Livingstone (20th - 28th Feb)
After some time well spent with family in Zimbabwe, it was time to take a trip to Zambia. We'd arranged to meet up with Fallon for a week in Livingstone in the south of Zambia and home to one of the seven wonders of the world - Victoria Falls. We reached the expensive border ($200 to get us and the car in!) between Zimbabwe and Zambia, dodged the giant baboons that were hanging out in the car park, and passed through what must be one of the most beautiful border crossings there is. No mans lands stretches across the Victoria Falls bridge and as we drove across the bridge into Zambia, we got our first glimpse of the breathtaking falls. That afternoon, we checked into a campsite for the night ahead of picking Fallon up the following day - Jollyboys backpackers. We popped up our tent in the garden and went for a walk around the local town before retiring to our blow up bed and free wifi that evening.
The next morning, Stu and I went on the search for some riverside accomodation. With Fallon joining us for the week, we'd decided to upscale from our 2 man tent and enjoy a little luxury. We checked out a few different lodges and chalets, and eventually found the perfect riverside tented chalet for the 3 of us to stay in. With the accomodation organised, we headed to the airport to pick up Fallon! It was great that she was joining us for a week, although during the days that followed Stu was asked several times why he was so lucky to have the company of two girls! The three of us ate lunch at a lovely lodge called the Zambezi waterfront, right on the river, then went to the supermarket that afternoon to stock up on food for a Braai that night. Back at our lodge later that day, we chilled around the pool and ordered a couple of vodkas whilst we were crocodile spotting on the river. A steak braai went down well for dinner and after retiring to bed for a few hours, Stu and Fallon woke up shortly after for a midnight hippo hunt around camp!
We woke up the following day to a lovely cooked breakfast at our lodge ahead of going to visit the falls. We drove to the falls just 4km away from camp and parked up for the morning. Victoria Falls is now set in a protected national park, so we paid our $20 entry fee and spent the morning walking around the area. The park was beautiful but the view of the falls was one of the most stunning things we be seen. With a rainbow setting just across the waterfall, it was a picture perfect view and we spent some time simply staring at the water. Due to the time of year, the water levels at the falls are extremely high and so the amount water pouring off the side of the cliffs is huge! The water then crashes at the bottom of the falls and creates a mist that rises above the waterfalls and create a rain that soaks everything and everyone. They call it 'The smoke that thunders' due to the mist and sounds that the falls create. We had ignored the offers of renting raincoats and umbrellas, and in turn got drenched by the mist as we walked around. Whilst walking around the falls, we met a lovely English guy called Chris who joined us. The four of us trekked down to a place called the boiling pot at the bottom of the falls. From here we got a great view of the Victoria Falls bridge, and dodging the many baboons on the way down was a risk worth taking. An amazing morning at the falls, with a few too many pictures taken, was followed by a relaxing afternoon around the pool soaking up some sunshine. With a rosy tan gained, we all donned our best outfits and headed to a posh hotel called the Royal Livingstone. Here, we sat at the river front bar and watched the sun setting over the falls with a cocktail in hand. We then headed to the restaurant for dinner. Unfortunately as we were wearing shorts, we weren't allowed to eat in the main restaurant area - trousers only! But the waiters set up a nice table for us in the bar area outside and we feasted on the tastiest food, including kudu (antelope) shoulder and mozorella stuffed chicken. An expensive dining experience but well worth it!
Over the next couple of days, we spent more time around our Maramba lodge pool, keeping an eye out for crocs in the river and hippos around camp, we took a walk to the Victoria Falls bridge to see what we were signing ourselves up for later that week with the bungee jump and the gorge swing, and we took a sunset cruise down the Zambezi river one evening. With a free bar for two hours on the boat, we more appropriately named it a booze cruise! We met a great bunch of people on the boat and the party continued off the boat too, with Amarula shots and beers back at Jollyboys backpackers afterwards.
Thursday was the day we'd chosen for the extreme sports! After a light breakfast, we took the walk of horror down the Victoria Falls bridge to the 111 metre bungee jump. It's something I'd always wanted to do, so there was no backing out now! As we were walking down the bridge, Stu actually sounded pretty keen to join me with the jump! He'd watch me first and then decide if he wanted to do it too. I signed up at the office, and proceeded to the edge of the bridge to get strapped up. The nerves had started to set in, and when they proceed to strap what can only be described as bath towels around my legs, that's when my heart really started beating! This was also the moment Stu decided against doing the jump! Surely bath towels around the legs aren't enough protection for an 111 metre jump?! Eventually I did however feel very well strapped in, but with nerves well and truly rattling me, I decided to stupidly ask the dive instructer about the girl who's bungee rope had snapped a couple of years earlier, who had plunged into the croc filled Zambezi river below and miraculously survived! The instructer told me its best that we discuss this topic of conversation after I've jumped, and so I shut up and just got on with the dive off the bridge. They quickly counted me down 5,4,3,2,1 and I lept off! Ideally you're meant to jump horizontally off the bridge, as far as three metres away from the bridge edge. Instead I lamely jumped a vertical 30cm off the side. But the result was just the same, I plunged for what seemed to feel like a lifetime, down to the Zambezi below. I remember spinning around in circles, panting heavily and seeing rock cliffs, rainbows and the water below - the biggest adrenalin rush I think I'll ever had! Once I'd settled at the bottom, and the bungee rope had stopped jerking me up and down, one of the instructors came to winch me back up to safety. I remember thanking him upside down for coming to get me so quickly! Once my feet were firmly back on the steel planks of the bridge rafters, I walked my way back up the ladders and planks of the bottom of the bridge to get back to road level, high fiving Stu and Fallon and promising that was the first and last time I would be bungeing. It was an amazing experience, but one that's only needed to be done once!
Now it was time for Stu and Fallon to get their adrenalin fix. They had decided to do a tandem gorge swing - where you drop backwards off a cliff edge, and after the initial drop...the rope continues to swing you back and forth across the gorge. Fallon is petrified of heights so I knew this was going to be interesting! They both got strapped up and went through a mini training course of how to throw themselves off that cliff. They were then taken up to the platform and I was able to watch and film their ordeal from afar. A countdown of 3,2,1 and they should have been off! However instead of both dropping backwards, Fallon decided to pull forwards, pulling Stu with her and stating they needed to 'regroup'. There was a look of sheer panic on her face, and Stu was simply nervously laughing. Take 2 - the instructor counted them back down again for the second attempt.....3,2.....no no no no! Pulling forward again, Fallon was not ready to drop backwards off that cliff! On the third attempt, the same happened again...and by this point Fallon was shouting across the gorge to me asking me to seriously consider swapping places with her. I knew how much she wanted to conquer this gorge swing so I told her she can do it, she'd kick herself if she didn't go through with it! On the fourth and final attempt, 3,2,1 and Stu tipped backwards ... Before Fallon could pull forward again she was dragged backwards too and they both went tumbling off the cliff edge, they did it! The scream followed as they were swung across the gorge. After swinging back and forth for some time, they finally had their feet firmly back on the ground, and had to walk the steep walk back up the gorge.
After a morning full of jumping and screaming, we were all reeling from the activities and relived the jumps over and over again throughout the day. We went for some celebratory drinks at Jollyboys, watched the DVDs of the jumps back at our camp and had a tasty braai that evening at our chalet whilst still talking about the days events.
During our last couple of days in Livingstone, we went on the hunt for an old riverfront house. Fallon's dad and Stu's grandma had both grown up in Zambia and told us the location of where the old farmhouse they grew up in should be. After a couple of unsuccessful attempts of finding it, we found an empty but beautiful riverfront house. It was exactly as the family had described it, and so we spent some time exploring the grounds and taking photos to take back to the family. We spent some more time around the pool during our final couple of days, and had to go back to the Royal Livingstone hotel for one last delicious meal.
We'd had an unforgettable week in Zambia, but our time there and with Fallon had come to an end. We said our goodbyes to Fallon as we dropped her off at the airport, then Stu and I headed back to the Zambia / Zimbabwe border for some more Zimbabwean fun.
