of the success of these SDG goals and targets.

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MARSHA AS A TOURIST IN ZAMBIA

Marsha at the Devil’s Pool As promised, in the first edition of the newsletter, I said I would tell you of my experience of the “Devils Pool”, well here goes.……….. So for some of you who might not have heard of the “Devil’s Pool” you might be wondering what it is……. Well the best way I can describe it is that it is one of the world’s best natural infinity pool. The Devil's pool is situated adjacent to the famous Livingstone Island at the top of Victoria Falls, and is run and operated by Tongabezi Lodge in Zambia. It came about after thousands of years of erosion, resulting into many rock pools forming and one of them, the Devil’s Pool, has formed right on the very edge of the sheer drop.

When Can You Access It? During the drier months of the year, the Zambezi River drops quite substantially, and from mid-August to mid-January, it is possible to walk along the lip of the falls. This can only be done from the Zambian side.

My Experience! So that’s me with an American tourist. I can’t remember her name but I remember that she is a pathologist from Boston and I also remember that in that moment, we were as close as any two people could be because of the sheer magnitude of what we were experiencing together. The numerous rush of different heightened emotions, from extreme excitement, to extreme fear, to extreme happiness to extreme laughter, extreme fun, extreme wonderment, EXTREME EVERYTHING! Nothing you feel in this moment is less than EXTREME! I can honestly say, that this was one of the times in my life that I can count that I felt TOTALLY ALIVE! So the truth of the matter is that when I embarked on this trip, I had no intention of actually going through with the Devil’s Pool swim myself. You see the Devil’s Pool is only on the Zambian side of the Victoria Falls. If you go onto the Zimbabwean side across the falls you can actually see groups of tourists being ushered into the pool for photographs etc. So there I was the day before my TOTALLY EXTREME, TOTALLY ALIVE Devil’s Pool experience on the Zimbabwean side of the Falls, (Checking out the competition, as you do) when I spotted what I termed as TOTALLY CRAZY people frolicking in the Devil’s Pool on the Zambian side. Anyway, I took pictures of them in sheer wonder. I telephoned my mother to tell her about what I had just witnessed and typical mother that she is, made me promise I would not do anything as foolish as to swim in the Devil’s Pool. I, typical daughter that I am reassured her that she had given birth to a TOTALLY SANE child and that nothing in the world would make me get into that pool. The following day……. Hmmm….. Let’s just say, that the other person in that picture above is me! I did it! And it felt TOTALLY AMAZING! One for your bucket list?

Here is what Zambia Tourism Board (ZTB) say about the Devil’s Pool It takes a rocky walk and swim in the Zambezi to reach the pool – then the fearless ones leap into the pool and get pushed to the edge by the force of the river. The rock lip brings them to a halt as the raging waters of the Zambezi crash over the cliffs a few feet away. There are guides in attendance who are there to make sure you don’t go over the edge. For the rest of the year, anyone foolish enough to enter the waters would be instantly swept to their deaths. But when lev-els drop, the natural rock walls of the Devil’s Pool come close enough to the surface to form a barrier and stop swimmers being carried away.

The view from the edge is totally exhilarating as you feel the force of the Zambezi flowing past you and crashing down over the precipice; a hundred meter drop.

Over 500 million litres of water a minute cascade over the almost 2km wide falls, causing a deafening and spectacular explo-sion of spray which can be seen 30 miles away. This is why it is known locally as Mosi-oa-Tunya, or The Smoke that Thun-ders. You can find guides who will take you on the Zambian side, at the entrance to the Falls. All you need is your costume and your camera.

So what are you waiting for? Let’s Explore Zambia!!!

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Breakfast with Ambassadors’ Wives

Marsha Holdway, First Secretary of Tour-

ism, attending a breakfast meeting with

African Ambassadors’ spouses and other

Cultural Attaches to exchange information

regarding African Weddings in different

countries. Countries represented were

Angola, Cape Verde, Kenya, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, and Zambia.

Welcoming the President of African Wildlife

Foundation

Mr. Joe Chilaizya, Charge d’Affaires, Marsha Holdway, First Secretary of Tourism, mem-bers of the African Wildlife Foundation (AWF), and other Diplomats welcomed Mr. Kaddu Sebunya the incoming President of AWF at the home of Heather and Paul Haaga in Washington DC.

EVENTS

Contact Us

Embassy of Zambia

2200 R Street, NW Washington, DC 20008

Fax: +1 (202) 332-0826 Consular Services:

+1 (202) 265-0123

Embassy Hours: Monday–Friday, 9am–4pm* *except Embassy holidays

Email: maholdway@ zam-biaembassy.org

Visit us on the web at www.zambiaembassy.org

News Update

ZAMBIA has won the Golden Award in the Southern African Destination Community catego-ry at the just ended 2016 Tourism Indaba in Durban, South Africa, Press Secretary at the Zambian High Commission in South Africa, Nicky Shabolyo has said. The 2016 Tourism Indaba took place from May 7 -9, 2016 with 18 countries from Africa taking part. The award was presented to the Zambia Tourism Agency (ZTA) by the South African Tourism (SAT).