Chanters – Chanters Lodge Livingstone

Victoria Falls Marathon 2009

The third official Victoria Falls Marathon will be organised by Safari Par Excellence, Wild Horizons, and Wild Frontiers (Pty) Ltd with the National Athletics Association of Zimbabwe, and will take place on 23 August 2009, in Zimbabwe.

The race has been measured at 42.2 km, a standard marathon, as well as the 21.km half marathon and a 5Km fun run, all are being run on predominantly tarmac roads. The race route has been measured by an IAAF representative. Water points will be provided along the route at clearly marked areas approx 4km apart. These will provide liquid refreshments, with some offering sponge points.

The main race will start opposite the Kingdom Hotel, Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe at 06.30 hrs and all runners must wear their running bib, clearly, on the front (not back). They will be provided with ‘bank bags’ for their race number for verification at the finish, which will be taken off them as soon as (and if, I guess) they cross the finish line. Cut off time for the race will be 12h30. All finishers will receive a medal and t-shirt.

The half marathon and fun run will start at staggered time after the main race has kicked off.

There you are then! “You’ll obviously be taking part Richard”, I hear you say. Mmmm probably not actually but jolly good luck to all those who do! Don’t forget to book your accommodation in Livingstone at Chanters Lodge for your visit! We’ll transfer you to the start by road…

18
JUN

accommodation, activities, Chanters, richard, victoriafalls

Jeff Papps & Tiffany Homeshaw play 107.5 fm

“What does your husband say about you visiting Zambia and doing activities with another man?” Milli Jam cheekily asked Tiffany at the start of the latest edition of the Chanters Lodge Experience with the Milli Jam Ingredient last Sunday, when Tiffany Homeshaw and Jeff Papps – the other man in question (pictured above) – guested on the latest edition of the show, which airs every Sunday at 20.00 hrs on Zambezi Radio 107.5 fm, Livingstone’s best loved local radio station. “He’s still working out how much ‘lobola’ to charge Jeff!” Replied Tiffany with a chuckle. Jeff being an Oxford University graduate, a high flying project accountant in Sydney Australia, and about 6′ 4″ tall and big with it, didn’t really look worried. He supports Chelsea though which bothered us!

Jeff and Tiffany’s friendship goes back some time. They met when Tiffany was sharing a flat with one of Jeff’s workmates at Pricewaterhouse Coopers in Sydney. Both have their roots in England. They’ve kept in touch since that time despite Tiffany’s subsequent marriage and move away from Australia to South Africa. She now lives in Pretoria, Jeff still in Sydney. When she heard Jeff was going to finish a trip to South Africa (mostly to watch rugby) with a trip to Zambia to see Victoria Falls and to undertake some of the great activities available in the Livingstone area, she asked if she could ‘tag along’ too! The answer? A resounding ‘yes’. It’s the first time Tiffany’s been seperated from her baby son Fin, age one and a half, and the first time her husband’s been left in sole charge of the baby too! “Great stuff!” We said. “Worried?” We asked. “Only slightly!” She replied.

“What activities have you been doing then, since you arrived in Livingstone?” Milli Jam wanted to know (with a smile). “You mean apart from being poached to appear on this show” Tiffany quickly retorted. Touché! This happy couple went on to tell listeners about their wonderful sunset cruise on Lady Livingstone the previous day, and of their dramatic 30 minute microlight flight that afternoon with Batoka Sky. They’d flown across Victoria Falls, then the Mosi-o-Tunya National Park as well as the river below the Falls, where the huge, wide Zambezi transforms into a narrow gorge containing some of the world’s wildest white water rapids! Wow! Jeff and Tiffany spoke too of their lion encounter scheduled for the next day, and of their two day/one night trip to Chobe National Park in Botswana, with accommodation at Chobe Safari Lodge, with river safaris and game drives scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday.

How had they chosen accommodation at Chanters Lodge in Livingstone? “Mostly from reviews on the internet.” Jeff revealed. “Pleased with your choice?” Asked Milli Jam. “We’ll let you know later in the week!” Said Tiffany quickly. “Maybe it is time she was back with her husband and baby son in Pretoria” thought I!

The music was Milli Jam’s own choice, beautiful and softer than I’d expected when I gave him the mission. Taylor Swift, Dido, Brandy ft Ne-Yo, Faith Hill and Shania Twain. ‘Cotton Eyed Jo’ by Rednex for Ireen at home, who loves that track. The local numbers were K’Millian’s ‘Alema’ (‘you’ve got one more chance to get in line before I leave you’ – she says to him) and Roberto ft Gen Ozzy with Nikutshe (‘thanks for everything‘ – he says to her). A nice contrast and both great numbers. No hip-hop anywhere, though Taylor Swift’s ‘Love Story’ was a beefed up remix, good too!

“You’ve got nice voices” said George Soulchild (on technical) smoothly to our guests, “can you come in tomorrow and record some voice-overs for our 107.5 fm jingles?” Talk about poaching! They kindly agreed – assuming they said, that they survived their early morning lion encounter! “Do you work?” Milli Jam asked Tiffany, changing the subject. She told listeners she’d worked in advertising before her baby was born, but that she’d been studying social sciences while nursing Fin. After this holiday she’d start practical welfare training. “Where would you like to be, and what would you like to be doing ten years from now?” Milli Jam asked our guests. Jeff wanted to be thinner, healthy and married with a family, and Tiffany with at least one more addition to her family living near Bondai Beach in Australia. Don’t bet against it!

Lovely couple, fun show! Thanks and greetings were aired all round. We offered a dinner for two at Chanters Lodge as a prize to the first person to text me the name of the British Prime Ministe,r and we had the worst response ever! Now there’s a thing Gordon! Eventually and after a long delay we got a winner – Joyce by name!

16
JUN

accommodation, activities, Chanters, radioshow, victoriafalls, Zambia

Mr Piano Man

Nope, not my weekly review of our radio show The Chanters Lodge experience with the Milli Jam Ingredient as you might have thought, (you’ll have to wait until tomorrow for that), but a nice piece from Hotel Chatter about an hotel in Colorado Springs! Mind you ‘Mr Piano Man’ by Brandy, from her latest wonderful, album ‘Human’ is one of my favourites at the moment, and of course that’s her fabulous photo! Here’s the piece!

“We’re staying at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs this weekend to attend BBQ University with grill guru Steven Raichlen. The reasons why we love The Broadmoor are too plentiful to list, but beyond spa-ing and shopping (we hear there are 75%-off sales at several of the boutiques), we love to make the on-property eating and drinking rounds.

The super fancy (yet charmingly old-school) Five-Diamond Penrose School is fabulous for special occasions. We swoon for the cocktails at the super hip Adam Tihany-designed Summit Lounge. But our guilty pleasure is cozying up to the piano at the Golden Bee with an ice cold, locally brewed beer.

The Golden Bee is a 19th century pub (on the verge of its big 5-0 birthday) that was picked up and transplanted from England. Every night, resident ragtime piano player Bud Kruezer hammers away at the piano while pub-grubbing guests down yards of beer and sing along with the songbooks. The vibe is convivial, even more so as the beer flows and the night goes on. Most requested songs include Sweet Caroline, Margaritaville, and, of course, Piano Man.

We admit, it does sound hokey, but until you’ve downed a yard a beer and gotten into a brave, sing-a-long kind of spirit, you can’t imagine just how much fun the Golden Bee can be. We honed our non-American Idol-worthy singing skills a few weeks ago doing karaoke in Juneau, AK and can hardly wait to bust out a few songs tonight.”

15
JUN

Chanters, hotels, radioshow

Mustaphas Place, Zanzibar

“Beam me up Scotty!”

Surprising what you find on the internet. I came across Mustaphas in Zanzibar on Twitter. I was having a lousy Friday at Chanters Lodge, which got no better as it went along, and in what HotelChatter might call a ‘cubicle moment’ I wanted to go to Zanzibar immediately! Here’s all about it:

“The rooms at Mustapha’s are one-of-a-kind. Designed organically by Mustapha, Culture and their friends, they vary from smaller bandas with access to quirky (and nearby) shared bathrooms to larger bungalows with their own bathrooms. From the African stylings of the Round Room, to the jungle charm of the Treetop Room, there is a room for everyone.

Treetop Room – nestling up high, this room built with wooden poles is airy and charming, as well as being a bargain.

Green Room – for those who prefer to stay closer to the ground, the green room is a comfortable and affordable option.

Yellow Room – this bigger room is good for those with children, or small groups travelling together on a budget.

Swiss Banda – a sizeable and characterful bungalow with space for four people, but also good for couples wanting a bit of space

Jacuzze – opposite the bar, this bungalow is comfortable and charming – good for couples but can sleep more if necessary.

Africa House – also known as “Honeymoon”, this bungalow is slightly tucked away from the rest, so good for romantics, or families with children.

Yes, we’ll have Africa House please!

Prices for the rooms at Mustapha’s are low compared to most hotels on the island and you get access to the same stunning beach and beautiful plant life as many expensive luxury hotels, but with a more laidback vibe.

Just take me there – not www.mustaphasplace.com but www.mustaphanairticket.com!

13
JUN

Chanters, hotels, tourism, Zanzibar

Food & Beverage

This (shortened piece) from Beth Kormanik at HotelInteractive.com interested me, click the link for the whole article. I’ve commented below each paragraph in bold italics on how I think the piece reflects our situation at Chanters Lodge, Livingstone.

“During a recession, as the truism goes, bar sales go up. But could a properly priced beer, drive room sales at full-service hotels, too? That’s the belief of Michael George, president and CEO Crescent Hotels & Resorts, which owns, operates and manages hotels for institutional investors. In his experience, bar business is up “substantially,” especially at full-service hotels that also have a nice atmosphere and an attractive staff.”

We have a nice atmosphere, reasonably priced beer and attractive staff but our bar sales are static. Would we be more profitable if we just offered bed and breakfast? I often ask myself, and how would that effect our Guests.

“One of the simplest things we did to drive cash flow was to properly set our beer prices,” he said. “Properly priced Bud moves rooms.”

We are about to ‘adjust’ all our food and beverage prices in view of increased costs. What constitutes ‘properly priced’? I wonder.

Thomas Edward Middleton, Jr., a senior vice president at Hilton Hotels Corporation, said guests are eating more meals outside their hotels and that the F&B spend across the Hilton brand is down as much as 50 percent. Hilton’s ideas to recapture guest F&B spend include bringing in celebrity chefs, well-known concepts and menus that feature fresh, simple and healthy foods. They also are outsourcing. “It’s always amazed me, in the hotel business all companies struggle with F&B,” he said. “The best thing we’ve come up with is third-party leases. It’s very difficult to lose with third-party leases.”

Now where would we find celebrity chefs and/or a third party lease in Livingstone….? We do offer fresh, simple and fairly healthy foods but have to accept that lots of tourists want to experience the restaurants that Livingstone has to offer. Attracting outsiders to eat here seems more and more difficult.

But George argued that food and beverage outlets should not be considered an “evil necessity” to outsource. He said Crescent operates all of its own F&B outlets and they add a crucial edge over select-service hotels. “From a food component, the point of being full service is to be convenient at a good price,” he said. “Put the focus on it. The guests are looking for it.”

Sometimes our bar and restaurant seem to be an ‘evil necessity’ at other times great fun and good earners! It largely depends on the Guests we have staying.

“Wyndham Hotels and Resorts President Jeff Wagoner said the key is to be flexible and match the right food concept for every hotel. One hotel recently was asked to implement a “grab and go” feature, which normally is the hallmark of select-service properties. This particular hotel was not in a commercial area that would attract walk-by traffic from the neighborhood and its restaurant was suffering. “You don’t want to force it and have restaurant where you’re not going to have profit,” Wagoner said.”

Our menu evolves to reflect local cuisine and the most popular of our dishes on offer with timely innovation too.

“The old full service generic hotel direction is a wave of the past, like Top 40 radio,” she said. “We’re in the iPod generation. Everything is customized and focused on the future. We have to be in tune with our consumer and how they’re changing. The chains that understand that and innovate as times change are the ones that will succeed.”

Radio’s still popular in these parts (thank goodness), but in my car? Mp3!
The picture’s of part of our restaurant at Chanters Lodge.

11
JUN

Chanters, hotels, livingstone, radioshow, restaurants, Zambia

Helenor Webb in Livingstone

As promised here’s a picture that does include Tamara Webb’s mum Helenor. Left to right Denise Anderson, Tamara and Helenor just after they’d arrived to take up their accommodation reservation at Chanters Lodge Livingstone. They’d arrived by the overnight Intercape Bus from Windhoek, Namibia, were they tired? “No, Richard, we’re hungry!” They said in unison! So we fed them!

The ladies appeared on the latest edition of The Chanters Lodge Experience with the Milli Jam Ingredient last Sunday night on Zambezi Radio 107.5 fm and they laughed, danced and sang their way through an edition of the show right up there with the very best we’ve produced in the past 19 months. They loved ‘Believe It Or Not’ the number with which Milli Jam closes our show! Theme from Greatest American Hero. Check yesterday’s blog post for the whole story.

It’s thanks to them and thanks to everyone in Livingstone and surrounding districts who listen to the show!

10
JUN

blog, Chanters, guests, livingstone, radioshow

Helenor & Tamara Webb with Denise Anderson

“You see, when I was talking to President Obama last week….” Helenor Webb (not in the ‘gang’ picture above – I’ll post a photo of ‘mum’ tomorrow) started to say….. “What!” we all yelled at once! It was true! Helenor went on to explain that the previous week she’d taken part in a conference call with the US President. He’d spoken from Air Force One, to a group of supporters about the US Medicare system. Helenor’s roots are in Belize, she’s an Obama supporter, and has been involved in the Medicare reform issue since she retired last year from her job with Ticketmaster. Milli Jam and George Soulchild’s eyes were on stalks!

Helenor and daughter Tamara are visiting Zambia with friend Denise Anderson and were kind enough to Guest on the latest edition of the Chanters Lodge Experience with the Milli Jam Ingredient, the radio show we sponsor every Sunday night on Zambezi Radio 107.5 fm, Livingstone’s best loved local radio station, despite therefore missing the sight of the famous lunar rainbow over Victoria Falls on the night of a full moon! “Shame!” I hear you cry.

“What sort of company is Ticketmaster?” Milli Jam wanted to know, and Helenor went on to explain that the company sold tickets for events and shows. “Did you get tickets to see shows yourself during your 18 years’ service?” We asked. “You bet” said Helenor “the best two shows I ever saw were Tina Turner and Janet Jackson – I had a box seat!” Milli Jam and George Soulchild (on technical) were agog again! “Milimo’s been in love with Janet Jackson for years” I commented, turning to him “haven’t you?” “I like Janet Jackson” he admitted shyly!

We made a mistake. We played ‘Macarena’ by Los Del Rio. What happened? These raucous American ladies, who of course were guesting on the show because they had accommodation reserved at, and were staying with us at Chanters Lodge, got up and danced. I had a strong suspicion people were dancing all over Livingstone to this great number! Tamara and her mum had all the moves!

Tamara’s on a six month volunteer programme in Khorixas, Namibia, some 4 hours from Windhoek. She’s working with the Namibian Ministry of Education through Worldteach, administering classes for students of all ages learning Maths and Science on a computer programme – Plato. Helenor and Denise are visiting her from the States. Denise hails originally from Guyana and is an Adoption Social Worker with Montgomery County in Maryland. “How did you get from Windhoek to Livingstone?” Milli Jam wanted to know. “On the Intercape bus” they replied “and we’re gonna make sure we buy blankets for the return journey – we were very cold! Other passengers looked at us quite pitifully!”

“How did you choose Chanters Lodge?” Was the next question. “By surfing the internet and checking with Lonely Planet” Tamara replied. “Pleased with your choice?” Asked Milimo. The girls all agreed that they were. Apart from ‘Macarena’ we played ‘Missing You’ by Black Eyed Peas a great track from their new album. ‘Dance With My Father Again’ that wonderful number by the late great Luther Vandross went down well, and our American visitors enjoyed hearing two local numbers – ‘Masese’ by Tommy D (a number for his boss meaning ‘I work hard but you pay peanuts, pay me what I deserve!’) And ‘Kokoliko’ by Tobby Zambian (?) meaning ‘we’re gonna party til dawn’. The Chanters Girls were specifically instructed by me on radio to ignore the lyrics of both these two songs!

“Where would you ladies like to be and what would you like to be doing ten years from now?” Milimo wanted to know. Denise replied that she’d like to be raising a family and still helping other chidren. Milli Jam asked her if it was true she’d attended Barak Obama’s inauguration in Washington last January. “Yes”, Denise replied “along with millions of other people”. “What was it like to be there?” “Amazing!” was Denise’s one word answer. I bet it was too!

Tamara also said she’d like to be raising her own family ten years from now and helping other children too. Mum? Helenor would like to see Obama’s Medicare plan through to fruition. “Where’s your husband?” Milli Jam asked Helenor and she explained that he was still working but would be visiting Tamara in Namibia later. “And yours?” Milli Jam turned to Denise. More hoots of laughter. “I’m single” she eventually replied. “Single fit to mingle” murmered Milimo. “Is it true your boyfriend’s working in Iraq?” Milli Jam asked Tamara. “Yes” she replied “he’s a radio broadcaster over there”. “Is it serious?” “Very!” “Isn’t love at a distance rather difficult?” pursued Milimo. “Yes it’s very difficult and sad” replied Tamara giggling! “Do you have political ambitions?” I asked Tamara, taking a guess. Good one, she does!

The ladies talked of their sunset cruise on the Zambezi that day, their excitement about riding elephants on a safari lined up for the following day, and a sense of anticipation about their trip to Botswana for a one day safari in the Chobe National Park on Tuesday. In between times Helenor had enjoyed a church service at St Andrew’s anglican church in Livingstone and the ladies had loved the Livingstone Museum!

The photo? Tamara Webb, me, Milli Jam, Denise and George Soulchild, left to right.
Great show! Fabulous guests, super music! We gave away a dinner for two with drinks, as a prize. Some people texted us what they thought would be the answer to the question before we’d asked it! So we changed the question, and asked them what country Tamara’s working in! Namibia! Replied Irvin and won! Honestly, what some people, (including radio presenters), will do for free food!

9
JUN

activities, Chanters, guests, radioshow, victoriafalls

Rafting’s Back!

High water white water rafting has returned to the Zambezi below Victoria Falls. Check this e mail we received from Safpar:

“We’re very excited to be able to announce that the river levels have dropped sufficiently for us to reopen white water rafting from this Saturday, 6th June. The trips will be running on “high water”, initially from rapids 14 – 25 and shortly after that (once the water levels have dropped further) from rapids 10 – 25.

At rapid 25, all clients will get the lift out of the gorge where our truck will be waiting for them with soft drinks and beers, they will then be driven back to Zambezi Waterfront for a well deserved meal and to watch the video of their day’s trip before being transferred back to their accommodation.”

So there you are, if you’ve reserved accommodation at Chanters Lodge and would like to make a rafting reservation, let me know!

The picture? My son Jan and wife Jo doing it in 2006!

7
JUN

activities, Chanters, rafting, Zambia

The Lions of Livingstone

We received this update recently from Safpar who operate the Lion Encounter here in Livingstone. Lots of Guests with accommodation provided by Chanters Lodge who come to Livingstone mainly to see the mighty Victoria Falls have also enjoyed this experience during their visit, and there’s a picture of 3 ladies from Perth, Western Australia, doing exactly that! Here’s the piece:

“May has been our busiest month so far with 465 clients visiting Lion Encounter. During the end of May a South African fencing team arrived in Livingstone to start pegging the fences for our first Zambian Release site – Stage 2. This is extremely exciting for all of us involved, the release site is in preparation for the release of the lions our clients are walking!! The research team have been very busy this month with the elephant research – as elephants start flocking to the thorntree area – proving to be a very interesting addition to the lion walks!!

Walking Sets
Temi and Tswana – Temi and Tswana’s confidence is building all the time. The two have regularly been seen stalking the odd impala or – as their last stalking attempt shows no fear – a giraffe!! These two are far too small to get anywhere near, but its all good practice. Temi and Tswana approach 8 months on the 6th of July, little do they know that their feeding will change from every 2 days to every 3. Temi and Tswana’s age now means that no person will be allowed in the enclosure with the cubs.

Kela, Kwandi and Loma
The largest of our walking lions, Kela and Kwandi – now 13 months, and Loma – now 1 year old, continue to provide us with much entertainment on their walks. During May all three showed great hunting potential by jumping on the back of a Zebra – who promptly showed them where to go with a swift kick! As the river is now getting lower the cubs can go back to doing what they love – hanging out in the water!! Kela and Kwandi love water (a rare but not unheard of trait in lions), and, as the river rose over the rainy season the water has been too high and strong for a quick dip, so they are now looking forward to cooling off in the Zambezi! Obviously, our team of scouts and lion handlers are on careful watch for those crocs!!

Rundi and Rusha
Rundi and Rusha approach 10 months at the start of June, and are enjoying the Mosi Ou Tunya National Park. Rusha, a very independent lion still enjoys her own company, whilst Rundi is quite happy to lay back and receive a belly scratch from us mere humans!

Leya, Zulu and Toka
Our only 2 males, Toka, who celebrated his 1st birthday mid May, and Zulu just 10 months provide a different dynamic to this group. Toka, a firm favourite is as dopey and loveable as ever, enjoying human company, but is quick to end a cuddle if the chance of chasing those pesky impala’s arises! Zulu and Leya are much quieter, with shy personalities – Leya however is growing more confident every day and is starting to realise the benefit of the human touch – ear scratches!! Zulu’s innocent face and dark brown eyes captures hearts daily, and is often seen enjoying his favourite pastime – sucking the other cub’s ears!!

Great stuff – if you like that sort of thing!

5
JUN

activities, Chanters, livingstone, victoriafalls, wildlife

A Terrible Meeting

I’ve blogged before about Zesco and Kafue weed – now they come togther in an unholy dark meeting! And, it’s not just the mines and industry that are getting increased load shedding, at Chanters Lodge we’ve experienced this too, we’re just happy to have our stand by generator! Check this piece from Reuters.

Zambia’s state-run power utility is rationing electricity to its vital copper mines because a water weed, introduced from Brazil in the 1990s as a flower, has blocked flows into the biggest hydro power dam. The southern African country, the continent’s largest copper producer, is also rationing power supply to manufacturers while domestic users have been cut off and traffic disrupted by the failure of lights, a company official said on Tuesday.

The utility company Zesco Ltd.’s spokeswoman, Lucy Zimba, said the aquatic weeds had choked the flow of water into a dam at Kafue Gorge power station, forcing it to halt some generation units and cutting 360 megawatts of Kafue’s 990 MW capacity. Zambia has a total generation capacity of 1,600 MW. “We have had 360 megawatts of power out of our system since May 30 and this has caused major disruptions. It has affected the mines (and) other industries,” Zimba told Reuters.

“We are also carrying out further investigations to see whether it is only the weeds that have caused this little flow of water,” she added. Zambia’s power supply has been affected by the plant, known as Kafue weed, over the past 10 years. Energy officials say a Zambian woman traveling from Brazil in the early 1990s introduced the weed, thinking it was a flower, and grew it near the river, causing a recurring problem.

Zimba said the utility was working to remove the exotic plant from the Kafue River.
Copperbelt Energy Company (CEC), which buys electric power from Zesco and sells to nearly all copper mines in Zambia, said the utility had capped power supply to mines at 430 MW. CEC’s Chairman Hanson Sindowe could not immediately say whether the mines would reduce production due to the power cuts.

“Zesco Ltd., has informed us that we cannot take more than 430 megawatts (power) at the moment and this has meant reducing supply to the mines,” Sindowe told Reuters. Officials say Zambia copper mines consumed 530 MW during peak production before new mines started operations this year. Sindowe said, however, that the impact of the power reduction on copper output would be moderated because some mines had also suspended or reduced output due to the effects of the global financial crisis.”

Staggering!

4
JUN

Chanters, electricity, Kafue

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