monkey poo in the mist

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Hi All 😊

This blog entry shall be back-dated as it is now August the 10th in Malawi. I shall still pretend that this entry comes from days gone by in Zambia!

What's there to say?
Our Zambian excursion started with a 5 day stay at Victoria Falls/Livingstone, the "tourist adventure capital" of Zambia, "the real Africa." Following this we drove through Lusaka then east through Chipata to Malawi. Much fun was had on the way!

The half way point of our overland adventure was in Livingstone where most of the people on our bus either ended their tour or were joined another truck on their trek back south to Johannesburg, South Africa. 4 of the original Cape Tonians are continuing on until the end in Nairobi, Kenya. We have been joined by a handful of 'newbies' (starting their tours from Zambia) with the rest of the new group made up from a truck that started in Johannesburg.

On Thursday Aug. 3rd, 7 of us from the old crew decided to tackle the mightly Zambezi river in a rubber dinghy. The Zambezi River: where "Zim" meets "Zam" (but no "Elvis" appeared, Rik).
The Zambezi River in the gorges below the Victoria Falls is classified as a Grade 5 (out of 6) river. The official definition of a Grade 5 river, as defined by the official book of the British Canoe Union is as follows: "Extremely difficult, long and violent rapids, steep gradients, big drops, pressure areas." hahaha
We sailed through the Boiling Pot, Devil's Toilet Bowl, Muncher, Gnashing Jaws of Death and Overland Truck Eater like pros... So adept at maneuvering through the white water were we that we rescued 5 people (4 smack dab in the middle of our run down one rapid) and an oar - we should have charged commission along the way. However, our skills and finese translated into a very boring boat to watch on the video at the end of the day! haha

Over the next few days in Livinstone we relaxed, cleaned the baboon poo off our tent daily & slept to the roar of the mighty Victoria Falls. 4 of us hired a lift out to a village called Mukuni where we toured their roads, market & pub and paid a visit to the local carvers' workshop where they make their living shaping wood and rock. Did anyone find it absurd that they were carving kangaroos, sea turtles and Tasmanian Devils!? Made in Zambia for sale in Australia!!

We all had a good laugh on account of the 'language barrier' we encountered on our return ride from the village: Our taxi driver was explaining his family to us, having "2 sisters who are following behind." All four of us peering over our shoulders to see an empty road was met with hysterical laughter when we realized what he meant! (read: 2 sisters younger than him). As well, 'toilet' to most other people (apart from Canadians it seems) means 'washroom' not just the actual toilet bowl - so one girl's question to Klay - if it was safe to brush her teeth with the water in the toilet - was met with a blank stare.

What else?

• I walked across the Namibia-Botswana border as the truck went on ahead of me as I waited in Immigration
  
• I have spent time on the bus picking out the damn burrs in my lululemon pants (BAD idea to wear them in the bush)!
  
• There are so many Jack Russell Terriers on this continent! At least one at every campsite!
  
• So far we have had an overheated engine, a blown tire and a branch that was too low so we couldn't pass the road. We tried to yank it down by tying it to the truck's bumper but were interrupted mid-attempt and told there was yet a 3rd way to get to camp.
  

Such is Africa!

Until Next Time,
lm from "Can"

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