CHOMA

Choma is a market town in the Southern Province of Zambia, lying on the main road and railway  about 285km from Lusaka and 188km from Livingstone. It is home to a small museum dedicated to the cultural heritage of the Tonga people of southern Zambia.  (open daily 09.00–17.00), The Nkanga River Conservation Area lies nearby.

The main road   runs through the centre of the town, with shops, market, cafés, central post office, a couple of petrol stations, and branches of two of the major banks.  and   to   an internet café. Choma’s largest supermarket is aptly called Superstore and has a good variety of fresh and frozen food.   There are a few small hotels and on the main road in and near the town, a guesthouse in the suburbs and a couple of excellent spots on farms just outside of town.

KNANGA RIVER CONSERVATION AREA

(lodge and camping) PO Box 630025, Choma; tel/fax: 032 20592; email: [email protected]

About 5km before Choma, as you approach from Lusaka, there’s a signpost on the road to Nkanga, 20km away. There you’ll find a conservation area that’s been set up covering a number of local farms. It now protects antelope including sable, eland, puku, hartebeest, wildebeest, kudu, waterbuck (both the normal and Defassa sub-species), tsessebe and many other species. Other activities available include fishing for bream and barbel

Much of the farm’s game, including sable and zebra, can be spotted in the immediate vicinity, where there are some good walks; game drives can also be arranged. The area is also one of Zambia’s important bird areas (IBA), with a total of 439 species noted here, including Zambia’s only endemic, Chaplin’s barbet.