LIVINGSTONE MEMORIAL

The Livingstone Memorial is not actually located in the heart of Kasanka National Park, but it is close by. The park entrance is about 48 km from the historic site. From the park entrance, take the main road to Lake Bangweluu and then turn right onto a track at Namilika Kawa for about 35 km. It is accessible by a pleasant track lined with bemba villages and surrounded by miombo forests. On the way, you can stop at the palace of Chief Chitambo IV, the great grandson of the chief who received David Livingstone. This national monument includes a large stele with a simple cross and a memorial plaque that marks the spot where his two faithful servants, Susu and Chuma, buried David Livingstone's heart. In search of the source of the Nile, the explorer arrived in the Bangweulu area weakened by malaria and dysentery. He died on May^1, 1873, in the village of Chitambo. After burying his heart at the foot of a tree, Livingstone's two companions undertook a 9-month journey to transport his body to the Tanzanian coast. From there, he was shipped back to London and buried with honors in Westminster Abbey. In 1899, the Royal Geographical Society of London sent an expedition to recover the tree trunk and the original inscription carved by Susi and Chuma, a copy of which can be seen in the Livingstone Museum. The present memorial was erected in 1973, exactly one century after the explorer's death.