Victoria Falls

15/5/13

And the ride was good… very long, but Mailin and I had comfortable seats, not the fold out ones that go in the aisle, so we were fine.  We got into Livingstone at around 10:30 last night, and were asked if we wanted a taxi for 50 Zambian Kwatcha (10USD).  Yeah right, buddy. How about 10 Kwatcha, eh? Yeah. That’s what I thought.

We arrived at Jolly Boys Backpacker, and were almost immediately greeted by 5 Peace Corps volunteers (PCVs—they love acronyms) from the Kavango and Caprivi Regions in Namibia.  Friends! Yay! But we didn’t stay up to play after the long travel, and went straight to bed. 

The next morning all of the PCVs showed us the free shuttle to the Falls, and we wrapped our wallets and a camera in plastic and headed on over to one of the Seven Wonders of the Natural World. 

Name. Earned.  The water was just thundering over the Falls.  In many places, the mist was so thick that you couldn’t see anything around you and it was like you were swimming in the air.  We hiked around the falls to get the view from every angle in Zambia.  There was a spot down at the bottom where the two gorges meet just downstream of the Falls called the boiling pot. From there you can look up to the Falls and see the bridge where people bungee jump, swing down from and zip line across.  Then we (rather sweatily) hiked back up to the top of the gorge and walked across the bridge to an island.  This was where we got soaked over and over. It was unbelievable! Once we had covered the ground on the island, we headed back over to the main land and found a path to a spot directly at the top of the Falls.  We were close enough to dip our feet it (don’t worry, mom, I didn’t). 

Finally, we got hungry for lunch, so we decided to head back to town. It’s a bad idea to eat at the falls because of all of the baboons will attack you for food.  Even if you put you cameras or whatever into a grocery bag, the baboons are smart enough to know—that means food.  Clear bags are the way to go for your valuables. 

Mailin, two English boys on gap year whom we met at the falls, and I had a hankering for pizza.  Perfect! I saw a pizza place on the way back from the Falls.  Totally walkable distance.  45 minutes-1 hour later, we finally arrived.  OK, my bad. Maybe not such a walkable distance.  But it made the pizza that much more delicious.  And made us feel less guilty about the ice cream. 

Abby and Erika are arriving tonight, so our whole party will be reunited! I think that calls for a party!!

Carl jumped off that bridge! (attached to a bungee cord of course!)

One of the Seven Wonders of the Natural World

Carl (UK), Hector (New Zealand), Abby (WorldTeach Namibia/USA)

The view from the top

There's a bridge through the mist--it's like walking through... a waterfall.

Spray rising up from the falls at sunset.