The Smoke that Thunders

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Tim wakes up today feeling the worst he has for the whole trip. We both hope that as the day goes on he will start to pick up

THE SMOKE THAT THUNDERS

This morning we have an arranged guided tour of Victoria Falls. It starts from the Livingstone Statue and goes all the way to the Zambian bridge. We have to pay 240 Rand for park entry fees. Will have to query this with our booking agent as it was included in our price…

Near the Livingstone statue we see the part of the Zambezi River before the Falls. The water rushes so fast, it looks amazing, we can hear the falls, and they are LOUD!

We finally get our first glimpse of the edge of the waterfall. It is so high and so wide already and this is not even the main part! There is a lot of mist from the water crashing down, but every time the mist clears you get a great look at the mass of water pounding down. If you look up, you can see it forming a giant cloud above, this is what we could see from the plane.

We make our way along the walk trail with a couple of pit stops here and there for Tim, poor thing. Then we reach the point where our guide goes into his bag and pulls out ponchos for us - now I’m excited!

There are about 8 little paths that lead you to the waterfalls that come off the main path. Each one gives you a slightly better view. We stand close to the edge looking at the waterfalls with sprays of water coming over us, almost in waves, except for when we tried to video it, then it was dry as a bone!

Apparently the mist from the waterfall is worse in the morning than later in the day, but the fact we have so much spray is because the water levels are still very high. So knowing that there is so much water, all that spray and splashing has to go somewhere.

While walking we see some Impala and Warthogs wandering through the bush. It’s very green and rainforresty, just a really nice place to walk.

It was interesting having a guide, but to be honest, I think it would be more enjoyable and relaxing if you went through alone, then you can take your time and just enjoy it for as long as you like. After you exit the park you have to pay again to come in, so you can’t even come back on your own that same day.

TIM’S DARKEST DAY

We get back to the hotel and Tim goes straight to bed, he’s not a well boy. I try phoning the clinic where we got our Malaria tablets for some advice but of course being Sunday no luck. I go through the bag of medication they gave and Doctor Sam dishes out some meds, crossing her fingers!

Tim goes to sleep, his last words being that he won’t be joining me on the Sunset Cruise.

NOT QUITE A ROMANTIC SUNSET CRUISE

By the time I have to get picked up for the cruise, I too am starting to feel a little rough. But crossing fingers I head out to meet the driver.

In the van a 4 other Australians who are here for the World Cup, 2 are from Brisbane, 1 from Rockhampton and 1 from Cairns. They’re a fun group and try to make up for me being there alone, looking after their ‘orphan’. They tell me they also were unwell with the Malarone that we are taking for the Malaria and ended up stop taking it.

The boat is a big open sided thing with a roof, bar, toilet, tables and chairs. There is only the 5 of us so there’s plenty of room to move around to see things. All your drinks and also snacks and nibbles are included to the others do a good job of taking up on the offer, I’m being a bit precious with my tummy so just sit on water.

We see a couple of hippos and a small crocodile but apart from that, not so much wildlife.

When the motors are switched off and we just coast, it’s very peaceful. There are a lot of other boats on the water and probably twice as many again moored up along the rivers edge. There is obviously a lot of competition for the tourist trade here.

We bob along until the sun sets, lots of photo’s taken for Tim and then we head back.

WHAT A NIGHT!

All I can say is, thank God we ended up with this room with the 2 bathrooms. Tim spent a good bit of time in his and I became very well acquainted with mine, perhaps sick in sympathy (now that’s love for you!). It was a long long night, but eventually we both get to sleep, hoping that tomorrow will bring much better tummies, Tim has already opted out of canoeing tomorrow. I am still keen to go but haven’t committed yet.

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Comments

[Kelly Brice]

Love this photo!