MONZE 20/03/2010

Monze has a lot to offer. It is a proper Zambian small town. Away from the hustle and bustle of the busy streets of Lusaka. And also away from the tourist “infected” Livingstone. Don’t get me wrong, Livingstone is nice, and very chilled, but it tend to be too tourist oriented. Even so, no visit to Zambia is complete without a visit to the mighty Victoria Falls, and that will include a stay in Livingstone.
The commercial in saying “Zambia – the real Africa”, and the real Zambia would be a place like Monze, not like Livingstone. The town itself is small, and if you’re driving from Lusaka to Livingstone without paying too much attention you might miss it. Unless you’re on a bus, this is where the buses have their pit-stop, as it is more or less half way, which makes it easy to access.
In town there are heaps of shops next to each other and they’re selling essentially the same knick-knacks, but you’ll be surprised of what you can find.

NORSK: Monze har mye å tilby. Det er en skikkelig Zambias liten by. Vekk fra kjas og mas de travle gatene i Lusaka. Og også vekk fra turist "infisert" Livingstone. Ikke misforstå, er Livingstone hyggelig, og veldig kjølt, men det pleier å være for turist orientert. Likevel besøk i Zambia er ikke komplett uten et besøk til det mektige Victoria Falls, og som inkluderer et opphold i Livingstone. De kommersielle i å si "Zambia - det virkelige Afrika", og den virkelige Zambia vil være et sted som Monze, ikke som Livingstone. Byen i seg selv er liten, og hvis du kjører fra Lusaka til Livingstone uten å betale for mye oppmerksomhet du kan gå glipp av det. Med mindre du er på en buss, dette er hvor bussene har sitt pit-stop, siden det er mer eller mindre halvveis, noe som gjør det enkelt å få tilgang. I byen finnes det hauger av butikker ved siden av hverandre og de er selger det samme nips, men du vil bli overrasket over hva du kan finne.

Shops and trucks of Monze

And if you can’t find what you’re looking for in the shops, there are always street venders around, they’ll attend to you if you look their way, but if you say no or even just wave them away they’ll leave you alone.

There is a proper, local, Zambian marked, and that is always worth a visit. With local food and vegetables, and other katundo (stuff), but be prepared to be stared at, not in a bad way, but just because people here (as everywhere) are curious.

A proper salaula – selling second hand clothes.

The town does lack a proper supermarket, however that is typical for a Zambian small town, but one day I’m sure Shoprite, or even maybe Spar will settle here too. In the meantime we just have to live with the fact that fresh milk and things are a luxury.

There is, however, a post office. And several banks/cash points.

Here is the farm boy, who looks after our farm, on his way to drop off today’s milk from the cow at his father’s farm. We gave him a lift into town, and even back again, as we went back and forth to the farm 3 times in a day.

Banana vendor and offspring

This is such a beautiful, and very hot day, but it takes time to dry up yesterdays heavy rains.

There are plenty of guest houses and eating/drinking places around town. But not anything which will be in the same category as our eco-lodge, which also makes Monze a good place for the lodge. We believe that the people of Monze can make use of the lodge/farm and enjoy the facilities, but also benefit from it as we will bring business and tourists to the area.
The community based projects will have a main focus around the Lochinvar National Park. The park also attribute to the real Zambia, there are several points of interests, and has the potential to develop even further with the help of the community projects and the international recognition we hope to bring in. The park is especially known for its vast bird life, where we can bring in one of, if not the one, Zambia’s most famous bird experts, Bob the birdman. He is a true character and he is family. The park also has hot springs and quite a few African animals to view, and if you proceed through to Kafue Flats there are even more animals to see, included elephants, giraffes and lions.
So really we believe and trust that Monze is the place for us, and that we and the people of the Monze region can have a long lasting relationship with mutual enjoyment and benefits.

NORSK: Det er mange gjestehus og spising / drikking steder rundt i byen. Men ikke noe som vil være i samme kategori som vår øko-lodge, som også gjør Monze et godt sted for hytta. Vi tror at folk Monze kan gjøre bruk av hytta / gården og nyte fasilitetene, men også dra nytte av det som vi vil ta næringsliv og turister til området. Samfunnet baserte prosjekter vil ha et hovedfokus rundt Lochinvar nasjonalpark . Parken har også attributt til den virkelige Zambia, er det flere interessante steder, og har potensial til å utvikle ytterligere med hjelp av samfunnet prosjekter og den internasjonale anerkjennelsen vi håper å få inn Parken er spesielt kjent for sine enorme fuglen livet, hvor vi kan hente inn en av, om ikke den ene, Zambias mest kjente fugl eksperter, Bob the Birdman. Han er en sann karakter og han er familie. Parken har også varme kilder, og ganske mange afrikanske dyr å se, og hvis du fortsetter med å Kafue Flats er det enda flere dyr å se, inkludert elefanter, giraffer og løver. Så egentlig vi tror og stoler på at Monze er stedet for oss, og at vi og folket i Monze regionen kan ha et langvarig forhold med gjensidig glede og nytte.