African Adventure - Zambia and Zimbabwe

07.07.2011 - 13.07.2011

7th July

We reluctantly left Chobe National Park and Botswana and crossed a very dodgy ferry into Zambia. Pirates approached the ferry as we crossed the Zambezi and promptly removed several crates of beer from the back of the boat and departed quickly again. That makes it sound far more dangerous than it actually was - as I think the driver of the boat may have been in on the tax evading scam as we crossed no-man's-land.

So, through to Zambia and the town of Livingston - named after the doctor that 'discovered' Victoria Falls about 150 years ago. We arrived in camp and relaxed for the remainder of the day.

8th July

Helicopter flight over the might Victoria Falls. Wow! Elephants and hippos sighted from the air as well as the falls.
Then we visited them from the ground. A notice outside described how they were not nearly the highest in the world, far from the widest and did not carry as much water as others, but, still managed to go on and stake the claim to being the largest waterfall in the world! They were tremendous - we got soaked as we watched in awe. A couple of hours later having walked the length we returned to camp and then in to town for lunch. Later we joined everyone else from the tour on a sunset cruise along the Zambezi river - again a couple of hippos put in an appearance for good measure.

9th July

To Zimbabwe and the small town of Victoria Falls. The town is as populated by humans as it is warthogs and baboons. The rumour was that lions occasionally emerged from the trees and strolled the town as well. We visited the falls again from the Zimbabwe side and appreciated how much bigger they were than we'd seen from the Zambian side on the ground. Again we were soaked. Later we met up with friends and had high tea at the famous Victoria Falls Hotel - built for Queen Victoria. As we walked along the path a wild elephant appeared to our right.

10th July

Marsha and I spent the morning walking with a couple of lions. Patting, stroking and walking with these creatures at the Lion Encounter Centre was a great experience. We then visited the huge curio market in town - avoiding where possible the baboons as they fought in the streets. Later we returned to the Victoria Falls Hotel for dinner.

Photos of Zambia and Zimbabwe so far.....
Us in the chopper