Can you imagine stepping out of a safari truck and walking in the African bush just after having spotted a leopard with her two cubs? That's just what we did! The leopard is known to the safari guides as Alice. She has two cubs and is quite habituated to humans and safari trucks. We saw Alice and her two cubs as we entered the park. What a welcome to the park. Then it was time to park the truck and proceed on foot with our guide Riva and gun carrying scout Luka. We asked the scout what's the last time he used the gun, and he couldn't remember. Yes, a scout is required for a walking safari, and the lack of a scout meant we couldn't go on a walking safari yesterday ... But, it is ... read more

Instead of an 8 hour bus trip to Lusaka followed by another 8 hours to Chipata and onwards to Mfuwe, we flew. The flight to Lusaka took off half an hour late, and they delayed the departure from Lusaka by the same amount, because all six people going onto Mfuwe from Lusaka were on the Livingstone-Lusaka flight. It was a small turbo-prop and the flights were bumpy but uneventful. We were dissapointed with the Lusaka Travel agent who recommended this lodge. There's no other tourists staying at the same place, so no sharing of game drive costs or other arrangements. Also, the lodge is 25km from the NP entrance. There are many other lodges that are much closer to the park entrance. The same travel agent also said any activity, such as a game drive or ... read more

Spent the better part of the day at the Livingstone craft market. They have the typical arts and crafts aimed clearly at the tourist market. Surprisingly, even though this is high season, the number of tourists in the market was quite low. So, the merchants were certainly ready to make a deal.... read more

Yes, Victoria Falls is one of the 7 Natural Wonders of the World, and it's well deserving of that accolade. It is amazing! We were planning on seeing it from both the Zambian and Zimbabwean sides, but Zimbabwe has recently increased their visa fees. There's no longer a day visa option. At $75 Canucks pay the highest visa fee and then add another $50 for a visa back into Zambia, just to see the same thing from a different angle. This place is heaven for Adrenaline junkies. There's white water rafting on the Zambezi river, bungee jumping off the bridge connecting Zimbabwe and Zambia, zip lining across the Batoka Gorge, Abseiling down the cliff sides of the Batoka Gorge, Ultralight, fixed wing and helicopter rides along the river and falls ... the list goes on. We're ... read more

A 16 hour bus trip from Mbala to Lusaka. It was the best bus I've been on in all of Africa thus far. It was German built, judging by the Emergency Exit signs in German, and there was one seat per passenger - a wonderful concept n this part of the world. Met a paediatrician and a school teacher on the bus. The yonug doctor was heading to Livingstone to see his family before he started his new posting in the Northern province. The young teacher specializing in handicapped needs was heading to Lusaka to try sort out a missing exam paper for a course he'd finished at Uni. The bus stopped every couple of hours for passengers to stretch, get food and visit the loo. As for the toilets on the route, they were generally ... read more