Malawi to Zimbabwe

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The internet has been absolutely shocking since Malawi....if it's available it is so slow it takes literally an hour to send one email.

After leaving Kande beach in Malawi we made our way to Zambia and to South Luangua National Park on the most hideous roads I have ever been on....dusty, bumpy and never ending. It took us 7 hours to drive about 60 miles. It was very worth it though because we spent a night in the national park going on an evening and morning game drive where we saw lions eating a buffalo they had killed the night before which smelt so bad we were all gagging. Some of the group saw a leopard but my group wasn't so lucky. Maybe another time. The park was gorgeous and we watched the sunset which was stunning as always.

After this we drove to Lusaka, the capital, another long drive day but we managed to amuse ourselves with various games and competitions. We stocked up on food and drink and then made our way to the Zambian/Zimbabwean border at Lake Kariba.

Our next adventure was spending 2 nights on some houseboats on the lake. We loaded all our stuff on and quickly settled into drinking mode. In the afternoon we went on a walking safari but didnt see a great deal although had plenty of fun creeping about the bush. Back on the hosueboats we had a fancy dress party with clothes we had picked up at a market in Malawi. Clothes that you donate to charity shops end up here and get sold for a profit...so much for free clothes. Some of the outfits were hilarious and due to a particularly potent punch we were soon all very merry.

The next morning, with thumping headaches we dragged ourselves off the boats for some more walks about the bush seeing elephants and buffalos along the way. By the afternoon we were all right as rain again and had a nice meal and chilled out in the evening with some people attempting to fish.

After this we headed to central Zimbabwe to Antelope Park near Gweru. This had a lovely campsite, possibly the best one we have been to, and we could do a whole range of activities. I put myself down for playing with the elephants, lion cubs and going on a lion walk. Antelope Park is a conservation centre and is kept going by the tourists that visit and camp in the grounds. They breed lions and release them into national parks and are involved in several programs to help the wildlife. The next day I was up early to see the elephants. They are quite clever animals and we played football with them and got to sit on them which was excellent. We then went to see the lion cubs and could touch them and play with them. The animals may appear to be pretty tame but they are still wild animals and we had to be careful.uckily the handlers there are excellent and manyt have known the animals since they were born and are recognised by them.

In the afternoon we went on the lion walk which was amazing. We were literally walking next to the lions and at one point they started to stalk a deer which got exciting but after a while they got bored and nothing came of it. We spent almost 2 hours with the lions before heading back for dinner.

Our next stop was Victora Falls where we were to be ending our trip and staying for 4 days. There were so many activities that we could do....most people opted for the white water rafting, supposedly the best in the world, down the Zambezi rapids. I, however decided that looked terrifying and decided to go on a jet boat instead and view the falls from a microlight. The jet boating was excellent...basically they whizz you around the rapids at high speed and do crazy turns which is great. The microlight was amazing...I flew over the falls in this tiny little one seater aircraft where you are not enclosed within anything...i dont really know how to explain it, you will have to look at the photos. Amazing feeling though and on the way down I saw aherd of over 100 elephants.

The rest of the time in vic falls was a bit of a blur and everything ended this morning when most of the group left and I crossed the border to Zambia to visit Livingstone alone for a few days before I fly home. It was really sad saying goodbye to everyone and we all wish ed we could stay but the reality is that im flying home on monday therefore this will be my last blog entry. Ive had the most amazing trip, met so many great people and seen some beautiful things, many of which I havent mentioned here otherwide i'd be writing for a long long time. If you would like to see pictures of my trip please visit http://nicolasbigadventures.myphotoalbum.com xxx

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