Swimming Under The Victoria Falls

Imagine a beautiful place not too far away. Wild savannah stretches before you for miles and miles. The sky above is clear, the sun only an amber glow slipping behind a fuchsia curtain – the horizon draped over the escarpment. Nothing can be heard, except the chuntering of hippos from the Luangwa river, the distinctive call of the African fish eagle and the gentle chirping of crickets before nightfall. And where are you? At home. Born out of a desire to create a multi-generational family safari experience, Wilderness Trails has embarked on a two-year project to develop Chibembe Wildlife Estates; your home away from home that is both an investor’s dream and every nature lover’s fantasy. Situated 20 kilometres north of Chikwinda Gate in the Nsefu Sector of the South Luangwa National Park, Chibembe is the site where the very first walking safaris in Africa were conducted under the watchful eye of the legendary guide Norman Carr, who pioneered the idea of taking people to look at animals rather than to shoot them. In the same spirit of nature conservation, Wilderness Trails seeks to create a harmonious existence between man and animal, striking a fine balance between modern architectural design, technology and eco-friendliness. The estate of 18 safari houses will be built over an expansive 850 acres of land, 55 acres of which will be sub-divided into 18 plots averaging three acres each, with a minimum 65 metres of river frontage. Furthermore, home owners will have a choice of three expertly designed house plans to build a safari-style home of four or five bedrooms, perched 1.4 metres above ground, allowing full view of the wandering wildlife. When the family is at home, each house will have a housekeeper, and a nanny if required, a community scout and safari guides on hand to conduct game walks or drives. Facilities will also include laundry services, solar-powered internet and medical evacuation – readily available at a moment’s notice. And when absent from your piece of safari paradise, your house can be placed in the rental pool for local and international family groups of tourists in order to generate income. This may be looked upon as investment return. Target returns for home owners of Chibembe Wilderness houses are eight per cent of their total investment per annum, should the property be developed within the development guidelines and rented out through the Wilderness Trails’ management service. So you see, there is finally a place where you can go to simply tune out – and it is called home.

Further information can be obtained from the Wilderness Trails Limited office by emailing chibembe@chibembe. com or calling Carol Hamaimbo on +260 (0) 96 4665578. South African investors should contact James Arnott on +27(0) 83 625 8078 or james@chibembe.com. UK/EU investors should contact Henry Hallward on henry@chibembe.com or +44 7776 131807. Interested investors can view the plans and photographs of Chibembe at the Homenet offices in Lusaka. Appointments with Janet or Adrian can be arranged by calling +260 211 (0) 963 100957. A call for expressions of interest is currently open until the end of July. This can be done through the website: www.chibembe.com. An investor pack will be sent to interested parties with site visits to Chibembe in August for interested investors. Having viewed the properties, investors will then be invited to bid for the property they wish to buy. Successful bidders will be contacted in September to finalise property transfers.