Zambia and Zimbabwe: Victoria Falls

Our journey to Vic Falls began with a minibus to the Zambia/Malawi border out of Lilongwe. This took about 2 hours. Once at the border, we had to go through customs to get into Zambia. Across the border we traded some money (and discovered later that we got ripped off). We stuffed 6 people in a cab and headed towards Chipata (about a 30 min ride from the border). The idea was to catch a bus in Chipata that afternoon towards Lusaka. However, once we got to the bus depot in Chipata, we were told that the next bus didn't leave until 5 am. It was 1 pm. We haggled with some different bus companies and found the cheapest rate and bought our tickets for the 5 am bus. The bus company told us we could sleep on the bus (as we would discover, this is what Zambians do). So we had about 16 hours to kill before our bus left. What to do? Drink? Check. Go out with locals to shady neighborhood bars? Check. Get so drunk that we puke all over the bus? Ummm, check.... for one person in our group (not me). To protect her identity and help her keep one last shred of dignity, I won't tell the rest of that story. Let's just say it was an awful night and an awful bus ride to Lusaka. It was so bumpy I couldn't stay in my seat. I think we were on the bus for about 15 hours total. Once in Lusaka, we avoided a few scuffles at the uber-sketchy bus station and caught another bus to Livingstone (which is 10 km from Vic Falls). This bus ride was a breeze in comparison to the bus from Chipata to Lusaka. It was still a long ride but we had better seats and were able to sleep some (plus we weren't sitting in puke anymore).

My traveling companions Jackie and Christine on a mini-bus to the border

hitching to Lilongwe

hitching to Lilongwe

On the bus in Chipata

This will not end well....

Once in Livingstone, the traveling drama continued as we were turned away from not one, not two, but three hostels. Everything is town was full! Finally we discovered one place that had exactly three spots left. We weren't able to all sleep in the same dorm but we had a vertical place to lie down so we were happy. The next morning we got evicted because Jollyboys Camp was full for the next night. After much worrying over where to stay that night, we were able to strike a deal with them to stay in one of their cabanas. This was a private room that cost a lot more but we were happy. Time to hit up Vic Falls! The hostel offered a free shuttle to the falls so we took advantage of that. Walking into the park we could hear the water crashing down on the rocks at the bottom of the falls. We walked into the park, over a ridge and this is what we saw:

The most amazing thing ever!!!! All the hassle of traveling was worth it.

Apart from the falls, the first thing I noticed were the baboons! As we would find out later, these things can be quite nasty (more on that later).

Don't be fooled, these things are vicious!

After seeing the initial amazing view of Vic Falls, we headed down a steep, wet staircase. We saw people coming back up the staircase wearing ponchos and drenched clothes. It was time to put on the raincoat I brought. We continued down the stairs and across a bridge that spans the falls. I'm glad I brought my raincoat because you get absolutely drenched! I felt like it was raining upwards. I couldn't get any pictures of the bridge because I couldn't take my camera out due to the mist. We were able to look down over the falls but there was so much mist you couldn't see the bottom. I just stood there with my arms outstretched and tried to take in the enormity of it all. It was truly an amazing experience. If you ever get a chance, please go see Victoria Falls. Most. Amazing. Place. Ever.

Little did I know, I would jump off the bridge in the background the following day.

This is literally the edge of the falls. This is how close you can get.

We walked around the falls for a few hours and decided to go watch the sunset from a ridge across the river.

We kept seeing large groups of baboons everywhere and wondered why there were no other humans around. Suddenly, we came across a huge male baboon on the path. I had a bag of souvenirs in my hand. He walked up to me and grabbed the bag out of my hand. When he didn't find food inside, he threw it on the ground and moved on to Christine. He grabbed her purse and bag of items. She started kicking and screaming at him. Then the baboon walked up to Jackie and tried to take her stuff. He got up on his hind legs and was about to attack Jackie. We tried to get the baboon on the other side of us so we could run the other direction. Christine really took charge and starting grunting at the baboon to get him to back off. Jackie and I started running the other way but were worried that the baboons would chase us. Eventually we got the three of us out of there but needless to say we were really shaken up. We found a safe, baboon-less spot to wait for the lunar rainbow.

What's a lunar rainbow you ask? The day before, the day of, and the day after a full moon, there is so much light from the moon that it reflects on the mist coming off the falls and creates a rainbow over the falls. We just happened to be there on the day after the full moon. The park stays open late on these days for night viewing of the lunar rainbow. Another amazing thing we got to see at Victoria Falls. I couldn't get a picture of the rainbow so you'll just have to go and see for yourself!

Day 2: Bunji jumping

Somehow, Christine talked Jackie and me into bunji jumping, even though we were terrified.

What have you gotten me into Christine??

The bunji spot is located on the bridge between Zambia and Zimbabwe spanning the Zambezi river. The jump is 111m, which is the 3rd largest in the world. We headed to the bridge and paid to bunji, and then walked out to the center of the bridge to await our doom.

The bunji site

View from the bridge

We had to wait for probably an hour before it was our turn. We sat around in harnesses watching people bunji and listening to their blood-curdling screams. I was super anxious and couldn't talk to anyone for fear of puking. Finally, it was my turn. They made me take my shoes off so they wouldn't go flying when I jumped. They strapped my legs together and I hopped to the edge of the bridge. They told me to put my arms out and jump. So I did. I can't believe I actually jumped. The free fall went by really fast. I don't remember much other than feeling like I was flipping sideways. The rope caught and I started spinning. I just kept spinning and spinning. I remember being super dizzy and wishing they would come and rescue me. Finally a man rappelled down and turned me upright. They pulled me up to the bridge and I walked across to the Zimbabwe side and back to the middle where Christine and Jackie were waiting for me. I am glad I was able to have this experience but it's not something I would ever do again!

Awaiting my turn

5-4-3-2-1-Bunji!

Next post: Safari in Botswana, the most ridiculous bus ride ever, and getting stuck in Malawi due to civil unrest