When I took a trip to Zambia in June 2017, I made my way to the northern part called Kasama.
To get to Kasama from Kenneth Kaunda Airport in Lusaka, I took a Pro flight jet which took 3hours. When my trip was coming to an end I tried to find out if there was any place worth checking out around the area. I found Chishimba Falls was a 30 minute drive away.
Chishimba Falls is actually three waterfalls all within a distance of about 300m from each other. It is made up of the Upper fall which has a 20m drop, a middle fall, and the lower fall which is the main one and has a 30m drop. A hydro electric plant is located above the falls. A local family accompanied me to the falls and though they have stayed in Kasama for a very long time, they admitted that this was their first visit to this place and that they had never known they had such a “Beauty in their backyard”.
This reminds me of one of my many visits to the Victoria Falls which borders Zambia and Zimbabwe. I remember meeting a 30 year old young man, born and bred in Victoria Falls town who had never been to the rainforest. Yes, he was born and lives in one of the seven natural wonders of the world but had never experienced it up close. Such wasted privilege, I think. The lesson I draw from this is the need to explore and appreciate our immediate surroundings, because even if we don’t others will, and who knows certain opportunities that places of interest around us present that could be by passing us if we don’t.
