An Unusual View!


Here’s a view of Chanters Lodge, Livingstone which most of you won’t have seen! The shot’s taken looking west from the new two roomed accommodation extension, along the sides of rooms 10 & 8 on the left. Check the wonderful cascade of bougainvillea – one of three places in the lodge garden where the bougainvillea is in glorious flower right now. Did you know the secret of getting great flowers on this plant is not to water it in the dry season?

The wall you can see in the right of the picture is currently being strengthened with pillars on the other side, to avoid another calamitous collapse (as per two in recent years!)

Have a nice weekend!

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Eric Fischer on 107.7 fm


Clare Alderson, The Guest who was booked to appear on The Chanters Lodge Experience with the DJMJ Ingredient ft Soulchild last Sunday – the radio show which I co-host every Sunday on Zambezi Radio 107.7 fm, Livingstone’s best loved local radio station – unfortunately fell ill just before the show, so Eric Fischer, pictured above was kind enough to step in at the last moment! In fact Clare and Eric had travelled together from Namibia, where they’d been part of a two week Biosphere Expedition looking at the relationship between people and wildlife in a rural part of that huge country. Had Eric enjoyed it? Yes he had!

Eric’s a lawyer who hails from Philadelphia, USA where he has his own practice ‘Disability Law Clinic‘ a no-win no-fee set up for disabled people with problems getting claims payments from Government. We took the chance to ask him about the current health care debate in the US, and were shocked to hear that for himself and one of his employees he must pay annual health insurance premiums of some US$33,000. Had Eric voted for Obama? Milimo and George wanted to know. Yes he had! Eric told listeners that he wasn’t married and had no children, but when we asked if we could introduce him to some nice Zambian girls he started talking about a girl called Paris he’d met in Namibia! We laughed!

The music on the show was nice as usual. We played ‘Take My Heart’ a new track from Gen. Ozzy as well as ‘I Wonder’ by P.J, to give Eric a taste of Zambian music, which he enjoyed. He told listeners of his travels to some 27 African countries over the years and professed a liking for music from the Congo as well as Hugh Masekela, Johnny Clegg, and other African artists. We played ‘The Way You Love Me’ by David Guetta ft Kelly Rowland and ‘Never Leave You’ by Tinchy Stryder ft Estelle. We played two Miley Cyrus tracks – ‘Party In The USA’ and ‘Before The Storm’ which she sings with Nick Jonas. Eric was appalled, but we pressed on! ‘Down’ by Jay Sean is super and my current ringtone, and ‘I Look To You’ is the title track of Whitney Houston’s new album due for release on 31st August and widely tipped to be a great comeback album. We closed the show with ‘Candy’ by Paolo Nutini.

Milimo and George wanted to know what it had been like for me listening to the show the previous Sunday and not appearing on it and I told them I’d enjoyed it, but that they talked too much! We asked Eric about his two day one night canoeing trip on the Zambezi the previous night organised by Wild Side Safaris and Makora Quest. Would Milimo and George fancy camping at night on the banks of the Zambezi amongst hippo and crocodile? Mmmm, not really! What else had Eric lined up to do while he was in Livingstone? He was going white water rafting with Safpar and a river safari with Batoka the next day, then a micro-light flight on his last morning.

How many staff did Eric employ in the States? I wanted to know. “5” was the reply “and I have a ‘crackerjack’ team” he said. “Crackerjack?” I wondered and Eric told me it means great staff. “So do I” I replied and that gave me a good chance to say “hi” to the Chanters Girls and to thank them for their hard work and support while I’d been ill. I was also able to say thanks to Ireen and those at home, as well as everyone at 107.7 fm. So what did Eric think he might do next trip? Well, he told listeners that he wanted to come back to Zambia and find out more about the culture and traditions in Western Province. “Great stuff!” We said “and here’s the Loziman to help you” as we pointed to George Soulchild!

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Rooms 11 & 12 – Latest


It might look a bit like a prison, but actually this picture shows signs of good progress!

You’ll have guessed it’s the latest picture of our two roomed accommodation extension by the poolside at Chanters Lodge, Livingstone – rooms 11 & 12. You can see the door and window frames in the process of being fitted and the roofing trusses are being put together on site too. Look up!

What can’t be seen are the conduit pipes fitted by the electricians, and the plumbers’ work too.

I’d like the rooms to be finished before the rains arrive on or around November 15th, we’ll see if that’s possible.

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Rainbows In The Night


No not a new take on the old Sinatra favourite ‘Strangers In The Night’ but:

How can there be a rainbow when it’s clearly dark? A lunar rainbow! Beautifully photographed recently by John Macdonald from Malawi. Victoria Falls, Zambia is one of the very few places in the world where, at the right time of year, you can witness this truly wonderous natural phenomenon.

John and his family stayed of course at Chanters Lodge during their visit.

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Sunset Over Victoria Falls


Just occasionally a picture of where we have the privilege to live turns up that blows me away and the one above does that!

It was sent me by John Macdonald a recent Guest at Chanters Lodge, with this accompanying e mail:

“Hello Richard

Thank you for your warm email. Yes, we did enjoy our stay and thanks for your recommendations on what to do and see. Attached are a couple of photos from our visits to the Falls. Hope you enjoy them. With the good new road from Chipata, we’re sure more people from Malawi will be visiting: we’ll certainly be recommending you to any friends and happy for you to pass on our recommendations.

Best wishes

John, Lindsey and Stephanie.”

Now, just how nice is that?

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Late John Mwanakatwe


As reported in the press, John Mwankatwe has died and today is to be given a State Funeral by the Zambian Government. He was a remarkable man, one of Zambia’s first graduates in law, he served as a Minister in the Government and amongst other distinguished posts, Chancellor of University of Zambia. He was a Zambian, a lawyer, author and intellectual.

His son Mupanga Mwanakatwe is married to Margaret, an executive with Barclays Bank, and elder sister to Towela, mother of two of my children, Michael and Alexandra. They knew late John as ‘grandpa’ and were very sad at news of his passing. John gave me very valuable advice in 1992 when I unexpectedly had to leave my post as General Manager of Ridgeway Hotel (now Southern Sun Ridgeway). Some of the advice I followed and some I didn’t – it was valuable!

Late John was often guest of honour at functions held at the Ridgeway. This was always a cause for concern. Why? Well, his speeches used to last so long it disturbed the food service! He was a lawyer after all! We always used to try and pursuade the organizers to let us serve the main course before the speeches. When they asked “why?” Our reply was “well, do you really want to eat your main course at midnight!” Consternation!

Late John always passed by Chanters Lodge when he visited Livingstone to see my progress and express his best wishes, and I highly valued these visits. He’ll be missed by family, friends and all who had the privilege to know him.

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Short & Sweet – United Air Charter


United Air Charter in Livingstone, Zambia have a special offer for guests at Chanters Lodge and other establishments in Livingstone.

“A 10min flight over the falls for ONLY $99 US dollars

COME AND ENJOY YOUR SHORT AND SWEET” – they say – “Real Value for Money FLIGHT!
The Flight will include one and a half circuits to the left and the right over the falls.

These special offer flights will be open for bookings from the 16th August 2009 up to the end of October 2009. Make sure you don’t miss out!!!

TERMS AND CONDITIONS
Please note the departure times for this special offer are between:

07h30 to 09h00 every morning
16h30 up to 18h00 every afternoon

Minimum of four passengers”

The picture? Aerial view of Vic Falls!

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Scary Place!


As mentioned yesterday, my seven year old son Henry Kondwani Chanter was quite scared of Victoria Falls. Was it the noise? The huge volume of water? We don’t know and he’s not saying. Anyway he was seeing the Falls for the first time in his memory and his mum wasn’t around, so I guess next time it’ll be nicer for him.

While we waited for his brothers and sisters to tour the place, I took lots of photos of him, including this one when he was just ‘getting over it’!

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Rooms 11 & 12 – Update


Another update showing the progress on the 2 additional rooms being built at Chanters Lodge Livingstone just about 10 kms from the mighty Victoria Falls! The rooms face the lodge swimming pool and garden and will have one double bed, with an en suite bathroom and seperate shower. The room rate for 2010 will be about US$89 per room per night including english breakfast and free transfers from/to Livingstone Airport. The design is the same as we used for the additional poolside rooms we completed in 2006.

When will the rooms be ready? It’s really hard to say – unexpected hurdles can appear from nowhere. My current dilemma is the roof. The dark red roof tiles I’d love to use are very expensive and I’m just not sure if they’re worth it, or whether we can achieve a good finish at a more reasonable price using another material or tile type. The roof is very important visually as it will be seen from the restaurant terrace, garden and pool. I won’t be able to prevaricate for too long!

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