Welcome to Enchanting Journeys

Off   the beaten track, but still…Africa

How do you capture the essence of Africa on paper without using up every cliché in the book? Africa. There is nowhere like it on the planet for wildlife, wild lands & rich traditions that endure. No other continent comes close to it for scale, variety & pure, raw impact. And the word is out: as far as off-the-beaten-path destinations go, Zambia is an absolute experience. You just come prepared to be charmed & we will help you discover……

Whether you're a wide-eyed first-timer or a frequent visitor, Africa cannot fail to get under your skin. The canvas upon which the continent's epic story is written is itself astonishing, and reason enough to visit.

Africa’s natural history alone would make a dozen visits worthwhile - where else on earth can you fall asleep to the sound of lions roaring, or watch a million flamingos take off from the waters of a remote soda lake? Parts of Africa boast scenery so spectacular they will damn near blow your mind, but the essence of this incredible continent isn’t in any desert, mountain or lake. It’s the spirit of the people -pushing, shoving, sweating, dancing, singing & laughing - that infects so many visitors with a travel bug so powerful they will never stop coming back, sometimes against all sense or reason.

Natural Beauty | New & Ancient Africa | Wildlife Bonanza

From the tropical rainforests and glorious tropical coastline of Central Africa to the rippling dunes of the Namib Desert, from the signature savannah of the Serengeti to jagged mountains, green-tinged highlands and deep-gash canyons that mark the Great Rift Valley's continental traverse – wherever you find yourself on this big, beautiful continent, Africa has few peers when it comes to natural beauty.

On this continent where human beings first came into existence, customs, traditions & ancient rites tie Africans to generations & ancestors past and to the collective memory of myriad people. In many rural areas it can feel as though the modern world might never have happened & they are all the better for it, and old ways of doing things – with a certain grace and civility, hospitality & a community spirit - survive. There are time-honoured ceremonies, music that dates back to the days of Africa's golden empires & masks that tell stories of spirit worlds never lost. Welcome to Old Africa.

The past retains its hold over the lives of many Africans, but just as many have embraced the future, bringing creativity & sophistication to the continent's cities & urban centres. Sometimes this New Africa is expressed in a creative-conservation search for solutions to the continent's environmental problems, or in an eagerness to break free of the restrictive chains of the past & transform the traveller experience. But just as often, modern Africans are taking all that is new & fusing it onto the best of the old.

Debate with venerable merchants among the cool, narrow streets of an Arabic medina, dance to the thumping reggae beats coming from a West African market stall, or shoot the breeze with fishermen under Indian Ocean palm trees, and you’ll be struck more than anything else by the honesty, warm-heartedness and vitality of the African people.

A Noah's ark of wildlife brings Africa's landscapes to life, with a tangible & sometimes profoundly mysterious presence that adds so much personality to the African wild. So many of the great beasts, including elephants, hippos & lions, call Africa home. Going on safari may be something of a travel cliche, but we are yet to find a traveller who has watched the wildlife world in motion in the Masai Mara, watched the epic battles between predator & prey in the Okavango Delta, or communed with gorillas & surfing hippos in Gabon and has not been reduced to an ecstatic state of childlike wonder.

And now, let us talk about Zambia……

If you are out to experience the ‘real’ Africa, Zambia is that diamond in the rough. The country boasts some of the continent’s best wildlife parks, and shares (with Zimbabwe) some of the region’s major highlights: Victoria Falls in southwestern Zambia, Lake Kariba as well as Lower Zambezi National Park in southeastern Zambia. It is also an angler’s dream, as fishermen hail from all over the world to try their luck on the mighty Zambezi River with the hopes of landing a toothy tigerfish or the rare, giant vundu.

Avid birders also flock to Zambia to glimpse its fabulous diversity of birds, most notably Chaplin’s barbets.

For independent travellers Zambia can be a challenge: distances between major towns & attractions are large, and getting around by car or public transport takes time & patience. But for many, this challenge is part of Zambia’s appeal. Save Lusaka & Livingstone, this is the ‘real’ Africa, so rare among the increasingly developed parts of the region

The rewards of travelling in Zambia are those of exploring remote, mesmerising wilderness as full of an astonishing diversity of wildlife as any part of Southern Africa. Adventures undertaken here will lead you deep into the bush where animals, both predators & prey, wander through unfenced camps, where night-time means swapping stories around the fire & where the human footprint is nowhere to be seen. Where one day you can canoe down a wide, placid river & the next raft through the raging rapids near world-famous Victoria Falls.

Though landlocked, three great rivers - the Kafue, the Luangwa and the Zambezi - flow through Zambia, defining both its geography & the rhythms of life for many of its people.

Africa’s not always an easy place to travel in. It can be frustrating & challenging at times. Hardships and logistical disasters can happen. But don’t believe everything you see on TV: Africa’s not a hell hole full of civil war, plague, famine and violent crime. It’s a fantastic, enlightening, surprising & intriguing continent.

How do you capture the essence of Africa on paper without using up every cliche in the book? No other continent comes close to it for scale, variety & pure, raw impact. A unique experience is just the beginning……. Try it once, and we guarantee you’ll dream about coming back for the rest of your life. And yep….Zambia is waiting…….& The Journeys is ready to take you on well, a journey (or journeys) of discovery.

Come……be inspired & discover the World with us

We are in the process of updating our Offerings of experiential journeys to Zambia. Please contact us in the interim if you want to explore options & we will be happy to offer suggestions based on your personal preferences………