Trying on the Tourist Gaze

At the moment I am looking at bits of Zambia through the four-and-five-starred eyes of a well-heeled tourist.

I'm leading an American couple of retired professors around on their first trip to Africa.

In Livingstone we are staying at a five star hotel which has a bizarre mix of décor and props apparently constructing for us a version of Zambia and the Victoria Falls that I dont quite understand - although not for want of trying.

At the reception desk, Baines-like paintings portray semi-naked savages holding spears. They stand in neo-classical, contra-posto poses like off duty ballerinas and lurk under golden baroque pineapple lamp bases.





Pineapples? Yes of course – a tropical fruit.


David Livingstone is still a local hero here. Look at him saving the day in the canoe.



He was the first white tourist to be shown the Falls by local guides.

He was in the wrong place entirely, looking for the source of the Nile, and to salve his disappointment his guides said; “you want to see a big gorge a little further downstream? Its called Mosi a Tunya – Smoke that Thunders.”

He took one look, changed its name immediately and gave it away to the queen.

Back at the hotel for that colonial touch there is the obligatory zebra skin.






and ceiling fans





And pith helmets



and stuff





And a kind of high-English-memsahib style complete with roses




The fabric on the dining chairs are reminiscent of bucolic Victorian rosy-cheeked milkmaids and wistful shepherds.






But wait, they are monkeys dressed up. Or apes? Maybe a nod to the Darwin debate of the time?


Three token wooden artifacts from Mali (many countries and thousands of miles away from Zambia) are a reminder that you are really in generic Africa.




And ostrich eggs from the Kalahari also outside Zambia. But never mind - somewhere in Africa.





Amongst other things (like a historic town tour and the museum), we've done a couple of fairly embarrassing sort of gawking-at-the-poor-people-in-the-market trips from a game viewing vehicle.




Where I'm sure (if we'd been allowed to get out) I could have got my laundry done for much less than the ten US dollars I paid for a single pair of trousers to be washed at the hotel.




Today we went on a village tour which I also found rather embarrassingly gawky - our guide giving more information than we really needed - (“we shower and do our number ones in that little grass hut over there, but number twos we do in the bush outside the village”).


Shew thanks for that – jeez, that should bring the tourist rush...

The elephant encounter was unsurprisingly moving and fantastic.

Located within the park they are free to walk in the bush and their handlers walk with them all day – no enclosures. The training is kind and reward-based.

All the handlers love Danny - a huge bull with tusks - gentle and sweet

So are the profs actually, and they had their pics taken.




Me too




Except that when we saw wild elephants on the drive back through the Game Park they didnt really want to look (already blasé I guess).

Tomorrow we fly to my own home territory for more fun and games.

And more elephants.

I wonder if they will still want to look.

I know I will.