The Big Trip-Paris, Africa, London: Dr. Livingstone, I Presume!

OMG! The last 2 days have been unbelievable. Yesterday did not start out very well. I could not and still cannot find my yellow fever immunization record which I may or may not (according to Geoffrey McAllister of the South African Immigration) need. I was originally planning on not going as I did not want to get shipped back to Zambia or be quarantined in South Africa for 10 days. At whatever peril, I choose to continue the journey. The rest of the traveling went “pretty much” without a hitch.

We arrived in Livingstone at about 1 PM. We left immigration about 2 PM. We bought double entry visas and Kerry got all 5 visas in her passport. (Saves on paper and ink.) We were met by a guide from Wild Horizon Tours and were brought to the Zambezi Sun Resort. There was a group of “natives’ waiting to welcome us. The place is expansive and much better than I had heard. I have not seen a single cockroach and the staff has been very pleasant (New management?). (I am sitting at the pool and a security guard is shooting a sling shot at a monkey in a tree.) I should mention that there are animals in the property-monkeys, springbok, crocs, warthogs, zebra and giraffe. I have only seen lots of monkeys. Today at lunch one came up to a family eating lunch and took a piece of pizza.

Once we were in our rooms we were sent on a sunset cruise on the Zambezi River in the African Queen. Unfortunately, Humphrey and Katherine were not with us. Ileen and Given were. They were our servers on this sojourn down the Zambezi. It was one of the most relaxing things I had done in a long time. The river was smooth and the boat moved a very slow pace. Our first wildlife encounter was here. We saw elephants-a whole herd walking on the shore. One came down to drink from the river. Next we saw crocodiles swimming around, then some hippos. An elephant swam across the river. More hippos were bathing on the edge and birds were all over. What an experience! This was all culminated with a beautiful Zambezi sunset. After all this I was in bed by 9:30 PM.

Today was equally as thrilling. We began this morning with a tour of the Zambian side of Victoria Falls. The morning started off with me wishing I had my winter coat. It was cold. The sun quickly warmed the air. The falls were in walking distance from our hotel. The first look took my breath away. It was just awesome. Our guide, Joseph, fitted us with raincoats (although fitted was not the right word for mine). The thunderous sound of the water hitting the gorge, the mist and the most incredible rainbow crossing the Falls was just masterful and awe inspiring. We watched the Falls from several vantage points and, in spite of getting very wet, it was very beautiful. Moving from viewpoint to viewpoint we spent about an hour viewing at the Falls. Joseph agreed to bring Kerry and me to the border of Zimbabwe. And away we went.

The Zimbabwe side was much more panoramic and scenic. We walked through the Victorian Falls National Park for about 2 hours. Each viewpoint was more spectacular than the next. Some we did not spend much time at as the mist and spray was drenching. Once we had seen all the viewpoints and the David Livingstone statue. We headed for the border back into Zambia. All along the way we were “greeted” by venders selling just about anything. They were even willing to trade my hat and/or my shirt. It was tempting but I kept both. (for now.) Walking back we crossed the bridge over a very, very deep gorge. People were bungee-jumping off the side. I chose to let it go until another time. We took one last look at the Falls and we crossed the border back into Zambia.

As I sit writing this, the air is cooling. It will be coat weather by sun down. You can hear the roar of the Falls in the distance. Life is Good!!!

After dinner tonight, I decided to take a walk around the complex. The hotel, the Zambezi Sun, is also part of the national park. As I was walking a herd of zebra was grazing on the lawn. They began to follow me back to my room. If I walked, they walked. if I stopped, they stopped. They grazed outside my building and moved on as I watched them from inside.