http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Zambia/Livingstone/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Africa , Zambia , Livingstone en-us Wed, 14 May 2008 02:11:33 BST Wed, 14 May 2008 02:11:33 BST Off to Zambia Vic FallshellipA 3day stop in Zambia to see Victoria Falls one of the 7 Natural Wonders of the World. And that it was beautiful absolutely beautifulI stayed at the Zambezi Sun that was right next to the park. The greatest reason for staying here is the wildlife that wanders the grounds and the fact that you can walk right into the park as often as you'd like. Right outside http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Zambia/Livingstone/blog-271396.html The Zambezi and the glorious Victoria Falls are just breathtaking. The Falls themselves are the largest curtain of water in the world and words don't describe just how beautiful they are. The whole area is magical. Everything is so green and lush. Butterflies are in an abundance and it feels altogether otherwordly. Think RivendellGetting here was easy enough. We took the bus from Lusaka to Livi http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Zambia/Livingstone/blog-269243.html So we are now in Livingstone socalled after David the Scottish guy. There's a statue of him and everything.We went to Victoria Falls yesterday which was amazing it's one of the 7 natural wonders of the world apparently I'm so going to win pub quizzes and trivial pursuit when I get back. You get soaked when walking across a bridge so Ross and I donned our emergency ponchos which made us http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Zambia/Livingstone/blog-269235.html So there I was standing on the side of the road with the contents of my backpack disgorged on the new asphalt. There was a very animated man running in circles with a Zulu spear held high above his head. His war cry filled the air ldquoContraband Contraband Contrabandrdquo The officials had decided to search the whole bus and I was not the only one standing there with all of their posse http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Zambia/Livingstone/blog-260713.html Fri 7th march set off at 7am a few sore heads around Stopped in Malawi's capital Lilongwe for supermarket and a Nando's lunch After a bit of a wait at the border we crossed into Zambia. Instantly the surroundings became visibly wealthier nice cars and shops etc. A big change from Malawi the poorest country in Africa. Stopped to get some 'Kwacha' from the ATM. Long drive today over 600k http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Zambia/Livingstone/blog-258524.html HelloSorry it has been ages since my last blog. I have not had internet or phone reception for over a week. I am now in Livingstone Zambia and have lots to catch up on....Where to start....ZanzibarWhat an amazing island it was one of the most beautiful places ive seen. It really does not look real in the sense that its ridiculously beautiful We had four days there where we pretty much http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Zambia/Livingstone/blog-254338.html Arriving in AfricaZambia border crossingWe arranged our African adventure with the adventure travel company 2Africa.A transfer had been arranged from Livingstone Zambia to Chobe Safari Lodge in Botswana. Unfortunately no one was there to meet us at the small airport in Livingstone.After talking this over with a couple of taxi drivers the consensus was that we needed to hire a taxi to take us t http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Zambia/Livingstone/blog-240044.html Stopping briefly 45 minutes at Victoria Falls just writing that sounds ridiculous I have no idea why people designing these trips think that 45 minutes is enough time to appreciate one of the world's natural wonders was a bad start to a worse five days spent in Zambia.While I am certain that Zambia is a lovely country with a lot going for it my lasting memories will be of one thing rain http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Zambia/Livingstone/blog-239639.html Victoria Falls is known as the adrenaline capital of Africa. It has one of the highest bungee jumps in the world the Devils Armchair a pool right on TOP of the falls gorge swinging and whitewater rafting. We wanted to indulge in every activity offered and definitely enjoyed quite a few One of the highlights was whitewater rafting on the Zambezi River. The rapids were way more than we bargai http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Zambia/Livingstone/blog-239606.html i'm writing this eating a loaf of bread from the market as my breakfast in true backpacker style just ripping off chunks.so i need to fill everyone in about what i did for christmas. you've seen a few of teh pictures it was definitely not a traditional onethe friday before christmas kennedy and i got transport to mukuni village that's the main village around livingstone it's where the ch http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Zambia/Livingstone/Mukuni-Village/blog-233646.html okay finally posted some new pics....it's taken me two hours to upload these so the stories will have to wait for another day but at least you have proof that i'm alive hope everyone had a merry christmas enjoy new years and be safe http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Zambia/Livingstone/blog-230974.html just wanted to let everyone know that i'm still alive in livingstone i know i haven't written in ages... it's now the rainy season which means lots of bottomless puddles to avoid and loads of delicious mangoes i usually pick one each morning for my breakfast i'm getting quite adept at peeling with my teeth.so i don't have time to write loads i'm meeting a friend in town soon...but a few hig http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Zambia/Livingstone/blog-228486.html Internet is way too slow here to entertain doing another blog just yet so thought i'd just send a quick note to everyone to sayMerry Christmas.Weird as it doesn't feel like xmas here at all and sure its driving you all crazy that you can't get away from it at home.Anyways hope you all have a fantastic one and see you sometime in the new yearxxx http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Zambia/Livingstone/blog-227555.html 5 Dec The outdoors has a strange effect on Nigel he becomes an early riser or it could be that his blowup mattress has a hole in it and it deflates during the night but the point is that this is starting to feel like a bloody boot camp. When the idea was proposed to me I am sure it said it was a holiday which reads loads of rest and relaxation. No in our case before the sun has even ris http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Zambia/Livingstone/blog-225945.html Hi everyone Sorry to be out of touch for so long we have literallybeen in the bush for the past three weeks without internet access andwith only one very shotty spot on a hill where you could get phonereception. Is it terrible that its a relief to be back to moderncivilizationIn anycase for the past few weeks we were volunteering in a veryrural village called Sichili. It was very isolated an http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Zambia/Livingstone/blog-225360.html Hi EveryoneI will try over the next few days to complete this small travel blog detailing where we have been and some photos. Unfortunately we are back home already and have gone back to work so that we haven't had time to think or respons.We left you when Roman had problems with his hard drive but as all things as soon as we got home the hard drive behaved itself http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Zambia/Livingstone/blog-220048.html After our mammoth three day Lusaka Kitwe Lusaka Livingstone tour we finally arrived at Jollyboys backpackers in Livingstone. Very relieved to not be on a bus and very happy to arrive at such a fab hostel which couldn't have been more of a contrast to the place in Lusaka.Livingstone is the base for visiting Victoria Falls on the Zambian side. Next morning we headed out to the falls. It's th http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Zambia/Livingstone/blog-219573.html Leg three Southern Africa. We spent our first week in the selfproclaimed adrenalinjunkie capital of Zambia Livingstone town. The backpackers here was great pretty swimming pool and bar area and lots of chillout zones with pillows. In between working hard at doing absolutely nothing we also managed to fit in some of the area's many activities. Top of the list is a visit to Victoria Falls. O http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Zambia/Livingstone/blog-219521.html I was one of 10 lucky teachers to be sent by my school to a PYP training conference in Lusaka Zambia. The conference ran from ThursSat in October which meant that it ended right when our school's October break began. As the flights and visa were already paid for by the school for the conference a group of us decided to extend our tickets and spend our break down in Livingstone exploring Vi http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Zambia/Livingstone/blog-214986.html Hi everyoneWe SURVIVED The elephants on the Okovango didn't eat or trample us the weather has been in the most part good to us and we managed to survive the camping experience although we wondered the other day when the skies opened up and it poured and poured We had to take down the tents in the rain. IKWe are in Livingstone today and flying back to Jo'burg tomorrow. This morning we went o http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Zambia/Livingstone/blog-214967.html I woke up this morning with a determined air about me Today I said to myself Today I go to Zambia anyway after breakfastshowerwater bottle topping up I was off trundling through town feeling the temperature gradually rise as I did so I left at about 800 and it was already getting HOT I arrived at the border and had my leaving Zimbabwe stamp by the bored looking immigration chap I then wa http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Zambia/Livingstone/blog-213633.html Another week in Livingstonehellip.what have I done this week A whole new crop of volunteers came about ten of them so itrsquos been a bit of an adjustment 3 new girls at Mambo a Scot and 2 Germans the house is no longer the American house. One of my housemates had to flee the country his visa expired and he had to cross over to Zimbabwe probably the first white person to flee TO Z http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Zambia/Livingstone/blog-211142.html So we did the bungee and survived We couldnt do it together coz we just over the weight limit so we did separately Chris went first also first jumper of the day so tested out the ropes and seemed very calm and collected the model jumper Then I went and did the complete opposite I was absolutely pooing myself couldnt jump so kinda just fell Everyone was wetting themselves as you could http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Zambia/Livingstone/blog-208776.html i decided to voluntarily risk my life yesterday and raft one of the biggestbaddest rivers in the world the zambezi. okay maybe it's not the baddest but class 5 rapids classify as pretty scary for me. and when the guide with 13 years experience on the river warns you not to fall out on a certain rapid you tend to listen and take him seriously.everyone in the house at mambo decided to ra http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Zambia/Livingstone/blog-206936.html Hey again Thanks for everyones messages its good to hear from home We are still havin a great time. Teaching is goin ok getting to know the kids and teachers better which helps they are really nice people. this week i laura was teaching grade 6 and grade 4 as grade 7 were doing mock exams so im becoming known around the school they are all fighting over me hehe. Think im back in grad http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Zambia/Livingstone/blog-206599.html Hi everyoneso survived our first week of teaching... My Chris class of 10 year olds are crazy they get excited over a pen especially if its 'clicky' and when we got stickers out all hell broke loose they ended up eating them to get more my class are cool tho and they cheer when i get off the bus in the morning there are a few of kids who stand out more than the others steventrev http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Zambia/Livingstone/blog-204786.html so here's the deal i have a couple of incomplete blogs so i'm just going to combine them into one some things might repeat or be boring...life here has settled into a routine so sometimes there's not too much to write about.partial blog 1 After nearly 2 weeks in Zambia I finally made it to Victoria Falls the primary reason why Livingstone exists. After horseback riding was canceled due to http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Zambia/Livingstone/blog-204496.html Hey everyone Well we arrived in Zambia last week feels like weve been here for ages already Had a hectic weekend starting with bbqboozer with all volunteers then we went over to Zimbabwe for the weekend. We went on a lion walk which was amazing we were lying and cuddling 3 lion cubs although they were already quite large We then went on a horse riding sarafi which was ok but ended up http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Zambia/Livingstone/blog-203061.html October 2005The journey to Lusaka was a long drawn out affair flights on the overnight Kenya Airways flight via Nairobi or as most people seem to refer to it as Nairoberry. It seemed safe enough in Jomo Kenyatta Airport mind even if it was best described as basic. There was a long hot wait in the airport before another few hours on to Lusaka.As we were on a section of an overland trip it' http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Zambia/Livingstone/blog-203014.html So to get along in Africa you have to have a really open mind and just go with the flow my time in Europe was very beneficial for me in that nothing here bothers me the bus that you're in just got stuck in the sand and you're 60 km out in the bush no worries. Supposed to take blood pressure and don't know how it's okay. Someone asking you to marry them not today. Brave one of the Zamb http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Zambia/Livingstone/blog-202604.html