David Livingstone in Central Province

By NDUBI MVULA, Lusaka,
IN our continued mission to explore tourism as per Zambia Tourism Agency motto of; “Let’s Explore”, the tour of duty vetures into Central Province focusing on the historical monuments.
Many are familiar with the works and explorations of one Great Scot’s man Dr David Livingstone. Central province is one of the areas that he left his foot-steps that can be seen and appreciated today.
These foot-steps can be found in Serenje District where the monument lies approximately 90 kilometres west of the Great North Road and can be reached by taking the Mkuku road 39 kilometres from Serenje Boma turn off or 13 kilometres south of Kanona for 62 kilometres, the turn-off to the right for one kilometre to a primary school.
Once here, a visitor is expected to take either the dambo edge road for 20 kilometres or take the bush road for 6 kilometres, then turn left for 20 kilometres, to the Livingstone memorial.
The Mkuku road is an old better road is said to be fit to accommodate all types of vehicles that tourists can use.
The memorial marks the place where Dr David Livingstone, explorer and missionary, died on 1st May, 1873. It was built on the site of the tree under which his heart was buried.
Dr David Livingstone first set foot on the continent of Africa on 14th March, 1841 but it was just over ten years later, on 4th August 1851 that he crossed the Zambezi River at Mwandi and arrived for the first time in Zambia then northern Rhodesia.
By 1853 he was back north of the Zambezi, heading westwards through the Barotse Valley to the coast of Angola. After a few months in Loanda he sat out again to cross the continent from west to east.
It was on this journey, on 16th November, 1855 that he became the first European to see the great waterfall of ‘Mosi-Oa-Tunya’ (The Smoke that Thunders), which he renamed Victoria Falls in honour of his Queen. Six months later he reached the East Coast and set sail for England.
Between 1858 and 1864 he made a comprehensive exploration t the lower Zambezi, and of Lake Malawi. On this last African journey, starting in 1866, he travelled up Lake Malawi and westwards to Lakes Tanganyika, Mweru and Bangweulu.
He is believed to have traversed parts of what are now Democratic Republic of Congo and Tanzania, where he was met by Henry Morton Stanely at Ujiji, before setting off south-wards in an attempt to reach the copper-mining are of Katanga province. Skirting the eastern side of Lake Bangweulu he was badly delayed by floods, much of the area being under more than a metre of water.
It is noted that during the whole of this time Dr Livingstone was suffering from dysentery and is his weakness he frequently had to be carried through the swamps. The last entry in his diary, dated 27th April, 1873 reads, ‘knocked up quite’.
Becoming still weaker on 29th April, he was carried to Chitambo’s village, a few kilometres beyond the flooded area. On 1st May, while kneeling in prayer, he died.
Following his death, his followers removed his heart and viscera and buried them in a metal box at the foot of an mpundu (parinari curatellifolia) tree. The body was smeared with salt inside and out and exposed to the sun for fourteen days. They then wrapped up the preserved body and carried it over 1,500 kilometres to the east at Bagamoyo, where it was transported to England and buried with national honours in West-Minister Abbey.
Another site worth visiting is the Fort Elwes situated in Mkushi District. This Fort lies near the Democratic Republic of Congo border some 40 kilometres north-east of Mkushi.
Fort Elwes was built in 1896-97 by a party of European prospectors sent out by Rhodesian Concessions Limited to search for alluvial hold and other minerals in the Muchinga Escarpment and adjacent country lying to the west of the Luangwa Valley. At that time British forces were planning an attack on Mpezeni’s Ngoni in Chipata and it was feared that the Ngoni might be driven westwards into the prospector’s area. The fort was erected by Frank Smitheman to provide a refuge for his party in case of such an eventuality.
The fort is sited at an altitude of some 1,600 metres above sea level on a pass through the Irumi Hills into Shaba. It is a rectangular structure of massive dry-stone walls almost two metres thick in places and originally over three metres high.
There were abutments at each corner and a raised walk-way along the inside of the walls. The only original entrance was an underground passage under the wall. Remains of internal structures of pole and daga are still visible.
Being overlooked by hills, the Fort could not be held against an enemy armed with modern weapon but prove virtually impregnable against spearmen or arches.
It is believed that the Rhodesian Concessions withdrew their prospectors in 1898 and the Fort was then abandoned and the origin of the name ‘Elwes’ is not known.
In the next segment we will venture into yet another exciting area within the central province known to be one of the smallest and private owned National Park but so significant to the tourism sector.