Reptile parks – WanderwithFaith

Moving back to your home town can take a toll on you especially if you got so used staying away from home. Being back in my home town meant adapting to the many changes that have taken place here. The beauty is that as one that loves travel, I can handle this. The biggest change has been the school I work from.

New scenery, friends, students and old family members is what I found here. I treasure my solo trips because they have helped me get out of my comfort zone and find myself. Lusaka town has changed a lot over the years and it was clearly time to visit places I visited way back but this time in a group.

Nothing does it like a day-trip to a remote place in summer. It’s super hot here and taking a dip would be awesome.

Kalimba Reptile Park is a place one should bucket list and visit when on this end. It is not so much of a hidden gem. Lots of people frequent this place to be away from the busy places. It may be your go-to-place for day trips. If you are not a local, you may have to return to town area for accommodation as this place does not have lodging.

As we arrived, we were greeted by some cows on the premises that were grazing. We paid our 5 dollars entry fee and my niece paid less for being a youngster. I have done crocodile meat and this place has a kitchen where that can be prepared but the style of this trip was barbeque what we brought and we didn’t bring croc meat. I will try this on another day.

Kalimba Reptile Park is great for group excursion or family day out. For all the fishing lovers, this is the perfect place as well. You will also enjoy a display of reptiles.

The park houses snakes like black mamba, boomslang, vine snake, Mozambique spitting cobra, brown house snake etc. It was amazing to see some of these species camouflaged in the grasses which made me question where I was standing just in case.

If at all you did not pack much to eat, it’s fine because this place has a kitchen and am sure they prepare crocodile in all ways possible seeing that they had a croc recipe book on display for sale.

You are gonna have a comfortable place to have your croc burgers, croc spareribs or whatever version of crocodile you choose.

We took a walk around the gardens and noticed other clients coming in at mid day. Some took their kids for a dip, others went on the swings. Others started their barbeques upon arrival, am thinking they were starved.

This place is not that big but there is lots to do around. I could see some mini golf which few people have been doing am sure because it appeared to need a facelift.

There comes that special time when your stomach protests because it wants a fill. I loved that this is a place you can have a picnic and enjoy some warm foods.

Though I didn’t have my signature adventure food, crocodile, I enjoyed the meats we had brought to the park. You will never go wrong with boerewors sausages, I just love them. I had fair shares of barbeque chicken as well. All this with a salad and my favorite being potato salad which just made my afternoon.

We had enough of this food marathon until it was time for a dip. The beauty about this trip is that if the adults (mum and auntie) wanted to be left alone to chit chat, it was the perfect place for people of that generation.

I had my sister to talk to as well. We goofed around and all but we had to make the smallest human being in our group feel part of the squad or at least make her locate her squad at Kalimba Reptile Park.

If we didn’t, she was gonna loudly be singing, “la, la, la, la!”, just so that she does not feel left out but be the one to tell all the stories. Talk about a bossy kid! Anywho, we changed into our bathing suits. The heat was at capacity but we had so much fun with this small human being who found herself her own squad.

I am recommending Kalimba Reptile Park for that relaxing day away from the usual way of life at home or away from the noisy places.

I enjoyed sharing the first part of my cycling safari which I must say I would love to do again. This time using a different route. The first 3km was interesting because of my start point which was a super cool place for a stay.

From the National Art Gallery stop that I made, it took me 1km of riding in a bushy area to get to yet another amazing stopover. The beauty of riding in the countryside is the scenery can be amazing. I must mention that this territory is near a national park so the chances of bumping into a notorious animal were high.

Though not a professional cyclist (wish i was), this trip made me realise that the few advantages of cycling are :

Enjoying those Scenic Views: Enjoying beautiful landscapes and natural surroundings can be refreshing and reduce stress. I enjoyed the countryside and though I feared what sort of animals I would encounter, I didn’t let that take away my moments.

Fresh Air: Breathing in some clean, fresh air does have a positive impact on your mood and overall health. I was away from the congestion and stuffy environment and this did some wonders to my mind.

Exercise: I am a firm believer in the wonders of exercise. Cycling is a great form of exercise that can improve cardiovascular health, muscle strength, and endurance. And I am saving up to get myself a bike though around here, females aren’t big on cycling.

Quiet and Peaceful: The countryside often provides a peaceful environment, free from the noise and bustle of city life. I cycled away from the city noises and into a semi-wild area. I switched my mood to a relaxed and peaceful one.

Exploration: Cycling allows you to explore new areas and discover hidden gems off the beaten path. As I ventured on this safari, it was exploration for me first because women here don’t bike much and secondly, I went looking for places that are hidden.

Connection with Nature: Cycling in the countryside can help you feel more connected to nature and appreciate its beauty.

Point 3: The Crocodile Park

After a kilometer of riding from the art gallery, I got to a crocodile park.

I am glad I didn’t bump into a crocodile on my way to the park. The entrance fee for locals was cheaper than that of non-locals. Nonetheless, it’s still affordable going for $15. This is a fairly sized park with lots of crocodiles and snakes, all of which have names.

As I got inside the park, escorted by one of the staff members, I couldn’t help but notice his bravery. I know this is Africa, the continent where people kiss lions, but please…… this gave me goosebumps! This man got inside the crocodile cages! I could have sworn he used some African charms to dodge these bullets! I asked him if that was the case ( rumour has it this is what game rangers do) and he laughed and didn’t share his little secret. How unfair that I enjoyed these scenes on the safer side of the fence.

I should say that though this cycling safari was one to bring me peace and relaxation, this one felt like an educational tour. I managed to hold a chameleon for the first time and saw lots of crocs enjoying their moment sunbathing. I asked lots of questions which were on what they feed these many crocodiles with. I was told they eat cow meat and chickens. That should be a huge cost. So sad for the animals at the bottom of the food chain.

I learned a lot about both crocodiles and snakes. I don’t think we have many parks like this. If you ever visit Zambia, do pop by this place. As I was heading out, I noticed some good artwork with some truths or maybe half-truths on them.

Some of the things I read got me stretching my mind. This one writing said, “The largest Nile crocodile is 6.1 meters and lived in Burundi and had eaten 300 humans!” Who was counting how many humans this crocodile ate?

As a lover of art, I just loved what was on the wall and didn’t bother much about digging for the truth behind the claims. I left the Croc park and continued to cycle some more km and made a stop I didn’t quite plan for. I met some wild animals. They were big and I will let you know whether I stopped by for a chat or cycled hard for my life.

Tag: Reptile parks

The Joys of a 20km All-Day Cycling Safari (Part 2)