This Zambian Town : Outside Kafue

Continuing from last month’s ‘Inside Kafue’  town, we thought we should take a look at what was ‘outside Kafue’ and were surprised to find that there is in fact quite a lot ‘outside’.  But first a bit about its history.

Kafue town is 100 plus years old, and was really established with the coming of the rail line and rail bridge. The bridge, which you do not see from the road bridge, was completed in 1905, and, we are told, is the second longest rail bridge in the word. The habitation of Kafue really began with the setting up of the Station building in 1906.

Famous personalities that contributed to the growth and establishment of Kafue were Alfred Beit, whose trust funded the building of the Beit Hall in Kafue town which was officially opened  in 1931 and the original road bridge in 1949, and Clixby of the estates where Kafue Boys Secondary School is situated, Robison Nabulyato, Chibutu and many others. Several other families based in the UK are linked to Kafue through the schools, railways, trading and grave sites.

The original road bridge was built in 1949 and was donated by the British Government, coming from the River Thames in the UK. The funding from the Beit Trust was originally approved for bridges to be built across the Chambeshi and Chinsali Rivers in Mbala (then Abercorn) district. But with the outbreak of World War II, the building programme was suspended and when peace returned, it was decided that a bridge over the Kafue was a more urgent need. The Trustees agreed to this substitution.  But steel was in short supply and the programme was delayed until 1947 when the London County Council started dismantling some of the temporary bridges across the Thames. This bridge stood until 1968, when the bridge was raised by 6 ft 6 inches, to accommodate the rising water levels which would result from the building of the Kafue Gorge dam. My memory, at the age of 8, of the temporary bridge (a ‘piano bridge’ made of wooden planks) which was used while the bridge was being raised was a ‘midnight trip’ down to Kafue with my mother, to rescue my father who had arrived on the south side of the river with a truck load of horses and sheep from South Africa. He could not proceed because of the height of the loaded truck (the horses had to be offloaded and walked across and reloaded on the other side) and he was sleeping in his own bed that night, come hell, high water or low bridges. The current bridge was completed in 1993 and funded by Japan. Only a little way upstream of this bridge is the site where David Livingstone first sighted the Kafue River.

The river forms the boundary between Kafue District under Chieftainess Nkomeshya, and Mazabuka District under Chief Naluama. These families have been in the respective districts dating back to slave trading times when traders used the Kafue River to penetrate inland from the Zambezi. It also forms the boundary between Lusaka province and Southern province.

After Independence and the moving of the capital to Lusaka, Kafue was seen as a reliable source of water for Lusaka and its industrial requirements, therefore it was designated for all industrial development. This came to a standstill during the nationalisation process under KK’s government, but has since started to come to life again with the building of the new steel factory (currently under construction) and a new university is on the cards. A new Catering and Hotel college is also being set up.

Tourism opportunities abound in the area: 

Lechwe Lodge which offers accommodation, game drives, walks, and river activities in conjunction with the Kafue Queen. They also do fish and pig farming (see display advert in this issue for contact details).

Otter Bay Lodge, situated on the bank of the river, offers self catering chalets with beautiful views of the river and lots of peace and quiet. Good fishing is available.

Riverview Wellness Centre is situated in the hills above the river with magnificent views (see display advert in this issue for contact details).

Kafue Gorge Conference Centre is situated near the Dam wall and has accommodation and conference facilities.

The newest venture is the Kafue Queen river cruise and boating specialists. Operated by Bwaato Adventures, the boat is moored next to the road bridge and cruises into the magnificent gorges on daily trips, designed and priced for the local, corporate and tourism market, doing simple cruises or special functions, workshops, weddings and parties.

There are also game ranches and guesthouses being set up in and around Kafue town, but these need more exploring before we can report to our readers.

There are many different fish in the river, including pike, silver barbel, barbel, eel and many types of bream.

Hippos, crocs and otters can be seen on the river and many different birds including our national bird, the Fish Eagle. Other river birds are kingfishers, herons, egrets, jacanas, weavers, and many types of water fowl.

So, all in all, there is something for everyone : the keen fisherman; the bird watcher; the game viewer, the health and fitness fanatic and those that just like to loll about doing nothing in particular.  And what’s more – they are all within easy reach of Lusaka.

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