Blogs from Zambia, Africa - page 75

The irony of writing this on a laptop while listening to music on an mp3 player is not lost on me, I'm using electronics worth more than most people here will earn this this decade. The unemployment rate is basically 100% - most people scrape by through creating their own enterprise - carpentry, roadside stands selling anything you could possibly imagine (the smell of freshly popped popcorn is one that I particularly enjoy), barbershops, etc. It's hard to describe what Zambia is like to someone who's never been here, much like it's hard to describe America to people here, there's just no frame of reference either way. So my typical day - I wake up early, 6:30 at the latest, slip out of my mosquito net and try not to wake my sleeping roommates. Off to ... read more

Our flight from Dar, Tanzania, took us to Johannesburg again. We overnighted this time at Shoestrings Hostel which was great. Cheap, clean and the owner was really helpful, and it was close to the airport which is great for a quick overnight. The next day we flew to Livingstone, Zambia - the Zambian side of Victoria Falls. And there our real troubles began. We found out when we got off the airplane and were waiting in line at immigration that although the story is that Australian's don't need Visas, you actually need to have your accommodation prebooked so that you appear on a manifest. No name on manifest, no free visa. So although we had prebooked our accommodation that morning from Johannesburg, we didn't appear on the manifest because it is prepared 24 hours in advance. ... read more

So after the adventorous day yesterday, and experiecing the river from above the Falls, i thought it was only appropriate to also experience the river as it winds itself between the two countries of Zimbabwe and Zambia through the gorge, and so rafting it was! Well, let me tell you the Zambisi at low waterlevels is a class 5 river and one of the 5 best rivers to raft in the world (not sure who rates this sort of things, but, i'll take the word for it . so , after hiking down to the Boiling point once again, we put our rafts in the water, and our guide Melvin instructed the "crew" which consisted of three German guys, another American girl, a local "guide in training" and myself ( had to say good bye to ... read more

Once in Malawi we headed for Kande beach on Lake Malawi where we spent several days. Very peaceful with beautiful country side. We also visited the Zomba plateu, a pine forest plantation. We stayed at a trout farm were it was freezing cold. As we had driven in we had noticed a beautiful cabin on the hillside. Having thought twice about spending two cold nights in a tent we asked at the farm and were told we could stay in the cabin. This turned out to be a good choice as it was beautiful with fantastic views and a bed. We spent the afternoons on the balcony watching the world go by. From Malawi we then crossed the border into Zambia. Our time in Zambia could be summed up by Luangwa National Park and Victoria Falls ... read more

Yesterday morning I went to Lubasi Children's home for the morning. It is an orphanage for children ages 5-12. When I got there the children were gardening. I talked to the director for a while to learn about the programs. Most of their parents passed away with complications resulting from AIDS. The orphanage was started by the catholic church and runs on the funding of the Livingstone community and other donors. The children have made tye-dye tablecloths for craft time to sell for fundraising. I started gardening with some of the children, and then they wanted to teach me how to play netball. I understanding the basic concept, but the language barrier made it difficult. Basically you have to throw the ball to your teammates and then toss it into a metal hoop, but if you ... read more