Adventures with Toni Tours in Zambia

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This is a continuation of the trip that began on June 10th, 2008 in Capetown South Africa


June 16, 2008
The entire group was ready to go, before the crack of dawn, at 04:15 AM. It was a quick ride to the airport and check-in was reasonably quick. We had an uneventful flight to Johannesburg, with a scrambled egg breakfast served enroute. In Johannesburg, it was a long walk to the International Terminal, where we had about 2 hours to browse through the numerous duty free shops. I went to checkout the Wi-Fi Hotspot, but needed to purchase a subscription to use it, so I passed on the opportunity.

The flight to Livingstone, Zambia was quite cramped. South African Airways has squeezed in 6 seats across, in a plane that should only have 5 across. Those of us with “hips” had a tight squeeze into the seats. Luckily, some seats were vacant, so we were able to spread out and have a bit more room.

They served delicious chicken salad sandwiches enroute. We really enjoyed the bird’s eye view of Victoria Falls, as we passed over prior to landing.

Peter was able to check our group in together at immigration and pay the $135.00 USD per person visa fee, which is issued on the spot. We met our guide, Wilson, from Bushtracks Destination Management Company, who would be our guide during our stay in Zambia. We loaded up in a comfortable mini bus and drove through the center of Livingstone town on the way to our hotel. We got a kick out of the only 2 palm trees in Zambia, which were cellular towers, disguised to look like palm trees.

We were very impressed as we pulled up in front of the David Livingstone Lodge. Two huge hand-carved teak doors opened onto a view of African Art, hand carved wooden tables, leather sofas and African drums, against the beautiful backdrop of the Zambezi River. We were greeted by the staff with a warm cup of hot chocolate including 2 big marshmallows. We were taken to our rooms and met Betty, our room butler. The room contained hand carved closets, floor to ceiling latticed wooden shutter doors that slid open on to the verandah which overlooked the local flora and river. A beautiful desk and European King Bed artfully draped in mosquito netting completed the bedroom décor. The bathroom was constructed with heavy glass doors on the toilet cubby and the separate rain head shower. There were also double porcelain sinks and a footed soaking tub. There were latticed shutters that could be opened to provide a view of the bush, while soaking in the tub.

After getting settled, we headed down to the outdoor luncheon deck for an ice cold Mosi beer. It is the local Zambian beer and was quite tasty. It was reddish-gold in color with a light, crisp, malty taste. Only 4 ½ % alcohol. It was a refreshing respite while we enjoyed the magnificent view overlooking the river.

Wilson picked us up at 3:00 PM and drove us to the Mosi-O- Tunya National Park meaning “the smoke that thunders”, a.k.a. Victoria Falls. David Livingstone named them after Queen Victoria following his discovery of them in 1854. Wilson handed out ponchos for our trek, because he said we would pass very close to the falls and get wet. We soon discovered, that “wet” was an understatement.

We first walked along the upper part, called the Eastern Cataract, where the Zambezi River spills over the top edge of the gorge. We could also see part of Livingstone Island, which is completely exposed during the end of dry season. It is actually possible to wade out to the island and hang your feet over the falls from Livingstone Island during that time. Today, it would have been suicide to attempt any such thing, as the river raged over the top. The mist from the falls (a.k.a. smoke), completely obliterated the view at times, depending on how the breeze shifted.

We continued along the walkway to Rainbow Falls and Horseshoe Falls, where we got damp from the spray. We were amazed at the thunderous cascade that stretched out before us. We walked in land a bit to view the gorge and bridge that separates Zambia from Zimbabwe. Wilson explained about the layers of gorges that led up to the falls and how category 1 through 5 rapids, stretch along the length of the gorges, which makes for fantastic white water rafting. He advised us to suit up in our ponchos before we walked out onto one of the narrow gorges to get us up close and personal to the Main Falls. Once we got out onto the bridge, it was as though a constant stream of bucket water was being poured on top of us. We diligently plodded across to the rocks, where we were slipping and sliding on top of the algae. We finally reached the furthest point in Zambia. We were unable to view Devil’s Cataract which must be accessed from the Zimbabwe side. After enjoying the awe inspiring view and snapping quite a few photos, we carefully made our way back through the downpour to dry land. We were pretty much soaked to the skin when we turned over our ponchos to Wilson.

We headed back to the hotel where we enjoyed a hot shower and got into some dry clothes. It was an enjoyable evening, as a number of us sat in the wicker thrones, enjoying cold Mosi beers and a spectacular sunset that was reflected in the river. We headed up to the dining room, where we had a table under the stars. The menu had wonderful choices such as prawn salad, chicken cous cous salad, beef satay and ceviche appetizers. Main courses included tilapia, bream, pork cutlets, baby beef and chicken. All dishes were cooked with an assortment of spices and fruits. I ate the chicken cous cous salad and the bream fish, which is locally caught in the Zambezi. It was served whole with a mango chutney stuffung. Both were delicious. We were all impressed, when some cloud cover separated to reveal the Southern Cross constellation. There also was a beautiful full moon.

Dinner ended with desserts including vanilla bean ice cream in a sculpted caramel cup, banana spring rolls, white chocolate with berry and basil custard, and fresh fruit platters. We learned the head chef was from Germany. He is really gifted for the imaginative menu he put together and served.

We headed off to bed and enjoyed getting curled up under the fluffy comforter underneath the mosquito netting. They also sprayed the room and plugged in a special citronella light which helped to keep the mosquitoes at bay. The temperature outside was also nice and cool, which made for peaceful sleep, listening to the tree frogs and crickets outside.

June 17, 2008
We woke up to a partly cloudy day and a delicious buffet breakfast. We rendezvoused in the front lobby at 08:30 AM, for our trip to Chief Makuni’s village. Wilson picked us up with the mini bus and we headed off for the approximately 25 minute drive. It was a bumpy, dusty road which reminded us of our trip in Kenya 12 years ago. While Liz was in the process of passing out bottled water, the vehicle suddenly swerved, lifted up, came down with a thud and made a sudden dead stop, tossing everyone and everything forward and sideways in the vehicle. Liz ended up in the front passenger seat and Mikki was crumpled up in the wheel well. Everyone else’s motion was stopped by the seat in front of them, but cameras, glasses, hats etc. were strewn about the bus. No one quite knew what happened, because it happened in an instant. It seems Wilson swerved to avoid an on coming vehicle, and at that very spot, there was a cement drainage ditch on the side of the road. The vehicle’s wheels got caught up on that and launched us upward, and we crashed down on the front axel and got hung up. We were listing starboard at a precarious angle, so it was important for us to evacuate the truck. We slowly unloaded the truck one at a time through the driver’s door and stood at the side of the road, amazed that we all walked away with nothing more than a few bumps and bruises. Poor Wilson and Peter were a wreck, but our group as usual, found the humor in the situation, and just chalked it up to another adventure. We were very fortunate that the van didn’t roll over. Mikki really had us laughing when she climbed into the ditch, to retrieve her $20.00 lipstick that fell out of the bus through the doors when she got tossed into the wheel well.

We were entertained, that every passing vehicle stopped, to offer advice as to how they could get the vehicle off the cement support beam. Every car slowed or pulled over to check out the situation. It was the ultimate in rubber necking behavior.

Within a half hour, 2 open topped safari vehicles showed up to take us to the village. It was a very dusty trip, but we managed to arrive in one piece. Upon arrival, we were met by the Makuni tribe tour guide. She began the tour by pointing out the king and queen compounds. They are not married to each other. The king is chosen from lineage and must be either the brother, son or grandson of the previous king. He is chosen by a tribal committee of elders. The queen is either the sister, daughter or granddaughter of the reigning king. The king is responsible for the business transactions and justice of the tribe. The queen is responsible for the social functions and family responsibilities of the tribe.

The king is mentored by the committee of elders, that tell him to change his ways if the tribe is unhappy with his governing. If he doesn’t change to the liking of the committee, they will attempt to poison him. If he does not die from poisoning, then he must be buried alive, so they can choose a different king. The king is buried sitting upright on his thrown, wrapped in a lion skin. This actually happened as recently as 19 years ago. The king was a good king, but he became old, deaf and blind and the committee felt he was no longer able to rule property. The poison didn’t take, so they buried him alive. They waited 1 week to ensure he was dead and then chose the current king. This is an accepted practice, even by the local police of Livingstone, because it is tribal custom.

We chuckled when we saw the building with the neighborhood watch sign. This building serves as the drunk tank when the young men drink too much beer and disturb the other villagers. We continued on and saw how the villagers lived with each family in its own grouping of huts. There was one for the parents, one for the children, one for the grandparents, etc. I made friends with some of the children by giving them pens and paper. They showed me how they could write letters of the alphabet and simple words, like boy. I also met Tony, who served as our security guard during the tour, to keep the children at bay. He also asked us to be sure to look for him at the Makuni crafts village.

When we got to the village, we really laughed, that DHL had a shipping office there, to ship home any of the large wood carvings we cared to purchase. I bought a small mask of the king, to hang on my wall at home with the other wood masks I’ve collected throughout my travels.

We bid a fond farewell to our new friends and headed to the David Livingstone museum. On the way, we witnessed a research helicopter, buzzing some elephant, to chase them to another section of the park. We could see what looked like a transmitter, tied to his back. It was a self guided tour of the museum to see the diorama of the falls and gorges, the natural history of the local fauna, a replica of a local village and artifacts and letters from David Livingstone’s collection.

We stopped at the local post office and the local “Subway” shop enroute back to the hotel. We spent a quiet afternoon enjoying a hot shower and some cold beers. At 3:30 PM we drove down the road a couple of kms. to catch the African Queen Sundowner cruise along the Zambezi River. It was a beautiful boat with very comfortable cushioned wicker chairs, that wrapped you in comfort. They were clustered around tables in groups of 4, with scenic river views. There was an open bar and local type appetizers were served on plates to each individual. We saw some elephants, hippos and crocodile along the way and enjoyed a nice sunset that colored the clouds pink. Unfortunately, we missed the melting sun into the Zambezi due to low level clouds.

We returned to the hotel and had another lovely dinner. Rachel Ward, General Manager from Bush Tracks, offered us a complimentary safari drive the next morning to make up for the inconvenience of the accident. Seven of us signed up for the trip.

June 18, 2008
Evans picked us up at 6:30 AM and we set off into the National Park for a safari drive. The weather was a bit cool, but comfortable enough with a fleece sweatshirt and safari vest. We saw a large troop of baboons as soon as we entered the park, “monkeying around”, swinging from trees and pushing and slapping each other. They were quite comical to watch. Across the road, we saw a group of young male antelope. A little further along we found a group of Cape Buffalo and a family of giraffe who posed for us like they were Vogue models. At the next bend, we found one of the 4 white rhino they have in the park. He had 2 armed park rangers assigned to him as body guards. The rhino are guarded 24/7, due to the high incidents of poaching them for their horns.

We continued driving around for a couple of hours and also saw hippos, monitor lizards, secretary birds, orange spoon billed storks, hornbills, warthogs, bushbuck, water buck, and duiker. Funny enough, we did not see any elephants.

We returned to the hotel for breakfast and were picked up at 11 AM for our trip to the airport. We were happy to see Wilson again who accompanied us along with Evans. Check-in was rather chaotic, but the good news was that today they did not collect the $25.00 USD per person departure tax.

The trip continues on June 19th, 2008 in Johannesburg.

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Photos

Our group
David Livingstone Lodge Sun Deck

Sunset on the Zambezi River
Livingstone

Hand Made Crafts For Sale
Chief Makuni's Village

African Queen
Sundowner Cruise

Giraffe
Mosi-O-Tunya National Park

Cape Buffalo
Mosi-O-Tunya National Park

Impala
Mosi-O-Tunya National Park