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Took a ferry to cross into Zambia, if i am not mistaken we are crossing the Zambezi. 2 other trucks are there to cross as well including the GAP Adventures truck. it was a short crossing maybe 15 minutes. We ended up paying 135 US for visas(Americans), Brits paid 140US while the Aussies paid half that! Drove around 80 kms before we got to Livingstone another cold ride we stayed at the Grotto Camp site, very nice with an enticing pool. Lots of overland truck parked but empty. That evening we got shown the activities we can do here in the Zambian side of Vic Falls. Went to dinner at the Bar and grill pub in town to say by to Audrey, we were told not to walk alone by ourselves, very dangerous and they have a curfew her as there have been some violence in town as of late, which got me to wonder whether we are actually in Zimbabwe.
The next morning ten of us got picked up to do a full day Gorge swing.(Trudi, Christina, Andy, Harriet, Chris, Me, Craig, Helen, Jo and Chrissy) and Kirsten tagged along to cheer us up, half an hour drive to
the Batuka gorge, I felt butterflies in my tummy as a saw the point where you jump off, We got the orientation and signing our life away then we started off easy by doing abseiling which was easy then the flying fox, as you get down to the gorge you have to walk or hike back up for about 20 minutes to do another activity, quite tiring but fun. It was getting hotter as well, when it was time to Gorge swing bungy, Craig went first then me then Andy then the girls, i was so scared but did a regular forward jump, got it out of the way, then w found out you can do as much as you want so we did some more after lunch, before then Chrissy who was in tears decided to tandem with Craig she wanted to do it as everyone had done as well, the loudest shriek we heard as she swung down the gorge, really happy and relieved, meanwhile us boys compete for the most swings, i suddenly had forgotten my fear of heights and became competitive, in the end I did 2 forwards, 2 death drop where you jump backwards with
LIVINGSTONE
GROTTO CAMP SITE, PLAYING FRISBEE IN THE POOL feet tied together and the tandem with Andy. On my third jump i felt my back snap as the rope kicked in and it wasnt painful but sore, did not stop me from doing 2 more. We celebrated with beer later when we finish it was a very exciting day for us all, the girls were very brave to have done it more than once. 53 meter drop and 3 1/2 seconds free fall. That night we went on the Zambezi booze cruise and wildlife seeing to celebrate Craig's Bday, he got drunk fast and lost his sunnies in the process, he was outshone though by Jack who started throwing up even before we got off the boat, back at the campsite party continued on briefly though for the birthday boy, Andy asked me to take Craig back to the tent as he was already plastered and ready for bed, some folks objected to that and trying to get Craig to party some more, Jen offered to take in Craig for the night in her tent, no problem with me, but the way she implied i take it she thinks i did not want Craig to get wasted too much
and make a mess in our tent, Jen and i both drunk had a minor argument about it, in the end they put Craig in our tent anyway, Helen checking the both Jack and Craig every so often to make sure they are still breathing,I decided to check them as well, Jack still sprawled outside his tent puking, we put him in the tent and puked some more so out he goes again, Craig managed to pass out after puking in the middle of the tent, since he had not eaten it was only water he threw up and was easy to clean, the whole night he was moaning and groaning told him to drink lots but past out again, next morning he woke up with a bad hangover.
We got our T shirts made to remember this trip by, Anna designed it, some sizes are too small for others, oh well..
Bush camped before Lusaka another cold night. The next day another long drive and we reached the Eureka campsite in Lusaka, quite nice place with a pool which i never got to use since i was cook group. Stopped into town to spend a couple of hours
LIVINGSTONE
GROTTO CAMP SITE, DAVE, CHRISTINA, BRIAN AND CHRIS the next day to run errands, bought myself a set of clippers so i dont have to borrow all the time from Tony to shave my head. It was a very popular purchase as lots queued up for their turn to shave their heads! Played darts with Chris and Craig, lost badly on round the clock against Craig. Left the campsite next day and stopped at shop rite to do more food shopping then waited a long time as Di scanned all our passports to get it ready for the Sudan visa as we are using an agent to do it for us. Good roads but quite a cold ride again, beautiful landscape autumnal colors, camped on side of the road. Long drive again next day bush camped 400kms before South Luanga Park.
Finally arrived at South Luanga National Park and staying at Flatdogs campsite, this is the 1st camp site we will stay without man made barriers to separate us from wildlife, we were told hippos, elephants, and ohters roam around freely so we have to be careful especially at night though there are spotters( literally locals with strong flashlight going around the camp to spot animals and
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CHRIS GETTING OFF THE FERRY INTO ZAMBIA warn us they are near). Did laundry and quick lunch the monkeys are already at it, almost stole my storage device as i left it to charge at the powerpoint, they stole some bread and fruits, very quick smart animals, one got in the truck but left quickly Lounged around in the nice pool, overlooking a waterhole with lots of hippos, you can hear them from a distance. That afternoon was game drive, sa quite lots of hippos, a leopard on the hunt for impalas, crocs, giraffes among other things, this park is noted for it's hippos. During the night hippos walked around the camp one came quite close to Chris and Jack's tent so Craig and i was very alert that night making sure we dont get trampled by them, any movement or rustling we jump and look out the window to be aware. the next day was a lazy day, some went for another 4 hours of game drive but it was relax time for me, swimming pool time. After dinner Chris huddle with us in our tent to watch Gladiator in my storage device, all the time looking out to see if hippos are close by, we
LIVINGSTONE
GROTTO CAMP SITE saw a huge one next to the waterhole that the spotter took us close to, he said it is pregnant. Running footsteps in the middle of the night,Craig jumped from his mat and we both looked at each other thinking hippos, but we did not see it!! Early departure, the hippos are still eating grasses near our camp, we braved it and packed up. Today we will be driving to hopefully get to the border with Malawi.
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Zan
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GREAT PICTURES
Hi Gil! Joe and I are having a really good time following your blog. Your pictures are AMAZING and you need to do a book when you get back home....if you ever decide to stop traveling for a while!!! Joe is going to Africa with Dragoman, starting Jan 5 in Cairo....our daughter is also starting then and she is going for five months! I have decided I would die in the heat so am staying home and looking at blogs instead!