Living in Livingstone

After being in Livingstone for five months now I thought it was time that I provided a bit more insight into the town itself and what it is like to live in. I’m also hoping it may generate some interest for any potential visitors J

Mosi-Oa-Tunya Road: The main street of Livingstone



A typical street in Livingstone, branching off the main road



I feel very lucky to have been placed in Livingstone. The town is large enough to have most things required on a day to day basis, with an estimated population of 150,000. However it is still small enough to have that “community” or town feel about it. Livingstone is also not the crazy tourist town that I had imagined prior to arriving here. It definitely has tourist aspects to it with numerous backpacker places, the Mukuni Park Curo Market and advertisements everywhere for Safari tours and the Falls. However most tourists tend to remain hidden away in their lodges, never fully experiencing the town and what it has to offer.

Mukuni Park Curo Market: A great place to buy Zambian and
African handcrafted goods

In terms of amenities Livingstone has a number of major banks such as Barclays and Standard Chartered Bank, cafes and restaurants that provide Wi-Fi (albeit super slow internet), a massive Shoprite Supermarket and bustling shops and markets full of all sorts of knick- knacks.

Mosi-Oa-Tunya Road: Shops and cafes

Mosi-Oa-Tunya Square: The home of Shoprite Supermarket

After being here for four months we have definitely found some favourite places to hang out, which is what I thought I’d focus on the most.

Olgas

Probably my favourite! Olgas is an Italian restaurant serving REAL Italian food. It has woodfire pizzas, homemade pasta, coffee and other great Italian food. It is managed by an Italian man, Guiseppe, who is always welcoming, as are the staff and has a lovely relaxed atmosphere. But perhaps one of the best things about Olgas is that is a social business started up by an Italian NGO CeLIM, with all profits going into their Youth Community Training Centre. So there’s no need to feel guilty about indulging in a yummy pizza.

Olga's Restaurant

Lucana Pizza: Sausage, Mushrooms, Onion, Tomato & Basil
YUM!!

Golf Course

We only recently discovered the golf course, however it is a lovely place to go for a run in the evening or a drink on a Sunday afternoon.

Zig Zag

Zig Zag is actually a Bed & Breakfast with a restaurant attached and beautiful garden surrounds. It is a lovely place to go for a coffee on the weekend and read a book outside under the guava and lemon trees. It also has (I think) the best cheese burger in town!

Zig Zag Coffee

Zig Zag restaurant & grounds: Beautiful & relaxing place
for coffee and reading a book

VJs

We used to go to VJs a lot for a beer in the afternoon when we first arrived, given it was unbelievably hot at the time. VJs is right next door to Shoprite and we still occasionally have an evening drink there as I love the bustling atmosphere around it. It has very reasonably priced drinks and high tables and stools from which you can watch the craziness of the town go by around you.

VJs bar: Always bustling! A great place to people watch and enjoy
a cool drink

N.B. Many of the lodges on the outskirts of the town are also great places to have a drink or weekend lunch. However they really deserve their own separate blog as some are quite amazing.

Finally this blog would not be complete without mentioning one of my favourite “landmarks” in town.

I continue to be amused by the “Zambian Architecture” of the building pictured below. From all accounts it has been under construction now for over a year and shows no sign of being completed anytime soon. Still unable to ascertain what it will eventually become (hotel perhaps?), however I’d strongly advise against ever entering it as it may collapse at any given moment. The walls on this building are not straight and actually bow out in some parts. That all said, I think the lions are possibly the most quality aspect of the building. They will probably survive the building collapsing, even if their legs are not in proportion to their bodies.

"Zambian Architecture": Not too much is straight on this
building; check out the wall at the front left which bows out nicely.
I do like the lions though!



Close up shot. Difficult to capture on camera
but look closely at the "straight" alignment
of the floors, walls and pillar barriers.