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Highlights of Victoria Falls

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We had an amazing time at Victoria Falls two weeks ago. Haven’t had any time to post about it because we came right back from Vic Falls to Peace Corps mid-service training. We traveled this time with our friends Kathi, Scott and Fallon who are just awesome. Not sure if I’ve said it before, but I’ve really love traveling in a group. It’s different than family vacations and also different than traveling just as a couple. Totally the way to go especially on activity trips like this. Anyway, here’s a few highlights of our week:

  • Hitching a ride in a semi-truck between Nata and Kasane. The only public transport to Kasane starts in Francistown but we had free accommodation in Nata (200 kilometers north of Francistown) with our friend Melody so we decided to hitch a ride from there to Kasane. We were really lucky to get a ride in the cab of a semi-truck where all five of us and our gear would fit. Since a semi can only go 80 km/hour it takes a little longer than in a private vehicle but it was definitely a unique experience.
  • Watching the sunset at the Chobe Safari Lodge in Kasane. The former PCV in Kasane says that watching the sunset over the Chobe River at the lodge is the best place to watch the sunset in Botswana. I have to agree.Jolly Boys Backpackers in Livingstone, Zambia. The backpacker in Cape Town felt so cramped that we spent as little time as possible there. Jolly Boys is big and open with great facilities. We enjoyed just hanging out in the pit and playing a tournament of ping pong. I would definitely recommend Jolly Boys if you’re headed to Vic Falls.
  • The Zambian side of Victoria Falls. The Falls are so much bigger than I even imagined. There was a lot of rain earlier this year so the spray from where the water hits at the bottom actually rises up above the height of the falls. They are just absolutely thundering. We got soaked to bone walking across Knife Point Bridge and through the rain forest. We dried up afterwards sitting in the sun and eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in true Peace Corps Volunteer style.

  • Fabric shopping in Livingstone. I had no idea that buying cloth in Zambia was the thing to do but it was all Kathi really wanted to buy on the trip. She was right and once the obsession started it was hard to stop. I now know what it’s like to be my mom who was a huge fabric collector when she sewed a lot. There are so many beautiful options that it was hard to decide on only a few! Altogether I bought eight pieces of fabric in different patterns, each of them two meters long and the average price only 7,000 kwacha (approximately $2.25). I’m still not sure what I’ll do with it all but so far I’m enjoying just looking at it.

  • Jeff’s Parents Gary and Cherie Blagg. Part of the reason we chose to visit Vic Falls at this time of year was because Jeff’s parents were visiting from Arizona and staying in a timeshare on the Zimbabwe side of the falls. We originally planned to arrive just before they left on Thursday but through a series of events ended up coming a day early. We tried calling before coming but couldn’t get through so imagine their surprise when five Peace Corps Volunteers showed up on the door step (and then three more came later that day.) We cannot thank them enough for their hospitality and graciousness.
  • Adrenaline Day. This was the true highlight of the trip. “Adrenaline Day” is a package of activities that we booked through Wild Horizons. The activities include Flying Fox (zipping on a line straight across the gorge Superman-style, Zip Line (like the Flying Fox but the line goes down into the gorge and you sit down in the harness), Abseiling (also known as repelling) and the Gorge Swing (jumping off a platform into the gorge, free-falling for 70 meters when the rope finally catches and you swing along the bottom of the gorge.)

    The Gorge Swing was by far the scariest thing I’ve ever done in my entire life. I was the last person in our group to go and was seriously freaking out the entire time. Felt like I was going to throw up, pee my pants and cry at the same time. But, just like abseiling Table Mountain, I had talked the gorge swing up to everyone else on the trip so I was pretty much committed to doing it. All I remember is walking out to the edge of the platform, being hooked up to the rig, the guide yelling “5-4-3-2-1!” then, with a push and a jump, I was falling. And screaming. Everyone else tried to come up with something clever to say when they jumped. I just let out the best blood curdling screaming I could muster. It was awesome. You feel like you are falling forever and then the rope catches and you are swinging. Absolutely indescribable. Everyone loved the gorge swing so much that we did it a second time after lunch. That night I had the feeling of free falling when I closed my eyes to go to sleep.

    • Posted by Heather on May 27, 2006 2:15 PM |

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