Practical Information

We thought we would provide some background information that will be useful to all of you on your trip to Zim/Zam. The information below is an example of the stuff Lonely Planet provides on their website for free. The topics they discuss are the following: Overview, Places in Interest, When to go & weather, Getting There & Around, Practical Information, History, Work & Study, Wildlife, Tips & Articles, Hotels, Maps.

The links to the LP websites for Zambia and Zimbabwe are below:
Lonely Planet Description of Zambia (http://www.lonelyplanet.com/zambia)
Lonely Planet Description of Zimbabwe (http://www.lonelyplanet.com/zimbabwe)

Fast Facts about Zambia 
Time: GMT/UTC + 2
Population: 11.5 million
Borders: Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia
Seasons: cool & dry (May to August), hot & dry (September to November), hot & wet (December to April)
Telephone: country code 260
ATMs: Only in main cities
Budget: US$20 to US$30 per day
Capital: Lusaka
Visa: US$25 for 90 days, issued at point of entry
Languages: English, Bemba, Lozi, Nyanja and Tonga
Area: 752, 614 sq km
Money: Kwacha; US$1 = 4200ZMK (Click for Current Rate: http://www.google.com/finance/converter)

Fast Facts about Zimbabwe
Time: GMT/UTC + 2
Population: 13 million (official, though up to three million Zimbabweans are thought to have emigrated since 2001)
Borders: South Africa, Botswana, Zambia, Mozambique
Seasons: Cool, dry (May to October), warm, wet (November to April)
Telephone: Country code 263
ATMs: In cities
Budget: US$150+ a day (up to US$450 if on safari)
Capital: Harare
Visa: 90 days (US$30 for most nationalities), issued at point of entry
Languages: Official language: English; main national languages: Shona and Ndebele
Area: 390,580 sq km

Money: US Dollar; US$1 = US$1 (Click for Current Rate: http://www.google.com/finance/converter)

Average Temperature Victoria Falls
April: High = 85 F, Low = 58 F
May: High = 82 F, Low = 50 F

1914 Historical Map of Africa

After talking with friends and family from abroad, we realized we should post some information about Africa's diverse languages, cultures and poorly defined borders. For example, many people are surprised to learn that beyond the local native languages, French, German, English, Dutch and Portuguese is spoken in many parts of the continent. We thought this map would help people better understands Africa's European influences which can still be seen today.

We also included a couple of links from Lonely Plant which provide brief histories of Zimbabwe and Zambia.

Brieif History of Zimbabwe
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/zimbabwe/history

Brief History of Zambia
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/zambia/history