Zambian Disneyland

Zambian Disneyland

“Livingstone is like Disneyland except everything costs ten times more” Eloise remarked as we shelled out another $150 for a 15 minute helicopter ride over Victoria Falls. She’s right. According to the guide book Livingstone is “the adventure capital of southern Africa”, an adrenaline junkies dream! You can do anything here—the crazier the better---from whitewater rafting, bungee jumping, walking with lions, kayaking, elephant safaris, swimming in the Devil’s Pond…and between the four of us we pretty much did it all!

Livingstone is named after the intrepid explorer David Livingstone who in 1855 was the first white man to lay eyes on Mosi-oa-Tunya (the smoke that thunders), which he renamed in honor of Queen Victoria. Livingstone served as the capital of Zambia or Northern Rhodesia as it was known until the1930s. It is a quaint little town with many colonial buildings, a railroad and historical museum, a selection of good restaurants, and a variety of places to stay that suit all budgets. Our favorite restaurant was the Laughing Dragon. After spending so much money each day it felt good to save a little. The four of us could eat four entrée’s, two starters, and several bottles of Coca-Cola Lite for under $12.

Each morning we got up early to begin the day’s adventure. One of the highlights for me was our day trip into Botswana to spend the day in Chobe National Park. We had signed up for a river cruise and driving safari. Chobe is known for its large elephant population. Many of the elephants fled the wars in Angola and crossed into Botswana where they have thrived. Other elephants migrated from Zimbabwe and Zambia during the 1980’s and early 1990’s when poaching was quickly diminishing the herds. The organization Elephants Without Borders is trying to relocate many of them back to Angola. It seems that elephants are smart enough to detect mines and have proven to be very useful in this regard. The drive through the national park was terrific. We saw numerous hippos, elephants, water buffalo, zebras, giraffes, monkeys, and various antelope. Of the “Big 5” I have yet to see any of the cats. Lions do live in Chobe but are rather elusive.

We hiked along the edge of the falls and down into the Boiling Point to view the falls. It is difficult to describe Victoria Falls; everything has already been said. October is not the ideal time to come because it is the dry, hot season and the water is rather low. Regardless, they are majestic and frightening at the same time. Just two weeks ago someone slipped and fell over the edge to their death. Charlie and Eloise bungee jumped off the bridge into Batoka Gorge. It made me almost nauseous to watch but I caught it all on film including Eloise’s screams. Other bright spots of the week included the helicopter ride over the falls, our two hour “walk with the elephants”, and the swim in Devil’s Pool. This later activity involves jumping into a small pool located on the edge of the falls. You can hold on to the edge and look down into the abyss. Not for those afraid of heights!

After a long hot day we enjoyed sundowners at the Royal Livingstone Lodge. The perfect way to end each day in Livingstone.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVN9KnWy-H8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkV2J3Ri23U&NR=1&feature=fvwp

Under African skies

This is the story of how we begin to remember…

These are the roots of rhythm

And the roots of rhythm remain Paul Simon

Road Trip

A road trip in the heart of Africa is never an easy thing to do, especially with a looming gas crisis. Traveling in Africa is difficult. For one thing, you have to be prepared for the worst. That means carrying extra jerry cans of gasoline, spare tires, water, tools, and food. There are no rest stops along the way, no picnic tables, no toilets, no highway patrol, and very poor cell phone reception. Secondly, the roads can be treacherous and leave much to be desired. Because there had been rumors of an impending gas shortage I had the foresight to fill up a few days before our scheduled trip. I could only fill up the tank, no jerry cans were allowed.

My traveling companions included Charlie, Eloise, and Kay, all first year teachers at AIS. We left at the crack of dawn in order to avoid the heat for our first independent African adventure---a 5 day trip to Livingstone, Zambia; home of the mighty and majestic Victoria Falls. Since I was driving, I had found a nice young American mechanic to service my car. He put new tires on, gave the car a tune-up and basically reassured me that everything would be ok on the 500 plus kilometer journey.

We drove through Chobe---no gas and long lines at each service station. Mazabuka--- no gas. Long lines that stretched around the block awaited us in each small town we came to. Third stop Choma---still no gas. By this time we were a bit worried because I had no idea how much my tank holds nor how many miles to the gallon the CRV gets and we still had about 200 kilometers to go. My tank was a little below half full. As we were debating on what to do, two young Zimbabwean truck drivers approached us. They had just delivered a car in Mazabuka and had an empty flatbed. They assured us that we would make it. “I promise you,” they said. They also assured us that if we were to run out of gas they would be close behind. We exchanged cell numbers and with renewed confidence set off again knowing that Bob and Clyde had our backs. By this time the temperature was edging up to 105 degrees. Paul Simon’s Graceland CD blasted from the speakers and we sang along as we raced across the blacktop.

The Flamboyant trees shone like beacons on the dusty plains. Small villages with their conical mud/thatch huts dotted the horizon. Despite the heat people walked along the road carrying bundles of wood or water jugs on their heads. Women sat under trees selling watermelons and tomatoes. We passed banana groves, sugar cane and cotton fields. Cattle and goats grazed in the ditches and I had to do a few quick maneuvers to avoid hitting a poor animal that had wandered on to the highway.

The highway from Kafue to Zimba is excellent and the miles whizz by. However, the last 75 kilometers into Livingston are horrible. The main road is under construction so you have to take a detour into the bush. It is a bone jarring experience. The road itself is just gravel and sand with huge pot holes the size of craters. It was a very windy day and the dust swirls coming towards us reminded me of blizzard conditions. Whenever a truck passed you drove blind for a few minutes due to the red dust. Finally, it ended and we could see Livingstone ahead of us. We made it and still had a liter or two of gas to spare.