Zambia: The Bradt Travel Guide (Bradt Travel Guide Zambia) (Paperback)

It's several years since I wrote the first edition of this guide in 1996. Then it was the first English guidebook to Zambia. Now I'm particularly pleased to have been able to update and expand it, re-writing much of its contents for this December 1999 edition. I've been lucky with this timing, as it's been perfect to include maps and details of the 2001 solar eclipse, which promises to be an amazing event for Zambia.

Whilst researching this, I returned to Zambia many times, (re-)visiting almost all of the country's safari camps. I was fortunate to find the time for a few walking safaris, and it struck me that although I've been back to Zambia often, no two walks are ever alike. But one thing does always reoccur: the realisation that the more you learn of the bush, the more you realise you don't know.

It is the same with the country. The more you delve into it, the more fascinating it becomes. The old tourist board slogan, Zambia: the real Africa, still stands. Zambia is still 'real'. It's unsanitised, unpackaged, and still largely unvisited. Zambia offers the best of wild Africa, in a country with very few visitors. It gives an authentic taste of what the whole continent was like: wild, beautiful and slightly unpredictable.

It remains the place for walking safaris. Zambia's premier national park, South Luangwa, is the main name to conjure with. It has top camps, Africa's best game, and many of its best guides. Throughout Africa there are khaki-uniformed chauffeurs who drive through the bush, but in South Luangwa you find expert guides to trust with your life. Zambia is gradually becoming better known, but still 'South Luangwa' and 'wildlife' are all that many people know of it. The rest of this huge country remains undiscovered, its smaller camps unknown, its people unmentioned.

Zambia's attractions are legion, if you seek them out - and my book aims to try to show you how. Whether you are arriving inside a private plane, or travelling with a backpack, I've written this book to try to guide you to some of Zambia's lesser-known areas and to help you understand more about them. Many are gems.

From the verdant Busanga Plains in Kafue National Park to the lush Lower Zambezi, and the swamps of Lake Bangweulu to the shores of Lake Tanganyika, I've tried to cover the country in depth and detail - how to visit, where to stay and what the main attractions are for visitors. I've covered the towns and villages, and lesser-known areas, as well as including comprehensive details (and my personal comments on) of all the parks and virtually all of the safari camps.

Nor that wildlife is Zambia's only attraction, as I've also described some of the country's rich cultural heritage, and included plenty of back ground information on the history, economics and geography of the country. Plus practical information on how to get there, planning and preparing for your trip, health and safety, and how to survive and enjoy the bush.

Now, having committed more of Zambia's secrets to paper, I again ask those who use this guide to do so with respect. Zambia's wild areas need great care to preserve them. Local cultures are easily eroded by a visitor's lack of sensitivity, and hospitality once abused is seldom offered again. Enjoy - but be a thoughtful visitor, for the country's sake.

Finally, I always welcomed reader's thought and comments after using the guide. Tell me what's useful, what's less so, and what you would like to see more or less of. I'll probably be writing the next edition in a few years time. So please do send me feedback via chris@sunvil.co.uk