Zambia & Vic Falls

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Well, I had some issues with my last entry, and probably could have just combined it with this entry, but figured since it was all finished, and I hadn't done and update in awhile I'd just start this one fresh for Zambia.

We were dropped off at the border and caught a ferry across the Zambezi river, the overland group on board wouldn't really acknowledge us in their hot shot truck and thus upon reaching the other side just sort of took off even though we were going to ask them for a ride into Livingstone. We managed to get into a minibus packed full of bananas after quite awhile negotiating, and even though we had a shuttle from the Hostel coming to the border it was about 6 hours later and this particular border crossing wasn't where we wanted to spend 6 hours waiting. The money in Zambia is really confusing, its about $3 USD to $10,000 kwacha, so prices went up drastically and it took us awhile to figure out what was going on. The sleazy black market money changers on the highway tried their best to rip me off, first of all by claiming 65 x 600 was only 8,000 kwacha and then after proving them wrong they then tried to give me counterfeit bills, and after thwarting them on that attempt they tried to give me 500 bills as 5,000 bills, yes I know I was only changing about $12.00 but that's not really the point. We made it into Livingstone and are staying at a really nice Hostel, finally after three weeks of Africa we are in an affordable place at $6 a night. Ryan and I were reflecting how great Africa has been so far with all the camping, noting that since arriving here we have only stayed in three hostels. This one however is really awesome with a pool, big kitchen and even a view of the falls (well just the mist).

It was hard to stay up much past sunset our first night here after so many days of going to bed around 7:00pm and waking up at 5:00am, so I don't think our dorm mates were impressed much, Ryan and I standing outside the grocery store waiting for it to open because our sleep schedules are so messed up. Internet was down in Livingstone (yes the whole town) for quite awhile but we've managed to get back in touch with everyone.

Yesterday we visited the falls, which we weren't even sure we would do because of the price, and because we saw the ones in Brazil already. It turned out to be really cheap though with a free shuttle to the park and then only a $10 entrance fee (worth it I guess for "1 of the 7 Natural Wonders of the World") but not before crossing the river into Zimbabwe and watching some new friends from the Hostel bungee jump.

The falls were great, although the funny part of it was that you can't really actually see them because there is so much water going over them it gets thrown upwards in this canyon creating so much mist you can't see 10m in front of you. It was like standing in a shower to even attempt a view from the opposite side of them. We had a good time anyways hiking down to the "boiling pot" which was basically the bottom where the water falls and basically feels like some sort of sideways shower. We had a night out on the town in Livingstone where a bunch of locals pawed at me and touched blond hair for the first time, Livingstone is a bit of a focal point for backpackers so it seems every night there is some sort of going away party, but Ryan and I are up for it and are biding our time before going into Zimbabwe on Monday in an attempt to get to the Indian Ocean. Tears streamed down our faces this morning as Charlie left us, leaving behind only a home address and a local phone number for if we go to Brisbane one day (I get a kick out the fact he doesn't have an email address) so Ryan and I are now Aussyless. On a final note -Steve, if you want any of my photos for wallpapers you are going to have to pay me.

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Photos

The Edge
No safety railings here (Dad would love it) just walk up and see how close you can get.

Livingstone
Just hanging out the pillow pit at our Hostel, life is good when you have a bed again.

Zambezi River
As seen from the bridge between Zambia and Zimbabwe where the English fellows decided to test their fate with an expensive bungee jump.

Vic Falls
There they are, in all their glory. Discovered by Dr. Livingstone in 1855 (unless I'm mistaken).

Freezing Pool
Cold for Africa, warm for B.C. this unheated pool is great morning, noon or night.

Comments

[Steve]

Mucho kwacha
I'll pay you $1,304 kwacha for 10 photos, the kwacha dollar is pretty good right now. I love how your biggest problem is hippos keeping you awake, great stories, keep em coming tiger.