June 21:
Left Dar in the afternoon and flew to Lusaka. Because of the flight schedules, I had to overnight in Lusaka. So I went to a safari lodge outside of the city, located on its own private game reserve. Nobody told me that Zambia was actually cold, as it is winter time over here. However, since Zambia borders Tanzania, I figured it would be just as hot there as it is here, so I only brought short-sleeve shirts with me. I forgot to take elevation into consideration. So it was quite chilly and I spent most of the night in the fetal position.
June 22:
Did an early morning game drive and saw a number of antelope species like waterbuck, tsessebe, impala, duiker, etc. They also had one tame elephant that I got to ride, as well as some lions in an enclosure. I then flew down to Livingstone, Zambia which is the site of the Victoria Falls. My hotel was literally a 5 minute walk from my room to the edge of the Falls, so that was cool. I went and looked at the Falls and was just amazed at how awe-inspiring it was. When Dr. Livingstone first saw the Falls in 1855, he said something like “even angels in their flight must have paused to gaze at something as beautiful as this.” Hooked up with a friend there and he wanted to go on a helicopter ride, so that is exactly what we did. Yep, first time to ever fly in a helicopter and we did it above the Falls. It made for some great views. Also, the hotel is located inside a National Park, so there were tons of monkeys and zebras just roaming around the hotel grounds.
June 23:
In the morning my friend and I went riding ATVs for an hour. That was a lot of fun. That afternoon we went on a river safari on the Zambezi River and saw elephants, hippos and crocodiles. We got to eat lunch on an island in the middle of the Falls, which was pretty cool. On the boat ride we got so close to a crocodile sunning on the bank that he hissed at us, and then our boat bumped him and he slid into the water and left. I was like…um, that’s close enough.
June 24:
Today we went out to Livingstone Island, which is an island at the very edge of the Falls and the island where Dr. Livingstone landed his boat. We parked the boat on the far side of the small island and then followed a path to the Falls. They had us take off our socks and shoes and roll up our pants and put on ponchos because of all the spray, and then they took us out to the very edge of the Falls. Being Africa and all, there were no guardrails, no safety railings, no paved areas to step on. We just walked out on slippery rocks and peered over the edge. I almost crapped my pants. We then backed up a bit and ate breakfast there near the edge. Good view that’s for sure. We then went and did a Flying Fox, which is where they put you in a harness and attach it to a cable that spans a canyon and you can slide from one side to the other. Afterwards we took a tour to the Zimbabwe side of the Falls, as the Falls is the boundary between Zambia and Zimbabwe.
June 25:
Took a tour of the town of Livingstone in the morning and then flew back to Lusaka, being very excited that I got to see one of the 7 Natural Wonders of the World. I had to overnight again in Lusaka, so I stayed again at a safari lodge (a different one this time) and did another game drive and saw a bunch more animals. It was fun but cold again.
Left Dar in the afternoon and flew to Lusaka. Because of the flight schedules, I had to overnight in Lusaka. So I went to a safari lodge outside of the city, located on its own private game reserve. Nobody told me that Zambia was actually cold, as it is winter time over here. However, since Zambia borders Tanzania, I figured it would be just as hot there as it is here, so I only brought short-sleeve shirts with me. I forgot to take elevation into consideration. So it was quite chilly and I spent most of the night in the fetal position.
June 22:Did an early morning game drive and saw a number of antelope species like waterbuck, tsessebe, impala, duiker, etc. They also had one tame elephant that I got to ride, as well as some lions in an enclosure. I then flew down to Livingstone, Zambia which is the site of the Victoria Falls. My hotel was literally a 5 minute walk from my room to the edge of the Falls, so that was cool. I went and looked at the Falls and was just amazed at how awe-inspiring it was. When Dr. Livingstone first saw the Falls in 1855, he said something like “even angels in their flight must have paused to gaze at something as beautiful as this.” Hooked up with a friend there and he wanted to go on a helicopter ride, so that is exactly what we did. Yep, first time to ever fly in a helicopter and we did it above the Falls. It made for some great views. Also, the hotel is located inside a National Park, so there were tons of monkeys and zebras just roaming around the hotel grounds.
June 23:
In the morning my friend and I went riding ATVs for an hour. That was a lot of fun. That afternoon we went on a river safari on the Zambezi River and saw elephants, hippos and crocodiles. We got to eat lunch on an island in the middle of the Falls, which was pretty cool. On the boat ride we got so close to a crocodile sunning on the bank that he hissed at us, and then our boat bumped him and he slid into the water and left. I was like…um, that’s close enough.
June 24:Today we went out to Livingstone Island, which is an island at the very edge of the Falls and the island where Dr. Livingstone landed his boat. We parked the boat on the far side of the small island and then followed a path to the Falls. They had us take off our socks and shoes and roll up our pants and put on ponchos because of all the spray, and then they took us out to the very edge of the Falls. Being Africa and all, there were no guardrails, no safety railings, no paved areas to step on. We just walked out on slippery rocks and peered over the edge. I almost crapped my pants. We then backed up a bit and ate breakfast there near the edge. Good view that’s for sure. We then went and did a Flying Fox, which is where they put you in a harness and attach it to a cable that spans a canyon and you can slide from one side to the other. Afterwards we took a tour to the Zimbabwe side of the Falls, as the Falls is the boundary between Zambia and Zimbabwe.
June 25:
Took a tour of the town of Livingstone in the morning and then flew back to Lusaka, being very excited that I got to see one of the 7 Natural Wonders of the World. I had to overnight again in Lusaka, so I stayed again at a safari lodge (a different one this time) and did another game drive and saw a bunch more animals. It was fun but cold again.
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