Located about 50 kilometers east of the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mansa is a large town of about 70 000 people and the capital of Luapula Province. It’s situated on the M3 (which runs south/north between Kawambwa and the Congo Pedicle) at the crossroads with the D94 (which runs east towards Samfya and Serenje) and is a busy commercial town offering many services.

Named Fort Rosebery during colonial rule, the administrative headquarters were initially sited further west in the Luapula Valley, near present day Mambilima. Due to hot and humid conditions in the valley, an outbreak of sleeping sickness occurred and the town was relocated to its current position in the hope that the cooler conditions here would be healthier.

Mumbuluma Falls, 40 km northwest of Mansa, is a series of two falls with some small rapids in between; it’s a good place to picnic and cool down in the pools. Further north, Musondo Falls are less spectacular due to the erection of a water reservoir above the falls but if you’re going that way it is worth a photographic stop on the bridge. Visiting the falls themselves requires permission from the ZESCO hydro-electric plant.

Near Kasanga village, you’ll find the ‘Terra Nova Village of the Future Home’ - this is an orphanage in its development phase, part of the Terra Nova Children’s Home in Kazembe (see page xxx). The home is located on a farm where you can buy fresh vegetables and fruit. Travellers can camp on the riverbanks, swim in the river or canoe down the rapids. Facilities are basic, there’s an open-air cold shower, a long-drop toilet and a well-maintained braai area. Alternatively, take a 20 minute hike to the top of the nearby hill where you can enjoy a sundowner and braai, and sleep in the open next to your campfire. There’s no fixed price for camping, but a donation to the orphanage equivalent to normal camping rates (US$10 to US$15 per person per day) is recommended.

Situated in a water-rich province, Mansa is surrounded by agricultural farms which provide produce and fish (from the lakes) to the mines in the Copperbelt further south. Even though Mansa borders the DRC, continued political unrest in that country has limited Mansa’s trade to Zambia’s Copperbelt region even though this requires crossing the Pedicle (see below) through the DRC.

In the late 1800s, during the ‘Scramble for Africa’ by European powers, Belgium laid claim to present-day DRC (then the Congo Free State and later Belgian Congo). At the same time England occupied Northern Rhodesia (today Zambia) in an attempt to fulfil Cecil John Rhodes’s dream of building a railway line from the Cape Colony to Cairo, connecting all British territories in Africa. Disputes over territories arose and were settled during the Berlin Conference (1884/5) when territories were decisively allocated to different countries; it was left to the countries to negotiate the borders.

The British suggestion was to run the border from the Congo-Zambezi watershed (where the source of the Zambezi is located), in a northeasterly direction until it meets the Luapula River. But the Belgians had their hearts set on the game-rich area surrounding Lake Bangweulu and motivated to extend their territory further eastwards along the Luapula River, cutting into Northern Rhodesia. The King of Italy was called in to settle the disagreement and he simply drew a line from north to south (where it was thought the Luapula River exited Lake Bangweulu) thus creating the Congo Pedicle, a piece of land about 200 km long and up to 100 km wide, belonging to the Congo but protruding into Zambia, nearly cutting the country in two.

The Italian King’s border line crossed the many channels of the Bangweulu Wetlands in many places, and in 1911 a joint English-Belgian Commission surveyed the region and agreed to move the border further west to its present position, where it cuts a clearly defined channel. The northern regions of Luapula, Mweru and Bangweulu were however still effectively isolated from the Copperbelt region by the Pedicle.

With the discovery of minerals in the Copperbelt in the early 1900s and the subsequent need for labour in the mines, there was an increase in movement of people and goods into the Copperbelt. Although people crossed the Pedicle since its inception, political unrest in the Congo (and specifically the Katanga Province which formed part of the Pedicle) forced them to take the longer route, from Mansa to Samfya, Kasama, Mpika, Serenje and Kapiri Mposhi before turning northwards to Ndola and the Copperbelt province.

In the 1940s the British realized the need for a direct road between the Copperbelt and Fort Rosebery, and made an agreement with the Congo for Northern Rhodesia to build a direct road from Mufulira in the Zambian Copperbelt, to Chembe, south of Fort Rosebery, crossing the Congo Pedicle. The road was built and maintained by Northern Rhodesia and generally only used by them. Although users have to drive on the right hand side of the road and negotiate two border posts in order to use it, it shortened the Mansa-Mufulira journey to approximately 175 km rather than the 1 160 km travel via Kasama, Mpika and Serenje. In 2008 the Chembe Ferry was replaced by a 320 m bridge (Mwanawasa bridge) over the Luapula River and today the Pedicle road is mostly tarred, with the exception of the last 15 km from Mwenda to the Chembe bridge over the Luapula River.

Due to ongoing harassment of travellers on the Pedicle Road during the Congo Crisis in the 70s, Zambia (with contractors from China) completed the alternative Samfya-Serenje road in 1983 which included a 2.8 km bridge (known as ‘The Long Bridge) near the town of Mukuku. Though longer than the Pedicle road, it’s shorter than the road via Kasama and Mpika; but, with the current relative peace in the Pedicle, most travelers prefer the shorter route.

ACCESS:
Mansa has a small airport with flights to Lusaka, check for schedules online.

ACCOMMODATION:
There are several guest houses. Wetuna Gardens is a basic lodge with clean, affordable rooms, full English breakfast and a hot shower - the best option for accommodation in Mansa.

COMMUNICATION:
There are internet cafes in town.

EMERGENCY SERVICES:
Tow-in services: Try: +27(0)97 473 7848 / +260(0)96 676 1647 (Based in Lusaka).

NOTE: Visitors to Zambia are advised to have their own personal travel insurance. Local police, hospitals, clinics etc. cannot be relied upon.
Please note that any emergency numbers indicated on our data will be for the local police, hospital, clinic etc. and most of the times, don't work. Many tourism sites show the numbers like 999 for police, they often don’t work.

If you have a medical problem when in Zambia, Specialty Emergency Services has a Call Centre (24 hours). Phone them on 737. This company has offices in Livingstone, Lusaka and Kitwe. But they will fly anywhere to assist if visitors have the right insurance. If you want to check your insurance, contact SES on [email protected]. (http://ses-zambia.com/).

GAS REFILL:
At the Oryx petrol station with a possibility to swap Oryx gas bottles.

MARKETS:
There is no craft or food market as such in Mansa, but there are small food stalls (fruit and vegetables) all close to Shoprite Food Store and on the main street.

MECHANICAL SERVICES:
There may be a Triskad Auto Spares situated along Chembe road. Although there may be no formal services as such, you should be able to get the basics done from people who provide local services.

SHOPS & SERVICES:
Mansa is a large town with several fuel stops, banks, guesthouses and a large Shoprite supermarket.

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