Livingstone, Zambia: Chanters Lodge

This morning we took our long awaited much delayed flight from Jo-berg to Livingstone, Zambia. It was a beautiful morning and as we looked out over the lush green and caught a glimpse of the falls from the plane, we had the sense that the real adventure was beginning.

Flying over Zambia:

We arrived in Livingstone to find out that two of our bags apparently liked Jo-berg better and decided to stay, but we were too excited to be there to mind much and decided to look on the bright side- 50% less to carry. We were met at the airport by Richard Chanters, owner of Chanter's Lodge, who patiently waited while we filed our lost bag reports and offered to bring us back to the airport tomorrow just in case our luggage decides to join us in Livingstone.

We had read online about the amazing service and hospitality Richard and his team provide at Chanter's Lodge, a place we found in Lonely Planet: Southern Africa. And unlike many things you read on the internet that turn out to be much exagerrated, we discovered Chanter's to be underrated. Richard, who has been in the hospitality business and in Africa for over 20 years, is a true gentleman and very kind. He really goes above and beyond for his guests. We don't even have a room number in our room overlooking the garden. It is that personal.
You can read about the lodge on Richard's blog here.

Poolside at Chanters Lodge:

The restaurant in the garden just steps from the room is very tasty with great service. Everyone we have met in Livingstone so far is extremely polite, which according to Lonely Planet is part of the culture in Zambia. We spent part of the day searching around town with the vague hope that someone might have a battery charger for Juan's camera, once we discovered it was in the checked bag that stayed in Jo-berg, and everyone was very helpful. But one of the guests at Chanter's reassured us that bags stay in Jo-berg 9 times out of 10, and nearly almost arrive the next day. Our fingers are certainly crossed for that, as we need the camera for the 6 day safari to come.