Zambia, Africa

Our last and final stop on our honeymoon in Africa was Zambia. We struggled with where to go for our final destination, and ultimately landed on Zambia as my husband found a very special hotel, The Royal Chandu Island Lodge, on the Zambezi River. After multiple 5AM wake up calls on Safari, we wanted this part of our trip to be relaxing, and that it was!

Some other destinations we considered were Giraffe Manor, the Sand Dunes in Namibia, and the beautiful islands that surround Africa, such as the Seychelles, Mozambique, or Zanzibar. We landed on Zambia as it was fairly close in location to South Arica, so we wouldn’t be spending another 6+ hours flying to a new destination.

DAY ONE

We landed in Zambia around Noon. As we walked towards the exit of the airport, a Royal Chandu employee was waiting to take us to the lodge. He grabbed our bags and let us know that “our pilot was waiting”. I thought he was confused, but that’s when I learned that my husband had hired a helicopter to take us on a tour of Victoria Falls and ultimately drop us off at our lodge. If you know me, you probably know that I’m scared of flying, so my first reaction was pure panic, but it was actually such a cool experience and a fantastic way to see the Falls. I felt super, super safe. We even flew over a few game reserves and saw giraffes and elephants from above. After arriving at The Royal Chandu, we were transported by boat to the Island Lodge. It’s about a 10 minute boat ride down the Zambezi river, with Zimbabwe on one side and Zambia on the other.

After settling into our room, we headed back towards the main lodge for a sunset cruise. Each night, the Royal Chandu staff set up a sunset boat cruise on the Zambezi. And if you read my post on our Safari, you know that I was devastated to leave Sabi Sands and thought that we wouldn’t be seeing any more animals after leaving. To my surprise, we quickly found out that there is a game reserve in Zimbabwe, which was on the opposite side of the Zambizi River from our lodge, and often during our nightly sunset cruises we would see elephants drinking from the river as well as Hippo’s swimming around. These sunset cruises were so lovely and enjoyable. They would stock the boat with our favorite beverages and snacks, and we’d cruise along the Zambizi just taking in the scenery. Upon returning to our room, there would be a fully-made bubble bath on our deck complete with champagne and lanterns. We’d usually head to dinner afterwards, around 8:30PM.

DAY TWO

The Royal Chandu went above and beyond during our stay. Every morning, they would deliver a lovely platter of cookies, teas, & coffees inside a waiter cubby in our room. They’d ring a bell as our wake-up call and we would enjoy the morning treats in our room before breakfast.

We decided to take it easy on our second day in Zambia, so we relaxed on our deck overlooking the Zambezi River, read our books, enjoyed delicious meals, went on a walk around the island, relaxed at the pool, and got a massage in the comfort of our room. We then took our nightly sunset cruise, bath, and dinner. A perfect day at the Island Lodge!

DAY THREE

On our third day in Zambia, we decided to venture out. The Royal Chandu has a service that will take you on day trips, so we decided to start our day with a walking tour of Victoria Falls. We had viewed Victoria Falls from above (during our Helicopter ride), but it was an entirely different experience on the ground. We had to wear ponchos as the water from the falls was spraying so intensely it felt like we were in a downpour. We were drenched, but it was absolutely gorgeous to walk along the pathway near the Falls and learn about the history of this iconic World Heritage Site. Did you know that Victoria Falls is often called the world’s largest waterfall? Even though it’s not the widest waterfall or the highest waterfall, with all dimensions taken into account, they are considered to be the biggest curtain of falling water in the world.

We then stopped for lunch in a small village, and went to The Elephant Cafe in the afternoon. This is supposed to be a luxury dining experience where you eat surrounded by elephants, but we called to see if they would take us without the full tour and they said yes! So, we were able to see the elephants up close and personal and feed them their afternoon meal. Looking back, I think we probably could have found a better sanctuary to go to, but never the less, I’m obsessed with elephants and it was very, very cool to be so up close and personal with them. If you’re heading to Zambia and want to do something similar, I’d check out Lilayi.

After a busy day venturing out, we headed back to the Royal Chandu Island Lodge for a sunset cruise and dinner. The meals here are absolutely exceptional — and everything is sourced from within a 4 kilometre radius.

DAY FOUR

On our fourth day in Zambia, we took a tour of the nearby school and neighboring village. If you stay at Royal Chandu, or go on any trip to Africa, I highly recommend doing something like this. While we were staying in luxury hotels for our honeymoon, the reality of Africa was quickly realized. We knew from our tours in Cape Town, and from talking to our Guide and Tracker on our Safari that life in Africa is not easy, but actually walking through a village and touring an elementary school made it very apparent. Thank God I had sunglasses on while we visited the school, because my eyes were flowing with tears the entire time. While these children don’t have very much, they have the BEST spirits in the world. They were dancing, singing, and laughing. The people of Africa could teach us a thing or two about being grateful. They don’t have a lot. They are sleeping on straw beds and going to the bathroom in concrete holes in the ground — yet they are happy. They have their health, and their family, and that’s all they need. This was a truly life changing experience that I’m so glad we were able to be a part of.

One of my favorite parts about this morning was that we got to meet a lot of the kids whose parents we had become close with at the lodge. If you scroll to the bottom of this post, you’ll read more about the impact that the Royal Chandu has on these neighboring villages, and I feel so honored that our stay here can help them to have a better life.

Afterwards, we headed back to the Royal Chandu Island Lodge, which is just about a 10 minute boat ride away. Once the sun starting setting, we assumed we were going on our nightly cruise. This time though, the staff totally surprised us with cocktails & snacks in the “treehouse”. It was quite an adventure to get here, we took a boat, and then walked in the deep forest before seeing lanterns lining 40 steps up to the top of the treehouse. Once atop, we were high above the Zambezi River, and in complete heaven. It was so serene and beautiful, and Jonathan and I got to enjoy it just the two of us. They had it set up with snacks, cocktails, binoculars, two chairs, and lanterns. After hanging out here for a few hours, we headed back down and made our way through the forest for a lovely bbq dinner in the woods.

DAY FIVE

Our 17 day trip to Africa had come to an end and it was time to make the loooooong journey back to the United States. We flew from Livingston, Zambia to Johannesburg, South Africa, and then a direct flight from Johannesburg to NYC. One thing that has made our airport experiences a lot better is the Priority Pass. Almost every airport worldwide has access to lounges with Priority Pass, and in South Africa we passed the time between flights by hanging out here. They always have wifi, comfortable couches/chairs, lots of free food and drinks, better bathrooms, and an overall more enjoyable place to ride out your layover.

Why we decided to stay at the Royal Chandu

Royal Chundu is a community-run lodge, one of very few of its kind in Africa. 99% of those who work at the lodge are are Zambian and most of them come from or live in one of the two villages right next door to the lodge, the agricultural Malambo village and the fishing-centric Muluka village.

All of the food is sourced from Zambia, with most of it coming from within a 4 kilometre radius. They support the village gardeners through a Seed Project, donating seeds to anyone who wishes to grow crops for their kitchens, which they then purchase at market cost. They support local fishermen by buying fresh bream or parrot fish – often from mekoro arriving at River or Island Lodge. This enables them the ability to give guests at the lodge a true taste of Zambia and ensuring that sustainable fishing measures and regulations are adhered to.

The impact of this is the immediate upliftment of the people who live right beside us and the families that rely on them. The impact of this is that everyone is invested in the lodge and rather than being work, the lodge is something we are entwined with, in heart and soul. Guests walk away having experienced real Zambia, having connected with the people born from its land, having tasted the ingredients and cooking styles of the nation. Guests leave having helped to support not simply a lodge in Zambia, but countless families, school children, women empowerment initiatives and local entrepreneurship.