Dave and Sally Sanger play 107.7 fm

Dave and Sally Sanger play 107.7 fm


You’re tuned to The Chanters Lodge Experience with the DJMJ Ingredient ft Soulchild on Zambezi Radio 107.7 fm announced Milli Jam (DJMJ) the presenter, when our show went on air at 20.00 hrs last Sunday. “107.7 fm?” I queried. “Yes, the frequency transmission has changed” I was told. No worries, 107.7 fm rolls off the tongue rather nicely!

Our guests on this show were Dave and Sally Sanger pictured above with daughter Kate and her boyfriend Chris just on their way to see Victoria Falls at the time I took the shot. “Are Chris and Kate an item?” I asked Sally on air. She laughed. “You’d better ask them!” She replied, but went on to admit that “they seem very fond of each other!” “Is it true” Milimo wanted to know “that you’re all from England but you’ve come to Zambia to meet Kate and Chris?” It was! Dave explained that Kate and Chris had been travelling for almost six months, all over South America in particular, and that when he and Sally heard the couple would soon be in Victoria Falls in Zambia, they made arrangements to come and see them. It had been a joyful reunion!

“What made you choose to stay at Chanters Lodge?” Asked Milli Jam (Dave and Kate were staying in our accommodation). Dave explained that he’d found Chanters in the Zambia Travel Guide produced by Bradt where the Lodge is well written up. “Is it true you’re an expert on trees?” Milimo asked Dave who acknowledged that he’d worked with trees and in landscaping all his life. “Don’t know much about trees” said Milimo, rather stumped (sorry!) “What do you do?” He asked Sally instead, who told him she’s a primary school teacher of 9-11 year olds in UK. “Do they work with computers?” I was interested “Gosh! Yes!” replied Sally and went on to say that they teach using computers in UK primary schools these days. “We’re so far behind in Zambia” I moaned to the assembled company, who agreed.

“Richard told us that you broadcast on hospital radio in UK” Milimo commented to Dave, “can you tell us about it?” Dave explained that he broadcasts once a week in Basingstoke General Hospital south west of London which has roughly 1000 beds. We wanted to know all about that, and Dave told us that he plays a lot of music on his weekly 2 hour show, both requests from patients as well as requests for patients. It’s a purely voluntary arrangement but he felt he might well start doing more than one show a week in future, as he was now semi retired and really enjoyed radio broadcasting. Amongst the patients’ favourites were Westlife and Frank Sinatra but Dave said you could get asked for any artist anytime.

On our show this week we played two local numbers so Sally and Dave could hear some Zambian music: Mumpi with her single ‘High On Me’ and then ‘Ndiwe Zuba’ by Baska Baska, apparently a hot single meaning ‘you’re my sunshine even though you trouble me’. As usual the translations were in some doubt! Riding high in the UK charts we played ‘Beat Again’ by JLS and ‘Supernova’ by Mr Hudson ft Kanye West. We also played the lovely new Whitney Houston number ‘I Look To You’ from her soon to be released come-back album, as well as ‘She Is A Bad Mamma Jamma’ and ‘Confusion Girl’ for the Chanters Girls who were hard at work on a busy night back at the lodge.

“Is it true” Milli Jam asked Dave and Sally, “that you recently climbed Table Mountain in Cape Town”. “The cable lift wasn’t working, so if we wanted to see the view from the top we had no choice but to climb – it took 3 hours and it was tough!” They replied. “The cable lift wasn’t working?” I said “that’s got a familiar ring to it” (the lift to the 107.7 studio on the 6th floor hadn’t been working that night) “Sorry!” said Milli Jam “we forgot to warn you!” “We climbed down to the Boiling Pot and back up again today too” said Sally proudly and irritatingly! I’d struggled with the 6 flights up to the studio, but got very little sympathy.

As usual we greeted Guests and staff at the lodge and gave away our standard dinner for two. “Where are you off to when you leave here?” Milimo asked, and Dave explained that he and Sally would take a Mazhandu coach to Kafue, then a taxi to Gwabi and from there would be spending time on the Lower Zambezi. Can’t be bad……

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accommodation, Africa, guests, livingstone, radioshow, victoriafalls, Zambia

Lufupa River Camp

Lufupa River Camp


Here’s something different from Wilderness Safaris: The camp is 350 kms from Lusaka on a newly tarred road:

“The well-known Lufupa area of Zambia’s Kafue National Park is recognised as a focal point for prolific animal and bird life. Situated at the confluence of the Lufupa and Kafue Rivers, this site offers access to productive game viewing areas in the dambos (open grassy clearings) and woodlands of the northern Kafue. Puku, impala, and Defassa waterbuck are common while more unusual species include Lichtenstein’s hartebeest. The area is renowned for its leopard viewing and elephant and lion sightings are regular.

The newly-built Lufupa River Camp features nine comfortable en-suite tents (two of which are family rooms) on the banks of the Kafue River offered on a bed-and-breakfast basis. The vibrant social hub is the whimsically named Kafue River Café with a bar and restaurant; a la carte meals and drinks are served during the day and early evening to guests of Lufupa River Camp and the nearby campsite.

Activities (at extra cost) include day and night nature drives exploring prime game viewing areas adjoining the Kafue River and Lufupa Channel. Boat trips reveal the incredible hippo population of the area complemented by a constant array of colourful waterbirds, reptiles and other life amongst the riverine vegetation. Guided nature walks and fishing excursions are also on offer.”

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AUG
2

accommodation, activities, Kafue, tourism, wildlife, Zambia

Rooms 11 & 12

Rooms 11 & 12


Check the progress on our two new poolside rooms at Chanters Lodge. We’re looking to expand our accommodation facilities for the upcoming 2010 FIFA World Cup to be held in South Africa when we expect visitors to visit Victoria Falls both before and after the tournament.

We’ve bought the bathroom suites and hot water geyzers required (on sale from a local hardware store). The rooms will have a double bed with en suite bath and seperate shower. They’ll be air conditioned and provided with small refrigerators as well as satellite TV’s. They’ll have a great view across the pool to the garden.

At the moment it’s not possible to say when the new rooms will be in operation but it’s important that the majority of the building work is complete before the onset of the rains on November 15th.

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accommodation, Chanters, extension, tourism, victoriafalls, World Cup 2010, Zambia

Richard Downey & Family

Richard Downey & Family


I first met Richard Downey in 1979. He’s pictured above with his wife Anne, and daughters Jenny and Katherine, enjoying the poolside at Chanters Lodge last weekend. I was General Manager of Ridgeway Hotel in 1979, (now Southern Sun Ridgeway) and one of the first things that happened after I’d taken up my new appointment was that our Chief Accountant, John Fletcher resigned to take up a similar post at the Pamodzi Hotel, now Taj Pamodzi, across the road! As this was roughly a month before the famous, and for us huge, Commonwealth Conference held in Lusaka that year (which incidentally decided the independence of then Southern Rhodesia) it was a crisis. Luckily we were able to recruit Richard, then working for Deloitte, Haskins and Sells on the Copperbelt. Richard held the appointment for about 3 years before returning to UK to further his career.

So, having not seen Richard for about 10 years since his last visit to Zambia, I was delighted to receive an accommodation request for a three night booking at Chanters Lodge for him and his family for last weekend. At the time we confirmed the reservation we also confirmed that he, and at least one other member of his family, would guest on the Chanters Lodge Experience with the DJMJ Ingredient ft Soulchild, our regular sponsored Sunday night radio show which airs at 20.00 hrs every Sunday on Zambezi Radio 107.5 fm – ‘Let The Waves Flow’. Richard duly appeared last Sunday with daughter Jenny and it was a super occasion.

“Why did you first arrive in Zambia?” DJMJ wanted to know, and Richard explained that he’d first come to take up an appointment with Deloitte Touche on the Copperbelt in 1975. He’d been planning to return to UK in 1979 when the call came about a possible appointment at the Ridgeway, and thus he’d taken up his first accountant’s job in industry as opposed to the ‘profession’. In the end he’d been happy to stay in Zambia because he’d met his wife Anne through his job at the Ridgeway. Anne’s also a CA and had been working for Deloittes in Lusaka when they met.

Richard explained to listeners that when he’d first gone back to UK, he’d taken up an appointment with Anchor Hotels, after which he moved on to work for the Harvesters chain, helping to hugely multiply their number of pub and grill outlets. Currently he was working for Balls Bros. “Did he have regrets about leaving Africa?” we asked, and he replied that although he missed Africa he felt he’d made the right career decision. He added that he’d love to return one day and ‘put something back into Zambia’. We hope he does.

Daughter Jenny was in good form. “How old are you?” “13”. “Where do you go to school?” “Surbiton High School” “Have you got a boyfriend?” “No!” Followed by giggles! “What have you done since you arrived in Livingstone?” We asked her, and she explained that she’d been all the way down to the Boiling Pot when they’d visited Victoria Falls and ended up having to be carried across a stream. They’d also been on a brilliant game drive in the Mosi-o-Tunya National Park that afternoon with Bwaato Adventures, and had seen loads of different animals including elephant, buffalo and impala. What else had the family planned for their short stay in Livingstone? A half day canoeing/dinner cruise combo for the following day which Jenny was looking forward to, and thereafter they were off to Luangwa Valley and to the Lower Zambezi.

The music on the show was right up to date and super as usual. To give Richard and Jenny a flavor of the latest Zambian music we played two tracks from Haamoba – ‘Tizakondana’ meaning ‘we’ll take care of each other for ever and ever’ and ‘Mooye’ which is Chitonga apparently meaning ‘woman’ or ‘he’s found a girl’. As usual there was debate about the precise meaning of the songs… ‘Room Service’ by Pitbull for all the hoteliers, and ‘Beat Again’ the track from JLS that had taken the UK charts by storm the previous week and is the current UK number one, both featured. Now that surprised young Jenny! Old and current favorite tracks of mine were both on the playlist. ‘You Saw The Whole Of The Moon’ by Waterboys from the 80’s and ‘She Is A Bad Mamma Jamma’ by Carl Carlton a great fresh number. “What’s a Mamma Jamma?” I wanted to know. “A hot black girl” replied Milimo quick as a flash! I’ll take his word for it and the Urban Dictionary link there shows he was right!

We had an extra prize on offer this week – a brilliant Barak Obama T shirt sent from the States by Shel And Claire Weissman, previous guests on the show and we simply asked listeners to text us the name of the President of the US – you can imagine the response! We gave away the standard dinner for two as well, for the first person to text us the country that Richard and Jenny live in. That prize was quickly won as well. It was great to catch up with old times “Were you at the Ridgeway when Richard used to sing?” DJMJ asked Richard Downey “No” was the reply – “I didn’t know that he could!” “We’ve never heard him either” was Milimo’s helpful answer!

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accommodation, Chanters, guests, hotels, livingstone, radioshow, Zambia

The Slab

The Slab


No, not the title of a new film in the ‘horror’ genre as one of my friends suggested, but the slab for the 2 new rooms at Chanters Lodge, Livingstone which was successfully completed last week by Emmanuel Bwalya and his team, and there’s the picture to show the article.

‘The Slab’ now has to sit for about a week, being kept constantly wet in order for it to ‘cure’ and be strong. Once this process is complete the Building Inspector from Livingstone City Council must pass the phase and we move on.

Meantime it was hand in the pocket again to buy cement, blocks and other building materials required for the next phase – which are now stacked in the car park! At least there’s progress…

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accommodation, Chanters, livingstone, Zambia

Derek Lee & Lorretta Williams

Derek Lee & Lorretta Williams


“What temperatures do you experience?” We asked Derek Lee pictured above with partner Lorretta Willams. “About 40 degrees below!” Replied Derek. “Play some music!” I said quickly to DJMJ. “My favourite track at the moment is ‘Walking On Snow’ by Jordin Sparks” chipped in George Soulchild, “can we play that?” “Wait until next week, we’re playing Leona and Alexandra this week!” I replied. “And anyway have you ever walked on snow? He hadn’t! You’ll have guessed that all this conversation took place on the latest edition of The Chanters Lodge Experience with the DJMJ Ingredient ft Soulchild, our regular Sunday night radio show airing at 20.00 hrs on Zambezi Radio 107.5 fm, Livingstone’s best loved local radio station.

“And why does Derek experience temperatures of 40 degrees below?” I hear you ask. Well first of all he hails from Falkland Islands (which is a pretty cold and bleak place in its own right) but although he now lives with Lorretta in Ilfracombe, Devon he works as a steward on board the British Antarctic Survey Vessel the James Clark Ross and frequently experiences temperatures that low during his ‘four months on’ which he works. “What’s life like when he’s away for that long?” DJMJ asked and Lorretta replied that they missed each other a lot but were able to keep in touch on MSN. And, they made up for the parting when Derek had his ‘four months off’! “How long have you been going out together?” We asked, and this entertaining and lively couple told us they’d been together for about 14 months, and though it wasn’t quite love at first sight, they’d fallen in love with each other after 10 minutes when they’d met on Barnstaple Station in North Devon, UK.

(I was getting incredibly ‘homesick’ throughout this show as Lorretta and Derek talked about the North Devon coast which I love, and on which, as a family in the 60’s, we used to have wonderful days out with my parents and siblings in places like Saunton, Braunton, Lynton and Lynmouth. And who could forget stopping for home-made ice cream in Dulverton on the way home to Tiverton having crossed the stunning landscape of Exmoor which my late mum and dad loved so much. Anyway, I digress.)

“Uno, Dos, Tres, Quatro – You Know I Want You” thumped out Pitbull, just one of the tracks we played showing that we’re right up to date on the Chanters Lodge Experience! Alexandra Burke’s “Overcome” was next. “Who’s she?” DJMJ and Soulchild wanted to know, and I explained that she’d been singing on X-Factor when I was in UK last November, and that she’d eventually won the tournament. We played two Zambian tracks so Derek and Lorretta could get a taste of our music, Sikifuna Chabe (‘it’s not my wanting that things are like that, what can I do?’) And ‘Could I Be’ a great track which my 7 year old son Henry loves, both taken from Danny’s latest album ’10 Years’ a smash hit here in Zambia. ‘Could I be the one to be?’ ‘Obsessed’ by Mariah Carey and ‘A Little Too Not Over You’ by David Archuleta contributed to a balanced and popular play list.

“How was your one day safari to Chobe National Park in Botswana?” DJMJ asked Derek and Lorretta, and they told listeners that they’d been incredibly lucky. Just after they’d started their trip they’d come across a leopard sitting in a tree admiring its kill, an impala, which was hanging in the tree next to the big cat. “What other activities have you got lined up for your visit?” We wanted to know, and Derek and Lorretta told listeners that they had a 15 minute helicopter ride organized for the following day and on Tuesday, they’d visit Livingstone Island. They explained to listeners that they’d made their bookings for their visit to see Victoria Falls through Wildside Safaris and had chosen accommodation at Chanters Lodge partly because of the good reviews about the lodge on TripAdvisor. Were they pleased with their choice? Of course!

“What job do you do?” DJMJ asked Lorretta and she explained that she was a medical secretary with the NHS in UK, working in administration in a health care centre dealing with children with special needs, especially autistic children. “Stressful?” I asked. “Can be!” Was the predictable reply. “The children?” I continued. “No the NHS!” Replied Lorretta. LOL! As they say on Facebook. Lorretta told listeners she has two sons in their early twenties both with a mind to go into the media for a career. Derek told listeners about his family life back on the Falklands when he was younger and about farms with 36,000 sheep. “That’s a lot of lamb!” We said. “Did you fight in the war?” He didn’t but told us that the Falkland Islanders were jolly happy that the Brits had won, and that Maggie Thatcher could be Queen of the Falklands any time she liked!

What music were they into? 50’s, 60’s and 70’s they replied, Lorretta especially Dr Hook and Smokey. And sport? Nope. DJMJ as usual asked us about Twitter, the Blog and Facebook and asked me my favourite track right now. It was Lemar – “You Got Me”. “You know” sighed DJMJ to our guests “Richard used to be into 50’s, 60’s and 70’s music now we can’t even keep up with him!” Lols all round!

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accommodation, Chanters, guests, radioshow, victoriafalls, wildlife, Zambia

Christine Sessa

Christine Sessa


We had this wonderful e mail from Christine Sessa a little old lady from, not Pasadena, but Australia. While she was staying with us here at Chanters Lodge, Livingstone she did a lot of adventurous activities (check the microlight picture over Victoria Falls) and this is what she wrote when she got back home:

“Hi, Richard – back home (finally) and trying to catch up with the 400+ emails!! That was so nice of you to write – it is I who should be thanking YOU!! I’ve shown one of the micro light photos to everyone I meet here in my small town and they all have the same reaction: NO WAY I would have done that! and some today told me of friends who sold them to farmers who used them for cattle roundups BUT some of them fell to the ground ending in death (of the farmers, not the cattle). I play the elephant DVD and show those photos as well and the memories cause me tears and joy. I think of you and your girls so often and can’t tell you how much I appreciated all your kindnesses and how you helped with transport.

Yes, I did indeed enjoy the rest of SA, especially Addo Elephant Park and the Garden Route and, of course, Capetown. I’ve realized that one cannot mention a need to a SA’er (or a Zambia’er), because they will go out of their way to fulfill it – they are the most helpful people I’ve known, even more so than Aussies, who are pretty special people, too. I have such lovely memories of Africans and their sweet smiles and friendliness and their giggles to my response to being called “grannie” – “did you call me GRANNIE??”

Something you probably won’t expect to hear from me is that I was a passenger on the MSC cruise ship the Melody that was nearly boarded by pirates!! just a few hours after we had sailed from Seychelles. Quite an adventure, though I slept through most of it. They fully intended to board, but when their grappling hook failed and passengers threw deck chairs down on them and crew used the hoses, they decided, I guess, it was too risky….but still used their kalashnikovs (spelling?) – holes in some of the lounge windows and life boats and hull. Then, I was interviewed by and appeared on Italian RAI-TV asking if I had been afraid. Lots of my friends and family on Capri saw me on the news program (all in Italian). I spent 6 weeks there and then returned home to cooler weather. I still haven’t been able to get all the mail and paperwork seen to + it’s Aussie tax time.

That’s all for now – please give your girls my fondest best wishes. I wish it were all ahead of me, but I do have the most fabulous memories, thanks to you all. Hugs – Christine”

Now how nice is that?

20
JUL
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accommodation, activities, guests, victoriafalls

Greg & Donna Fox, Jamaica

Greg & Donna Fox, Jamaica


Meet Greg and Donna Fox from Kingston, Jamaica, who guested on the Chanters Lodge Experience last Sunday, our popular radio show going out live on Zambezi Radio 107.5 fm, Livingstone’s popular local radio station, at 20.00 hrs every Sunday. We always give away a prize too, this week as usual a dinner for two with drinks at Chanters Lodge for the first person to text us the right answer to a simple question. In this instance ‘which country did this lovely couple come from?’ Junita texted ‘Jamaica’ right away and won!

Junita Hepplethwaite just happens to be the activities supremo and in charge of the Lady Livingstone sunset cruise reservations, based at the David Livingstone Safari Lodge, Livingstone’s latest upmarket 5 star hotel, with a fabulous location on the banks of the Zambezi overlooking the mile wide spray thrown up as the mighty River Zambezi plunges some 120m over the awesome Victoria Falls! We get great service from Junita and her team for our Guest activity bookings, so we were delighted she was listening, and that she won!

Greg and Donna reserved accommodation and stayed at Chanters Lodge for their visit to Livingstone. Greg was involved in a conference concerning aviation safety in Africa. This is his speciality and he holds a senior position with the Jamaica Civil Aviation Authority – formerly Director of Flight Safety now Coordinator at Regional Aviation Safety Oversight System. His roots are in England but he migrated to Jamaica via Canada where he was educated. Donna’s pure Jamaican, they’ve been together 14 years and have two sons. Before the show Greg thrust the inch thick FCTP for the Airbus A340 into my hands saying “read this!” ‘FCTP?’ I hear you ask. ‘Flight Crew Training Programme!’ would you believe! I tried and failed! Greg was to give at least two keynote addresses at the ongoing conference being held at Zambezi Sun Hotel.

Greg and Donna’s appearance on the show had been arranged by e mail a long time ago and they’d kindly brought two fantastic Jamaican CD’s for us – a double album of Beres Hammond, one of Donna’s favourite Jamaican artists, and a compilation of great reggae dancehall artists including VYBZ Kartel and Terry Linen. Some tracks were supposed to be played on the show but we had technical difficulties, so reverted to Bob Marley and Peter Tosh instead! Was it true, DJMJ wanted to know, that they’d also brought two bottles of special Jamaica rum for Richard? It was, and the 107.5 fm guys were ‘red-eyed’. Red-eyed? Jamaican slang for jealous!

We played Zikomu by Ty2 his latest smash, to give Greg and Donna a taste of Zambian music, and Cascada’s ‘Evacuate the Dancefloor’ which had successfully held off the Michael Jackson challenge at the top of the UK singles pop charts the previous week. ‘Strangers’ from Leona Lewis and ‘Obsession’ from Mariah Carey showed how right up to date we are at 107.5 fm! ‘Heartbreak Make Me A Dancer’ by Freemasons ft Sophie Ellis Bexter and Emergency 911 by Jordin Sparks are pretty hot songs and artistes and we featured them too on the show!

‘What’s happening on Twitter?’ DJMJ asked me. I took some time to explain #followfriday #traveltuesday #unacceptable, #ihavetoadmit and other trending topics on that site. I also pointed out that Greg and I had contact on Twitter where he’d been reporting on the bbq he’s been building at home. Talking of which, I was happy to report good progress on the construction of our new rooms to the listeners.

Donna and Greg told our audience about their one day safari to the Chobe National Park they’d been on that very day with friends Jorge and Felicia Vargas from Costa Rica also in Livingstone for the conference and staying at Chanters, and the group had been lucky enough to see lion and lots of other game as well. It really is a great one day trip. ‘Where would you like to be and what would you like to be doing ten years’ from now?” was the closing question. Greg said he’d like to be retired and relaxing somewhere nice with Donna, and Donna said she hoped to still be the family co-pilot! Cute, just like her! Don’t believe me? Check the photo!

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accommodation, Chanters, guests, livingstone, radioshow, victoriafalls

TripAdvisor – 100 Reviews

TripAdvisor – 100 Reviews


Today we clocked 100 reviews on TripAdvisor for Chanters Lodge! Not bad for a small establishment! Thank goodness it happened to be an excellent one, they aren’t always! Happily we have more good than bad on that important site: Here it is, for the record:

“My wife and I along with our two adult daughters and their partners had the pleasure of staying with Richard and staff in early May. The abundant advice and help Richard offers are what makes his establishment so unique. Nothing is too much trouble for him to assist with. We really enjoyed relaxing by the pool and thought the restaurant with it’s large menu was excellent value. We ate almost all our meals there and especially enjoyed the local dishes. The rooms are very basic and adequate. We were only in our rooms for sleeping and the rest of our time was spent either sightseeing or relaxing in the pool and gardem area. I can’t recommend Chanters Lodge enough and it’s the only place we will stay when we return. Congratulations to Richard and his staff, they’re providing excellent value for travellers!!”

Couldn’t have put it better myself!! Thanks to everyone who’s ever reviewed our lodge, good or bad – without Guest feedback we’d be nowhere.

9
JUL
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accommodation, Chanters, guests, restaurants, TripAdvisor

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