Opening Gambit

While winter and warm does not usually follow in Africa you can have just that! This is definitely the most pleasant time of year to visit and although we are experiencing a particularly mild winter in 2008 the winter days in Zambia are always lovely, with only enough nip in the night air to make us thankful for:

• The wonders of an African open air fire, giving you the opportunity to listen to your own thoughts as well as the stories others tell
• A wonderful full bodied Red wine to accompany our dinner (no need for Mr. Field's lament at the Tonga table!)
• Tongabezi's electric blankets. Particularly cozy and inviting at the end of the day.
• The only time of year one can truly justify having bought those marvelously inspired zip-on-zip-off safari trousers!
• Livingstone Island is finally open for the rest of the season

“Reminds me of my safari in Africa. Somebody forgot the corkscrew and for several days we had to live on nothing but food and water.”

In our Kitchen

Last month we bid a fond farewell to Craig Higgins as he swanned off to work his magic in Kenya. Our resident chef Zuwi is carrying the torch with aplomb and the wonderful comments keep streaming in!

“Not a lot to say, everything except for lunch was excellent, lunch was exceptional.”
- The Hoopers from Hampshire

Our Chef Zuwi is also a man of few words:

Hi all

The Tongabezi kitchen team is doing very fine.

We have been hard at work on our afternoon tea and our teatime treats include marshmallows cheese cake, sunflower seed pan forte, gingerbread and chocolate chip cookies in the afternoon.

Chef Zuwi
Tongabezi

Tomato Atchar recipe

4 onions finely chopped
8 cloves of garlic
4 table spoons Vegetable oil
4 table spoons curry powder
12 deseeded chopped tomatoes
12 small chillies finely chopped

Sauté onion and spices with half of the oil, add tomato and cook for 10 minutes. Take of the heat to cool, store in a jar topped with the remaining vegetable oil.

- A Recipe by Zuwi

Our Comment Corner

Thank you to Expert Africa for providing us with consistent unbiased feedback from each and every client that is booked through them and stays with us! They also have a page dedicated to our reviews on their website !

12 June 2008

Fabulous setting right on the banks of the Zambezi. The cottages are lovely with good views, set next to the river and far enough apart to give absolute privacy. The sounds of hippo calling to each other across the river were wonderful. The highlight of our stay was finding a hippo on the lawn in front of our cottage leisurely chomping the grass until, having caught sight of us, it slunk quietly away and slipped back into the river with a grunt of "goodbye".

We thought Tongabezi was fantastic. We were in one of the river cottages which were really lovely and the views of the Zambezi were incredible.

We thought the food here was extremely good. Service & friendliness of the staff excellent. We particularly enjoyed the boat trips - the sunrise & sunset cruises and would highly recommend the bird watching trip.

- Mrs Toni Connaughton

If you have a moment please do look at our latest tripadvisor review as well?
 

Featuring Moonbows

Exactly how special are these rainbows thrown by the moonlight?

Turns out that they are rather rare! The only places other than Victoria Falls that you can see them on earth are: Cumberland Falls near Williamsburg, Kentucky as well as Waimea, Hawaii and Yosemite National Park in the United States.

You could spot a lunar rainbow in the sky but all of the following criteria must be met:

• The moon must be less than 42 degrees low in the sky (preferably even lower!)
• The sky must be dark
• Rain must be falling opposite the moon
• ...and occasionally you can see a moonbow around the moon in very foggy conditions.

Lunar rainbows can appear almost white to the naked eye due to the fact that the moonlight is not strong enough to excite the cone colour receptors in our eyes. The trick in photographing them is therefore long exposure photography!
 

New at Livingstone Island!!!

Bigger groups, a brand new camp and a scrumptious new menu!

“I am prepared to go anywhere, provided it be forward.” Said David Livingstone and we have not forgotten his words on Livingstone Island.

While the lip of the Victoria Falls has not changed much structurally since the famous Scottish missionary first visited it on 16 November 1855 there have been some recent cosmetic changes worth noting. As Livingstone Island finally opens permanently for the 2008 season we can proudly unveil a completely rebuilt camp. From the teaspoons to the tented canopy over the dining room the Island has been completely refurbished. We now have space for a maximum of 16 guests keeping the exclusivity of this historic island intact while making it a slightly more accessible geologic wonder!

Tongabezi in cyberspace

Tongabezi is the # 1 in popularity for Livingstone hotels on Tripadvisor

Special Offers

Watch this space as we will be publishing a 10 night Zambian special featuring Tongabezi Lodge, Sindabezi Island, Sausage Tree & Old Mondoro. Zambia is a long way to come for many guests and a large country with so much to offer. We feel that this 10 day special will present the best of our Country while allowing guests time to relax and really have a holiday!

Lunar Rainbows in July

The next lunar rainbow viewing will be on the  18^th July 2008. Join us at eight in the evening on the 17^th, 18^th and 19^th of July for a trip including wines, soft drinks, beers and spirits served at The Falls

For all the lunar rainbow dates for 2008 and 2009 please have a look at our website