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Published: February 27th 2007
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No trip to Southern Africa would be complete without a visit to Victoria Falls. We had the choice of visiting the falls from either Zambia or Zimbabwe (or both). Due to visa costs and other recommendations we chose the Zambian side and did not regret it. Livingston is a great town, it felt like we were in Africa again.
The falls did not disappoint at all, they were incredible. Hey, I think I can even use the word awesome in it's true context. They are 1.7km wide, 108m high and have an average flow of a million litres per second. Yes, I did say second. Apparently at peak flow in May it can be 9 times more than that. The result of this massive amount of water throwing itself off a cliff, is not only a spectacular gorge but an incredable spray as the water hits the bottom and climbs back up again. The spray is so immence that it can be seen from miles around and is why the locals call the falls "Mosi-oa-Tunya" which loosely translates as "The Smoke That Thunders". We were warned we would get wet when we got up close, and they weren't wrong. At
some points it was like having buckets of water repeatedly thrown over our heads ... our waterproofs struggled to cope!
Livingston is also somewhat of an adventure town with endless adrenaline options. We missed out on the gorge swing, avoided the bungee and plumped for rafting the rapids of the Zambezi, just downriver from the falls. Marissa's elbow was now sufficiently better to join the ride, but not to paddle... how convenient. Despite being told the river was tame at that time of year the rapids were immense. Our guide tried his best to point us in the right direction, but we were all over the place at points. At rapid no 15, dubbed the washing machine, we met our match. 8 people and the boat went flying and it took until rapid 16 to get all but Marissa back in the raft. As we dragged her in we hit the first roller and out she went again, she took the rest of the rapid going backwards while clinging to safety kayak! Luckily, a period of calm followed to allow us to regroup and get our breath back.
Phew.
It was a fantastic day out and a
This ain't rain ...
... we told you we got wet. The waterproof camera comes in very handy, yet again. great end to another phase of our travels. Now it is back to Cape Town for a month where we start some voluntary work for three different organisations and rediscover the meaning to the word "weekend".
This Week Likes: *The tip from the Lonely Planet that explained that if we booked our hostel in advance, they could arrange for our Zambian Visa to be waived. It worked a treat and saved us 60 quid each.
*The rainbow that formed as the sunlight hit the spray
*Using the facilities of the 5 Star Zambezi Sun hotel, while staying in a cheap backpackers. A technique honed in Sri Lanka circa 2004
This Weeks Dislikes: * Being made to feel extremely unfit as we struggled down the gorge to the river and were overtaken by the rafting crew who were not only running, but carrying the boats! Luckily there was a lift back up at the end!
* The hostel encouraging it's guests to take taxi's over very short distances (as little as 500m around the corner), when it was perfectly safe to walk.
* Hearing that Robert Altman had passed away (several months late).
He made some fantastic movies, R.I.P.
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Nebi
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Hi guys
I've been really enjoying your blog. It's always fresh and interesting with a good dosage of humor. The photos are awesome. You’re obviously having a great time so keep up that way. See you in London.