African Trails- Zambia

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On the 21st of December we travelled across the border of Malawi and Zambia into Chipata, Zambia. We stayed at Mamarula camp with the Acacia truck. We were originally meant to go see South Luangwa National Park but we all decided on continuing on so that we could all be together for xmas (as nikki and I were to continue on to Cape Town). This leg of the trip was mainly a lot of driving from camp site to camp site until we reached our final destination- Livingstone, Zambia.

The following day we travelled to Lusaka and stayed at Eureka Camp. This was to be, what we thought was our last night with the Acacia crew (apparently not). So that night after we were all fed we all gathered at the bar for a few drinks, darts and our final goodbyes. It was quite an interesting night as we discovered one of the campsites pet dogs had been attacked by a wild animal. Here we were yelling at the second dog to stop barking, little did we realise it was trying to fend off the wild animal that had attacked its friend. The dog was in a real bad way and had blood all over it. It turned out the dog was attacked by a jackell, kind of like a fox but more viscious. We retired to bed leaving the dog in a box for the owner and vet to come and pick the dog up. There was little else we could do. The next morning I woke to zebras grazing right by to tent- super cool! I'm hoping the dog survived!!

That day we had our final truck drive to Livingstone. Here we stayed at a camp site called Grubbys Grotto. On arrival weather was pretty shitty and wet so we just bummed around, ordered dinner as we were too tired to cook in the rain and just relaxed.

Livingstone is in southwestern Zambia and is one of the gateways for many backpackers to visit Victoria Falls. It is also the hub for many adrenalin activities like white water rafting, bungee jumping and the popular gorge swing. Livingstone is also popular for being situated right on the zambezi river, where many partake in sunset cruises which allow you to see some of the natural wildlife (hippos, crocs and elephants). Originally I was going to do the bungee, but when I heard the girls decided not to, I didn't think I would have enough guts to take the leap so instead the three of us did a full day of the gorge swing and abseil for the same price. I'll save the bungee for another time. Personally I think it was still just as scary. So on xmas eve Rach, Harley and I abseiled backwards down a 54 m rockface and then face first (james bond style), we then did the zip line which is like a big flying fox where you are harnessed in and run and jump along a 100m gorge like superman and then lastly the crazy gorge swing. In a full body harness you can either walk off forward or fall backwards. It can also be done in tandem. The free fall is just over 50 metres and then the rope swings you across the gorge at 120km/h. All activities are completed once and then you are able to do them as many times as you want (for full day clients). So with that in mind, Harley, Rach and I made a pact to jump face first individually on the gorge swing then we would go tandem together and have some fun with it once we got the initial fear out of the way. Considering there was a huge hill of steep rocks to climb after every activity, we did the gorge swing twice as it took a lot of time climbing. We were unable to reach the record of 22 in a day- ha!



It was definitely a christmas eve like no other. That afternoon we were dropped to the zambezi waterfront where jay, nikki and some of the acacia crew met us for a sunset cruise down the river. You pay about $40 US for the cruise which includes wildlife viewing (hippos, crocs, birds, elephants), dinner and unlimited alcohol. It was a great way to celebrate xmas eve and to see some of our friends again. However I have always been a firm believer in boats and alcohol never mixing so well. Turns out I was right. That night I unfortunately left my day bag on the boat. When I realised it was too late and the boat had already left the dock and the bar staff told me to come back in the morning. I was so upset and angry with myself. But I knew exactly where the bag was so surely it couldn't go through too many peoples hands. One of the guys from the Acacia crew (James) helped me go on the hunt to try and get my bag back. As I had been at the full day gorge swing, my bag was full of many belongings. During our adventure to get my bag back, we nearly literally bumped into a hippo in the darkness. Thanks to a cars headlights we saw the huge beast and found a way around it back to safety. If it wasn't for those headlights, James and I would have been the hippos dinner. Looking back on it, it was a very dangerous thing, but I can see the humour in it too, what a day!

With not much I could do about my bag and being in a pretty foul mood, the rest of the group lifted my spirits and tried to celebrate xmas eve like we normally would have. We went to a local bar to celebrate xmas. Alot of dancing was done and many photos taken, it turned out to be quite a great night. Although getting back into the campsite proved quite the task for Nikki and I. The security guard was in a deep sleep and wouldn't wake even with our loud attempts, so nikki had to boost me up, in the rain, to a barbed wire fence and gate. We were lucky there was a makeshift ladder on the other side and we were back inside before we knew it and before one us became injured. The following day was xmas day and I managed to talk with owners of our campsite who helped track down my bag. Lucky for me, my passport and cards were all still in my bag. However, my iphone, cash, joggers and book (marching powder) were all stolen. Although those things were lost I am eternally greatful my cards weren't touched and that I still had my passport.



So instead of celebrating xmas day with the others and then later visiting Victoria Falls... I was at the police station making a report. The police barely seemed interested. However, they took me in their police yute to where I lost my bag and we spoke to the staff there (who looked guilty as hell). This was also an experience as all the policeman sat in the cabin whilst I sat in the back crate and later got called a Mzungu Crim by a local- translation: white criminal. I was far from impressed at that stage. Nothing resulted from the meeting and I was to take my police report back home for insurance. So apart from having a pretty average xmas, losing some possessions and missing out on seeing Vic Falls, I was still with people that made my day as good as it could be, regardless of the events.

Our group decided to do a secret santa a few days before and managed to find our presents in Lusaka on the way to Livingstone. Considering we had only known eachother for a couple of weeks, many of the gifts were of a joking nature, but they were still awesome. Harley had me and bought me a huge slab of cheesecake and a cute dress (clearly I talk about cheesecake too much or she just got to know me really well, super quickly) I was stoked 😊 I bought Rach a huge bulk size tub of peanut butter and a jar of jam with cookies as throughout our trip I noticed her obsession with the stuff, I also bought her a nice little bracelet. Harley was given an abundance of jewellery by Nikki, Jay was given a Taylor Swift magazine (classic) from Rach with a watch and nikki was given alcohol and a few other personal gifts that were of a joking nature. We also bought bernie a 6L pack of water and then a bottle of vodka for when his doctor says its okay for him to drink again. Most importantly, we decorated the truck with tinsel and baubles 😊 considering nikki wouldn't allow us to play or sing christmas carols this was the closest we were going to get to christmas and it was still great fun.



On xmas afternoon nikki and I caught a taxi to the border of Zambia and Botswana where we would begin the next leg of our trip. Our tour finished on December 27th but as we were the only two continuing on to Cape Town we were transferred to a different truck that had a group travelling the exact same trail. We had to make sure we transferred on a day where we could meet the new group before their truck got too far ahead of ours. So nikki and I left the others behind on xmas day. They finished the tour on the 27th and went their separate ways.

Next stop- Botswana: new truck, new group, new adventures!!

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