Last days in Africa Diverted to Zambia

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Our Final Days

So we were off in the morning with a bit of a late start to head to Zambia after our trip to Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe was cancelled. We spent about 3 hours waiting in line to get on a ferry the cross the Zambizi River. What a cluster. Finally got visa, which was a surprise cost at $135, and we were off to Livingstone, Zambia. We arrived a bit too late to do any activities. Chester had her small meltdown when we were advised there were no hotels/chalets available and we would be spending our last 2 nights in a tent, which we really did not want to do. All travel companies were advised to not go into Zimbabwe due to the elections. So Zambia is completely full and again no hot showers. So we all agree the only way we are going to get through this is with lots of liquor. So off to the bar where we sat overlooking the Zambezi River, watched the sunset and drank some beer and talked trash about everyone on the trip. Good times. Dinner at the camp site with steak and chicken and the wine was flowing. One of our drivers has a bit of a crush on Lynn and with a bit of wine she can be very friendly. So Kirsten being the sober one got everyone safely back the the tents and actually got a much needed hot shower.

This morning started with a cold drive to the gorge for a bit of jumping off some cliffs. Started with tandem gorge swings. Similiar to a bungee jump with a rope. Chester and Kirsten were first in the group to jump, much to the surprise of all the young kids with us. Chester's legs were shaking, but as she was tied to Kirsten could not back out. With one step back we fell into the gorge. Amazing feeling. Lynn was next with one of the guides. Kirsten was only one willing to do solo jump after that. Then off to the zip line accross the gorge. Flying like tinkerbell with our arms and legs flapping over the gorge. Lynn had to take a little more time to psych herself out to do the jump, she flew threw the air with the greatest of ease. After the zip line, we headed to another side of the gorge to repel to the bottom. It was very fun, until we realized we had to hike back out of the gorge yet again.

From the gorge we headed to one of the 7 natural wonders of the world, Victoria Falls. Thank goodness we brought our ponchos because we got soaked while viewing the falls. They were amazing. We walked along a path that stretched to a bridge and it was literally downpouring on us from the back splash of the falls. We hiked around for about an hour and half and then headed back to our campsite to be picked up for a 30 minute helicopter ride over the falls. This was truly a highlight of the trip. Chester and Lynn experienced a lot of firsts on this trip and the helicopter ride was one of them. We viewed the falls and went into the gorge. It was like a half hour of riding on a rollercoaster only we couldn't take our eyes off the scenery. We saw incredible views and even saw more elephants and hippos wading in the river from above.

The only things left to do are pack and figure out what will go home with us and what we will abandon in Africa. Lynn has been especially generous with her items. Among our articles that will not make it back: flipflops, several pairs of socks, a few tshirts, a pair of green capris that ride low on the hips (titus' favorite), ponchos, nasty washclothes, all of Chester's toiletries (that leaked the entire trip), and maybe a potential husband or two.

Thanks for reading and wishing us well on our trip. There have been breathtaking sunsets, stars, scenery, animals, adventures that we can't wait to tell you about, but we can't wait to get back to shower and scrub the black smudge off of our feets, do laundry and not eat mystery lunch meat sandwiches even more. We have all taken a ton of pictures so whenever you are ready for a slide show, let us know.

Cheers and we will see you all soon.
Charles' Angels
Kirsten, Lynn and Chester

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