Zambia not Zimbabwe

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The next morning (10th May) we left Casana and drove a few kilometres down the road to Kazungula ferry port to make the short crossing over the Chobe River to the Zambian border (we were suppose to travel through Zimbabwe but the FCO reccommended not to as a result of the election issues). The port was quite a scene! There was no organisation and it really wasn’t a port but just a muddy bank with a chaotic scramble of lorries, cars, vans and hundreds of people awaiting to get on. Our driver managed to make a few deals and get us to the front of the queue otherwise we would have been waiting weeks as there is only one falling apart ferry which is very slow. On the otherside in Zambia we had to wait ages to sort our visa out at immigration, $140 for the Brits!! Eventually we were on our way and got into Livingstone, our base for visiting Victoria Falls, at a reasonable time. We were going to stay here for 4 nights which will give us a chance to get to know the place. That evening we organised activies and tours that we wanted to do while we were here and went out for a group meal in the centre of town.

During the following days I went on an adrenilin day with some of the others in the group which involved abseiling, rap jumping (abseiling face forwards!), zip line, and gorge swing (part bungi). It was a really fun day and helped me to face my fear of heights! The zip-line involved running up on the edge of the gorge and chucking yourself off the edge and then gliding across the gorge like superman! The gorge swing took a lot more build-up, I watched the others in the group jumping off the side of the gorge, falling 53m and then swinging across the gorge. Eventually, Jo and I, both terrified, decided that we would regret it later if we didn't do it so we did a tandem gorge swing together. We had to jump off backwards, so when we got to the point where we had to put our heals over the edge and fall backwards after a countdown of 3, we were still stood there! After a few more seconds of hesitation, we did it! During the 53m fall, I tried to scream but nothing came out of my mouth, whereas Jo was screaming all the way, it wasn't until the swing kicked in that noise actually came out my mouth! It was a fantastic feeling, a real adrenilin rush, so much so I even had another go and did it on my own. This time I had to step off face forwards! The trick this time was don't look down and don't hesitate! It was a fantastic day in a beautiful location across the Zambezi River.

On 12th May, we headed out to see Victoria Falls. From the Zambian side we walked out onto a protruding piece of land right in front of the falls. We got completely soaked through as the spray from the falls was so great! As the sun peeped through the clouds, we got an excellent view of the falls although the time of year we were visiting is the time of highest volume of water flowing over so it wasn't ideal. Hence, we couldn't do white water rafting here! Apparently there is another opportunity in Uganda at the start of the Nile. The falls were amazing and although we couldn't see far, apparently the falls stretch 1.7km wide! Also from this area we could see the bridge which connects Zambia with Zimbabwe, it was made all the more beautiful when a rainbow appeared beneath it. This was also the location of the Vic Falls bungy! Several members of our group planned to do it that day so I headed over the bridge to watch them. The falls from this angle look all the more impressive, the greater distance gives you a better perspective of them. Also on the bridge we momentarily passed into Zimbabwe, although not quite the same as actually visiting it!

The following day I used to sort out bits and bobs and had a chance to get on the internet before we left the next day to head to the capital, Lusaka.

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