November 2007 Travel Zambia 13 Lwaando Island, Zambezi River Seen from above, Lwaando Island forms a huge teardrop in the middle of the Zambezi, not far upstream from Victoria Falls.

14 Travel Zambia November 2007 Made in Zambia Copper is not Zambia’s only valuable export. The country has also produced some surprising celebrities. World cup-winning rugby player George Musarurwa Gregan was born in Lusaka in 1973 to a Zimbabwean mother and an Australian father. His family moved to Australia when he was one, where he grew up in Canberra. Gregan played at scrum-half for Australia from 1994-2007, winning the World Cup in 1999 and becoming captain in 2001. He retired from international rugby after the 2007 World Cup, having made more appearances for his national team than any other player in the sport’s history. Sir Ranulph Fiennes, listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the world’s greatest living explorer, has spent most of his career in the frozen wastelands of the Arctic and the Antarctic. But a six-day canoe trip down the Zambezi to Victoria Falls two years ago opened his eyes to the wonders of wild Africa and this year he was back for more, reports Richard Grant. ‘I’m used to expeditions in places where you go for weeks and sometimes months without seeing another living thing,’ said Sir Ranulph. ‘So it’s a real thrill to watch herds of elephants on the riverbank and hear lions roaring at night and see all the other animals coming down to drink. Being in canoes, we’ve obviously heard a lot of talk about hippos and crocs, but we haven’t had any trouble with them yet and they seem rather easy to avoid.’ Fiennes’ first trip, conceived and organised by Simon Wilde at Islands of Siankaba (www.siankaba.net), was a recreation of David Livingstone’s 1855 journey down the upper Zambezi for its 150th anniversary. The team travelled in historically authentic dugout canoes with inauthentic cooler boxes. This year Fiennes took his family canoeing on the lower Zambezi in Canadian-style canoes, then lent his support to some school and hospital volunteer projects in Livingstone and returned to Victoria Falls. ‘I think my favourite place in the world might be Devil’s Pool,’ said the great explorer. ‘To sit there on the very edge of the Falls, in that perfect natural jacuzzi, watching the spray and the rainbows; you really can’t beat it.’ Nkani >> News · views · people · places · conservation · community · wildlife · culture Fisher king gets hitched Good news from Ana Tree Lodge (www.anatreelodge.com) in the Lower Zambezi, where Mubeen Zumla got married in October, reports Tim Henshall. Son of lodge owners Wardasha and Yousuf Zumla, Mubeen is a guide with a difference. Despite being deaf from birth, he has an extraordinary ability to get close to nature. His passion for fishing, at which he excels, means that Ana Tree’s guests can both enjoy outstanding fishing trips on the Zambezi and taste the delicious fruits of his labours at meal times. Mubeen was educated at Doncaster College for the Deaf in the UK, where he was trained in lip-reading and British sign language. Though unable to speak, his infectious enthusiasm for nature speaks far louder than any words. Explorer smitten with Zambezi DID YOU KNOW? Zambia has the world’s second largest emerald deposits, after Colombia. ERIC GAUSS ANA TREE LODGE CAMERON SPENCER / GETTY IMAGES