Vic Falls
Trip Start
Jan 05, 2008
1
4
18
Trip End
Jun 06, 2008
Livingston,
Zambia
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
After Swakupmund were i left the last entry...
Well on the way though Namibia we also stopped at a place called Spitzkopee and did another desert walk with a bushman but he showed us the ancient pictographs that were painted on the rocks. Then out there after the sunset and we all had supper most of the group carried their mats and sleeping bags up the rock and we settled in for the night outside under the stars. It was fun and we had a great view, i wasn't so sure about the lightning i was watching earlier though and it seemed like we might get rain but we went anyway. The lightning was a long way off and had died down before bedtime. It did rain over the night, not so much that you would even notice though. Some thought it was their imagination..... only lasted a couple minutes and it was very light. Good thing too, as we would have had a very packed bus if we could get in, or the few people that put tents up might have gotten a few extras in with them.
Lions... want to talk about lions... well we got into Estosha National park and that was the first thing we saw that day. A female sitting off in the distance, but not long after that we say a male walking around and had a great look at him. Then another one in the tree line and the best of all were the three we saw together, at the edge of the road. We sat and watched them for over an hour. The female was with the older male but the younger one wanted her. She was having nothing to do with him though but that didn't stop him from staying in the middle of the others and trying to get a little to close for her comfort. At one point she had her paw in his face pushing him away, and not long after that he just decided that the old guy just need to be chased away and took a run at him. The old one didn't go far but it moved right up to the very edge of the road and we got an even better look at him. There were many other animals around as well but that was by the far the best that day.
Since it was raining, the water hole at the camp was empty, so we didn't have the animals coming to us but we did see them anyway out on the drive. But one thing i thought was quite funny is that we didn't see a single Elephant in the park. We had seen one on the side of the highway on our way from one part of the country to an other and one on the way into the park but not in the park... funny how that was.
We went through several other places but one that will mention is Ghanzi in Botswana. We set up camp and then a San Bushman family come and did a campfire dance. It was truly amazing to watch and to listen to, as they were so in tune with each other and their timing was uncanny. Then in the morning this family came back and took us on a walk and showed us how they lived as they are of the San Bushman people, that still live off the land in their traditional ways. They would walk us through the sandy ground with vegetation and dig up roots and tell us what they were used for, could be food, medicine or even for bathing. The one root was a big ball and when shaved with a stick could be squished in your hands and the juice for drinking and then also for cleaning and bathing as they did then with their children. They are not a tribe as there is not enough of them to be called a tribe but there are many many thousands of them still living this way, we only saw one family and it was very interesting.
Well it started to rain and rain it did. Not necessarily all day long but often enough that it was started to great on the nerves of many people, and many of the camps were mud pits. You had to look at the sand and how it had been moved with previous water, or if it was high ground and safe to put your tent on it or not. There wasn't much of a grade to really work with at times but so far most keep to the save zones and were not flooded out. Our stuff sure got wet though. After all it is the rainy season, what do people expect. Some of us knew but apparently others did not realized when they booked. Oops.... But i must say the tents we are using are very well made and kept us dry when inside.
Out of Maun, Botswana we took our tents out of the truck and took only an over night bag and left for the Okavango Delta. That was totally cool. After driving for an our in an open air 4x4 with all the people and our stuff we arrived at the water and met up with the polers. We paired up and went to our Makoro's and we were poled the two hours down the water in the delta to an island were we camped for the night. Would have to say it was the most relaxing two hours we had all had. You get put in these dug out boats sitting on your sleeping mat and rested against you bags and you have not much to do but lay back and relax. A lot of people got some sleep. There were many water lilies and our poler made a necklace out of them for us. While there, we were able to try poling ourselves which was fun and much to everyones surprise nobody fell in even though you are standing in the back of this boat with a long pole pushing you along. It was fun and i had no problems. YA Later some of the other had a battle and since no one was falling in some went out to tip people, which was harder then they thought it would be. That evening we went out in groups of 6 walked for 3 hours looking for wild life. We didn't see a whole bunch but did come across a herd of Zebra and wildebeests which stampeded out around us, (we weren't that close) but we could hear them snorting and the pound of their feet as they ran. And then as it started to rain again out there in the wild we got to see the most beautiful rainbow i think any of us had ever seen. You could see the entire spectrum of colours and the full half moon of the rainbow and the sun was also shinning on the tree line below it. At one point a second rainbow was starting to show a glimpse but it didn't last long, we were all in aawww of it.
We enjoyed the Makoro ride back down the waterway just as much the next morning as we did getting out there. And perfect timing as it didn't rain on either trip.
Ok so we hadn't seen enough elephants...that was going to change. As we drove on towards Chobe National park and then on a game drive, we saw loads of them. Still cool... Then on the night cruise on the Chobe river we saw hipo after hippo in the water. Man they are big....both animals that is....
So only a few miles left to go to get to Livingstone but we have to cross the border from Botswana to Zambia and we hear it can take awhile,up to 3 hours it has taken our guys before. As well there is no bridge across the river so we have to take a ferry. We were lucky i guess, it turned out to be no big deal. We tried to beat the rush and left really early in the morning and Our tour guys had never gotten through there as fast as we did that day. We drove up to the ferry and drove right on it, then the border itself wasn't a hard thing to do. Not sure if there really is any order at all in that border crossing as just looked like a mess to me.
I do feel sorry for the truckers though, as they are last in line to get on the ferry, all passenger and tour vehicles have priority and the trucks can wait up to a week to get across the 5 minute ferry. They do have two ferries running but only 2 trucks can fit on them at a time.
Well we got through that without a hitch and even the border crossing was cheaper then we thought. The night before they put prices to the visa that they hadn't done before and as an Canadian it was to cost us 110 usd but when we got there it was only 50 YA ,,,some weren't so lucky though... And then to top that all off, they changed to rules back only two days later..... hmmmm
So much for not raining... really it wasn't raining for a change... but we got absolutely soaked. Why do you ask.. well We went and wondered Victoria falls and it soaked everything (more then before). I managed a few pictures and carried my camera with a zip lock bag over it, but when you take it out to take a picture it still gets wet. (I was lucky though as a few people really got their cameras wet and they weren't working after that, and as it then rained later on, nothing was drying). Ok all the water was from the falls, in some parts it was actually going up, not falling down on us, but it's been nice and warm so it's not that bad.
I say that there but after we left the falls and half dried off while walking around the market and going to our campground, it started pouring, and it poured buckets. Lunch was trying to be made outside and we hadn't put tents up yet. It didn't take long and There were rivers were there hadn't been and by the time we went looking for a place to put the tent it was had to tell where it would be safe to do so. But I found one on semi higher ground in the squishy soggy grass right off the cement walkway so we could step right into it without going on to the grass and soaking our feet any more then we needed to. Or should i say get muddy more then we needed to, as sometime the puddles were nice to come across as they rinsed away the mud from other places. By this time we were all completely wet so there was no real reason to try and stay dry, it was pointless. But as we were going to be here in Livingston for 5 nights some of the group went and found a place in a hostel in town and left the rest of us. Not that most of us really minded though. But it was the first time that the tour guys had seen that happen. I had a new roomy in my tent (Charlene was sick and getting looked after elsewhere, so Shara joined me as her roomie was one that went to the hostel in town) and we managed to stay dry, when in the tent anyway. Good tents... The second night Charlene was feeling better and we then had a slumber party with the three of us. Good thing we had one of the bigger tent.
That night was a boat cruise (or booze cruise), and all you can drink so you can imagine what it was like after two hours. Then the party was moved into the auditorium for the rest of the evening. Some people were feeling no pain or feeling at all I'm sure. But come bright and early there were six of getting up for a fun filled day. Ok it was more fun then others at 6 am. A couple of the girls were feeling the pain now, after the previous night. It was however very great of them to have booked and done this tour with me that day, as it was my last day with these girls and we wanted to go and walk with the lions together. We all made it through the day and it was packed, after getting our orientation on the lions we went off and walked with them for about an hour. Yes we walked with them. We got to pat them and they pushed you around a bit and it was amazing. There were always several guys there watching their every move and doing a great job at it, so that the lions didn't get any ideas about playing to ruff with us. Then after were finished with them and seeing how we had crossed the border into Zimbabwe we took in the rest of Victoria fall's on that side for the border as well and Yes they are better on that side,there is way more of them to see. While in Zimbabwe we were told that they had never seen so much rain in the last 140 years. Ya for us.... We walked the the falls then walked our way back across the border and found our way back to the camp. There was a nice walk in no mans land between borders and across a bridge. On the bridge we stopped and watched the bungee jumping and gorge swinging. Not sure if all the girls really wanted to see that as they had those events booked later on in the week. After watching it, i don't think i want to do them, and i had thought about the gorge swing. I'm thinking not now....
The next morning i left Vic falls and Livingston to meet up with my next group of people that were also on their way to Johannesburg. A few others from the original group also went their separate way as it was the end of their tour, The main body of the original tour then got new people and headed north still on their way to Kenya. I miss them already and hope to see them at another time as i continue traveling.
well that brings me up to a week ago. but I'm getting there. chow for now.
