Zambia – Chanters Lodge Livingstone

An End To ‘Loadshedding’?

For all Zesco haters, is this a glimmer of hope…..?

“Four Southern African countries have agreed to develop a $225 million power line that would allow an extra 600 megawatts to be transmitted around the region, an official said on Thursday. The project is expected to be completed in the last quarter of 2010. It seeks to connect Zimbabwe, Zambia, Botswana and Namibia — all of which plan to boost the amount of power they generate in coming years — in a project known as Zizabona.

It will ease congestion on a transmission corridor to South Africa, the region’s largest consumer of electricity which is battling to meet demand. It also will allow the four countries to export more power and to trade energy with each other via a regional power pool. The project also will allow easier transmission of hydropower from the Democratic Republic of Congo to South Africa and the rest of the region.

“The four utilities will develop, build and own the transmission infrastructure. This project seeks to reduce losses and congestion on the SAPP central corridor,” said Musara Beta, an official from Zimbabwe’s ZESA. ZESA is one of the four promoters of the project along with Zambia’s ZESCO, Nampower of Namibia and the Botswana Power Company. He was addressing a power conference hosted by the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP). The Zizabona transmission line will extend from the Hwange substation to a switching station near Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe, into Livingstone, Zambia. The line will also link Pandamatenga in Botswana and the Zambezi substation in Namibia.

“The project clearly would serve the national electricity needs of all four member countries and the interconnector would also … decongest the central corridor,” Beta added. With the region facing increased power shortages, the SAPP is turning its focus to smaller initiatives with relatively short timelines in order to meet growing demand, which experts say will peak at 100,000MW in 2025. Apart from the Zizabona link, Zimbabwe’s ZESA has also proposed the construction of a 160 kilometre transmission line to increase the north-south transfer capacity of the Zimbabwe network to 600MW, against the current 200MW.

The proposed Central Transmission Corridor (CTC) project is to be jointly developed by ZESA, which would have a 20 percent shareholding in the venture, while prospective private investors would take up the additional 80 percent. ZESA chief executive Ben Rafemoyo said the project would require $100 million.”

The picture? Kariba Dam. Oh, and the tariffs have just gone up 35%!

27
JUL

electricity, infrastructure, Zambia

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…

26
JUL

accommodation, Chanters, livingstone, Zambia

The Birth Of A Giraffe

Clients of ours at Chanters Lodge Martin and Moira Jensen were lucky enough to witness the birth of a baby giraffe in the Mosi-o-Tunya National Park when they undertook a game drive with Bwaato Adventures recently. Check this lovely picture of mother and child.

23
JUL

activities, guests, wildlife, Zambia

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!

21
JUL

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

Caitlin Papier

Our beautiful, talented and thoroughly Zambian violinist Caitlin Papier has a new website. Go to this link. You’ll find her on Twitter too @electricandlive Become her fan on Fb as well!

“Roaming between tables or sliding across table tops, performing mellow-mood-setters or rocking electrifying showstoppers. Whether she’s performing on a moving train, on top of a front-end loader, during a sunset cruise down the Zambezi or the Vaal, strutting down a catwalk, entertaining government officials or perhaps Royalty – Caitlin is an electric violinist that does things her way – with unstoppable energy and pure, uninhibited passion.

Born in Chingola and raised in Kitwe, Zambia – Caitlin is strikingly patriotic and devotedly African. She has represented Zambia at an International level, been commended by the Zambian President himself for ‘holding the Zambian flag high beyond Zambia’s borders’, she enjoys the constant and invaluable support of countless fellow Zambians, an ever increasing number of South Africans and a surprising International following.

Inspired by electric violin trail blazer, Vanessa Mae, Caitlin aims for rock star status in the meantime, she’s slowly pushing boundaries and stepping beyond the classical-crossover genre which has become so firmly associated with the electric violin – experimenting in the fields of ska, psy-trance, hip-hop, rock, pop and electro all in a quest to find her own sound – but don’t worry, she’ll play you some Vivaldi if you need her to.

Caitlin has been on stage since the age of 5 and discovered the violin at the age of 9. She has never been seriously classically trained but her place is undoubtedly on the stage with her electric violin, she lives for the spotlight and her love of performing is obvious to all.”

19
JUL

music, Twitter, Zambia

Follow Livingstone!

This from ‘Bighearted Scotland‘ Participants will apparently raft the white water, trek and canoe. Tough! I think it’s not for the faint hearted!

“One of Scotland’s earliest Bighearted heroes was the missionary David Livingstone. Livingstone was a combination of missionary, doctor, explorer, scientist and anti-slavery activist who spent 30 years exploring in Africa, exploring almost a third of the continent, from its southern tip almost to the equator.

Livingstone received a gold medal from the London Royal Geographical for being the first person to cross the entire African Continent from west to east.

Bighearted Scotland is offering adventurous people the opportunity to follow in Livingstone’s footsteps. You can experience many of the sights and sounds witnessed by Livingstone in Zambia by joining our Livingstone’s Footsteps Challenge. Your 10 day adventure begins with your arrival in Livingstone, when you will have time to view the falls, acclimatise to the area and begin to take in the breathtaking scenery and exciting wildlife.
This from ‘Bighearted Scotland‘

“Like Livingstone, you will be rafting and canoeing on the Zambezi and game walking through spectacular landscapes populated by elephants, hippos, crocs, antelope and many more. You will also have the opportunity to visit the spectacular Victoria Falls.

Livingstone wasn’t just an explorer, he also gave back to the African community and you will also have the opportunity to contribute by spending one day working in a local community project in Zambia. You will also be supporting a wide range of causes back in Scotland through raising a minimum sponsorship target of £2,750. We will give you help and support to raise your sponsorship money and prepare yourself for the challenge. You will be asked to raise a guaranteed sum of sponsorship money in addition to paying a deposit of £325 to confirm your place. This will cover the costs of your challenge and includes all meals, guides and activities, flights, transportation and accommodation. It excludes alcohol & tips.

Please note that we do not enter Zimbabwe at any stage – all activities are done on the Zambian side of Victoria Falls.” Yes – even that picture of Jan, one of my sons, dangling over the edge!

16
JUL

activities, livingstone, uk, victoriafalls, Zambia

Thanks to TravelWires for publishing this online interview this morning:

“Hot on the heels of fellow Zambian internet entrepreneur Sara Brown from TheBestofZambia.com is Richard Chanter, the owner of Chanters Lodge in Livingstone (Zambia). He shares with us his journey to launching Chanters Lodge and how I hope other operators within this space could learn a thing about keeping an active presence on the internet (it does not cost a cent, just dedication)…

When were you born and where are you based?
I was born in Tiverton, Devon, UK and I am based in Livingstone, Zambia.

Can you educate my readers about Chanters Lodge, what exactly inspired the business?
The obvious need in Livingstone in 1997 for a good restaurant – the rooms were an afterthought!

What were you doing before launching your business and when was it launched?
From 1979 – 1992 I was GM of what is now Southern Sun Ridgeway in Lusaka. From 1992-1995 I was a transporter and market gardener. From 1995-1997 I was in unsuccessful business partnerships in the catering trade in Lusaka. This business was launched in 1998.

How much was invested in launching your business and how was that capital financed?
Total invested on launch was US$100,000 but there has been additional investment of US$200,000 since. The initial capital was loan followed up by investment from a maturing pension fund and from profit.

What planning did you engage before launching?
Probably not enough!

Are there any major challenges that you had to overcome in launching your business?
Wow! So many! Development and management in Livingstone in the late 90’s was a challenge in almost every respect you could think of!

I notice your property has numerous reviews on www.tripadvisor.com, do you also generate bookings through that website?
Very many, I also respond to every review.

Do you use any booking engine for your property?
No

You’re an active blogger, does this helps your business in generating bookings?
Hard to say, it certainly doesn’t do any harm!

What are your short and long-term business goals?
Short term to finish the ongoing construction of two additional rooms and to maximize revenue in 2010 (World Cup). Long term to be able to semi-retire in 2012 with a good self-fulfilling management structure in place.

What is your opinion of country focused portals like TheBestofZambia.com?
Awesome

Which industry events do you exhibit your business?
None so far

Which sector of the Zambian tourism industry do you feel still presents untapped business opportunities?
Development of infrastructure generally and specifically in Kafue National Park and on Lake Tanganyika
What are your three preferred industry blogs that you read daily?
Hotel Blogs and Best of Zambia – I write more than I read also Hotel Interactive

Is the tourism industry in Zambia involved with the forthcoming 2010 Soccer World Cup?
It needs to be!

Is your occupancy rate affected by the current economic climate?
So far not really

What does responsible tourism means for your business and do you subscribe to it in your operations?
It means care of the environment, training and development of Zambian personnel, maintenance of our assets and first class public relations and yes we try to!

What does the internet means for your business?
80% of our reservations and almost 100% of the feedback. It also brings Facebook, Twitter and TripAdvisor. Everything?
Has your property ever fell victim to the cheque and credit card fraudsters?
No“

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JUL

Chanters, internet, rsa, tourism, Zambia

Nelspruit Kruger – Livingstone

This from Livingstone Weekly caught my eye:

“August 17th, 2009, will see the inaugural launch of Airlink‘s (South Africa privately owned and domestic/ regional carrier) expanded network, with a new service, linking a number of Africa’s most beautiful and scenic destinations. “The GreateKruger National Park, Royal Malewane Private Game Reserve, Londolozi Private Game Reserve, Savanna Private Game Reserve and Livingstone, Zambezi!”

The service will operate from Nelspruit Kruger to Livingstone every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, in both directions. The new service will enable tourists to Southern Africa to have the pleasure of an early morning game drive within the Greater Kruger and enjoy sundowners overlooking the Zambezi the very same day!”

12
JUL

airlines, infrastructure, tourism, victoriafalls, Zambia

Why Small Businesses Fail…

I liked this from CNNMoney.com by Jay Goltz and I’m sure the solution to the problem he sites is right. In Zambia we see many small businesses fail because their owners don’t plough enough profit back in the business, and either fail to maintain their standards as a result, or end up running out of stock, or money or both. Credit and loans are really hard to get in this part of the world. We’ve also seen plenty of small businesses in Zambia fail because the families of the owner feel it’s their right to ‘get a share’ of the business either in cash or kind, and Zambian tradition makes it hard for owners to refuse to help members of their family. Anyway here’s Jay’s piece:

“Last month I wrote about Debbie Dusenberry, owner of Curious Sofa, a home-furnishings boutique in Kansas City, Kans. The store has a reputation for great products and imaginative display, and its revenue had been growing nicely for eight years. But when Dusenberry sent me her financials, she included this plaintive note: “Our January was down 20%, and for the first time I am a little worried. If I had any reserve, I wouldn’t be nearly as concerned. We’re cutting back anywhere we can by freezing spending, and I laid off my first employee in eight years.”

Dusenberry’s financials explained clearly why her business has potential – and why she’s in trouble. The store’s annual revenue has grown to more than $800,000. Her labor costs as a percentage of revenue are a little high, and she probably needs to lay off another employee. The rent isn’t terrible, although I think she can get her landlord, who clearly doesn’t want to lose a tenant in this economy, to cut her a break. But here’s the thing: Her statements show that she’s lost money eight years in a row.

Every year, Dusenberry said, she told herself that she was going to work harder and sell more stuff, but working harder doesn’t fix a broken business model. It just prolongs the agony. This kind of delusional thinking, I believe, explains why some 70% of small businesses go broke before their 10th anniversary, according to the Small Business Administration. Entrepreneurs tend to concentrate on what they love, whether it’s the artist who paints but doesn’t spend any time marketing or the chef who lives in the kitchen and ignores her financials. Every business owner needs to be his or her own CFO. Delegating that task to a book-keeper or an outside accounting firm means putting your life into their hands. They generally don’t know the ins and outs of your business well enough to make critical decisions.

Dusenberry’s accountant told her to cut expenses, which is fine but insufficient. The truth is that she’s on the road to insolvency and her only hope is to come up with a 2009 budget that shows a profit. She has no more credit and must pay down some of her loans. The obvious question, of course, is how she’s going to turn a profit if she can’t cut more expenses. It won’t help to sell more stuff because her cost of goods sold is too high. Believe it or not, Dusenberry needs to raise her prices. Yes, even in this economy. If that sounds ridiculous, you need to do the math. Here’s a simplified example: Let’s say Dusenberry has been buying sofas for $1,000 and selling them for $2,000. If she sells 10, her sales are $20,000 and her cost of goods sold is $10,000, leaving her a gross profit of $10,000.

Now suppose she raises the price to $2,200. That’s a 10% hike, but let’s also assume that the price increase means she sells 20% fewer sofas, or a total of eight. This takes her sales to $17,600, her cost of goods sold to $8,000 and her gross profit to $9,600. While it looks as if she’s falling short, she’s actually going to come out about even in this scenario because she’ll save some variable costs – delivery, credit-card fees and freight – by selling two fewer sofas. But here’s my real argument: Dusenberry runs a niche business with a loyal following. Her customers aren’t going to revolt if she starts charging market prices. I think she’ll sell nine sofas at the new price, making her profitable.

Could I be wrong? Sure. But the laws of price elasticity suggest otherwise. And if Dusenberry keeps doing things the way she’s been doing them, she’ll go out of business anyway. At least the price adjustment gives her a shot.

Geddit?

10
JUL

management, Zambia

Zambia Tourism Awards 2009

I originally heard about these awards from Best of Zambia, rapidly becoming my source of all worthwhile information about the tourism business in this country via Twitter. But this post is from John Chola:

“An initiative designed to promote and reward excellence in tourism operations has been launched in Zambia. The initiative was also aimed at being recognised as a prestigious event hence attracting both public and industry-wide support and extensive media coverage.

Launching the initiative on Tuesday at Lusaka’s Southern Sun Ridgeway, the hotel’s general manager Adrian Penny said the initiative presented a high profile opportunity to showcase the best tourism operators in Zambia. Mr Penny said the Zambia Tourism Awards would motivate stakeholders to continue upgrading services in order to become globally competitive, inspire stakeholders to contribute to the development of the tourism industry in Zambia and help promote Zambian tourism to domestic and international markets.

He said that the initiative would recognise and ward categories such as best safari accommodation, best hotel, best guesthouse, best lodge and best back packer facilities. Operators offering camping site and Caravan Park, heritage and culture tourism sports, clean and green as well as community tourism would be awarded accordingly. “Other award categories included the best travel and tour operator, the best restaurant or catering service, the best tourism transport award, the best in tourism promotion and the guide of the year Award,” said Penny adding: “we also have awards for the best in adventure tourism, best entrepreneur award, tourism facilitation and the Zambia tourism special”.

The awards would be open to all Zambia-based tourism operators and application had been restricted to online participants. Mr Penny encouraged businesses and the public to take part through a website www.thebestofzambia.com. “Just visit www.thebestofzambia.com and click the Tourism Awards button on the top of the page between 1st July 2009 and 15th August 2009 to participate,” Mr Penny said.

There would be site visits commence in September and October 2009 while winners would be announced at the high profile awards night slated for November 2009 in Livingstone. Mr Penny said that the 2009 Zambia Tourism Awards were a public-private sector partnership initiated by the public sector through the SEED Project under the Ministry of Tourism, Environment & Natural Resources and co-organised with the Tourism Council of Zambia.

He said that the initiative was also supported by private sector agencies such as The Best of Zambia, Capacity Building for Private Sector Development, Southern Sun Ridgeway and Radio Phoenix. The initiators of the Zambia Tourism Awards encouraged more support from the private sector towards sponsorship of different awards, marketing and promotion of the event.

Meanwhile, one of the initiators Joseph Brown said that in order to encourage Zambians to sample the country’s tourism most operators had introduced special rates. Mr Brown said Zambians visiting tourist resorts around the country would be charged a special rate different from those paid by foreign tourists.”

And would I have a strong objection if you went straight from reading this to nominating Chanters Lodge in the best Guest House category? Um, no! No objection at all!

Nice to see my old hotel The Ridgeway in Lusaka right up there as a sponsor too! The picture? Victoria Falls, an automatic winner in every category!

4
JUL

bestofzambia, blog, Chanters, hotels, management, tourism, Zambia

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