Livingstone, World of Adventures

---

And so the madness begins...

Livingstone is south of Zambia, just on the border between Zimbabwe and is home to one of the natural wonders of the world- Victoria Falls or Mosi-oa-Tunya (the smoke that thunders).
It's a small town that massively benefits from the tourism generated by the biggest falls in the world. Named by the scottsih explorer David Livingstone, Victoria Falls is formed from the fast flowing Zambezi River and cracks in the ground, which now form a zig zag gorge around them.

We just happened to visit it when the water levels are at a 50 year high, so never again will the water be at this level again in my lifetime. And it wasnt just a statistic, you could feel the power and force coming down that rockface. It was an awesome force of nature that just happened to soak us straight through, its the wettest ive ever been without being submerged in water. It was worse than terrential rain. It physical forced your eyes shut and walking across a small swing bridge right infront of the falls was an experience i will never forget. Water poured off the bridge, our feet were submerged in rushing water and it was an effort not to loose your shoes. Nothing stayed dry, it was impossible it was like the water could fly and it would find you.
A friend, Tweedy had been instructed by her brother that she must eat victoria sponge next to Victoria falls, so we all stood eating wet soggy cake with the falls in the background, it was all very bizarre but igenious at the same time.

Over the easter weekend my time was spent doing mindblowing activities which just wouldnt have happened if i wasnt here in livingstone, which is why i love the place so much. On the Saturday a group of us went to a national park not far from camp and got to experience an unforgetable elephant ride. The elephants here are like orphans or children and are not capitive. One elephant, the one we got the delight to ride had actually left the sanctuary and returned of her own accord 2 years later pregnant! They like to get riden and are very friendly, they are so called free-range, so they spend weeks roaming around in the bush in their herd but are tracked and watched to make sure they are safe.
Our elephant maichumbi was extremely graceful although the ride was quite swayey(if thats a word). The elephants were constantly eating all the vegetation they could get there hands on and drinking the water from the river when we crossed through it. It was such an expeience and a little baby elephant was always running with us keeping up with her family. When we finished the ride we were allowed to thank Maichumbi by feeding her and stroking her trunk. I sat on her knee as she lay down and fed her pellets of maize, I'd grab a handful and the waiting trunk would wait for me to put it on there and she would scoop them away and straight into her mouth. It was so funny i think i was enjoying it just as much as she was.

That was the morning, and more than one person could dream of but this was livingstone, world of adventure and I had a plane to catch. Yes a very small plane with no door. No door that made insane people could throw themselves out of. Dressed in a full body suit that had come straight out of the 90's with lumo pink and purple stripes on, I had to practice first on the ground how i was meant to climb out of tha plane. I was going second and made it a bit more technical than just sliding out. I had to place my feet, one at a time on a timy plateform under the wing, place my head back into the chest of my partner and swing forwards after 3. It went well in rehersal, but 11,000ft in the air, wind blowing like mad and trying to place my small feet on a plateform was a whole different thing. Really not wanting to loose my footing, I tried really hard. Rocked back, 1, 2, 3....Wind was flying past my face, the world spinning upside down until we came steady and my mind took time to comprehend what was happening. The ground was rushing towards us but still miles away. I was buzzing, screaming, not screaming, taking it all in. When the parachute opened everything felt like slow motion in comparison. The view was incredible, the white smoke that poured off the falls was in the distance and the zig zag gorge spread out so that it could be fully appreciated. It sounds so cheesey but i felt liek a bird just floating, yes the height scarred me a bit but i was overwhelmed. What was even scarrier was when he said "im just gonig to adjust the straps that hold us together, it will feel like you're falling away from me, but you will be fine" HA i thought you kidding- Nope i was terrified! when he'd finished filddling with straps he then ploughed us into death spiral which was pretty cool.
Landing was a task all in itself, feet and knees pulled up as high as possible which really isnt that high due to my lack of flexibility and the ground rushing towards us, it was bumpy to say the least. I was constantly buzzing, my adrenal glands had gone into overdrive!
And then there was Sunday ....

---