Z's and the Rain Cave

Zambia, Zimbabwe, Zambezi... I don't think I've ever been in a position to use the Z on my keyboard this much. I've just come back from possibly the best 24 hour trip I will ever have in my whole life. Upon the unfurling of my devious plot to get academic credit for a trip to the World Cup, I found that I could fly direct from Jo'burg to either Livingstone, Zambia or Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. Given the current climate in Zimbabwe and the fact that they have actual currency notes that say 10 Trillion Zimbabwe dollars and it still adds up to less than $1 USD, I figured it was best to use Zambia as my base. Their currency is the Kwatcha, and I enjoyed that 1000 kwatcha is about $.20 USD. That's right, twenty cents. I was passing out thousand kwatcha notes like it was my job. Hey big spender.
So I bought my ticket to Zambia, and before I knew it, Saturday June 12, 2010 had arrived. Ever since I can remember I have had a fascination with Victoria Falls. I think I heard about it on a Reading Rainbow episode or some other educational program when I was really young and couldn't get it out of my head. I knew a girl in Ohio in my elementary school who was from Pretoria, SA and I always thought she was from Victoria, meaning, Victoria Falls and i was incredibly jealous of her for having lived near them, even though my geography might have been a little skewed. So this mini-trip was the realization of a dream, as this larger trip is the realization of many dreams and so much more.

On Saturday morning I took a cab to the Gautrain station in Sandton for the first part of my adventure. The Gautrain (pronounced How-train, like the dutch pronounce Gouda How-da) is a brand new piece of infrastructure that was supposed to be a lot further along by now and very developed by 2010. As it stands, there are three stops not including OR Tambo International. But I thought, since it JUST opened literally 4 days before, I should give it a shot. The inaugural run of the Gautrain had been on June 8th and there I was, boarding it just a few days later. I enjoyed being able to take part in it. Many Afrikaaner families were taking a ride just for fun, and they took their kids with them to see what it was like.

The stations are brand new and very nice. The system works a lot like the SmarTrip system in DC. And the train was fast, quiet, and clean. Immaculate really. The stations were crawling with uniformed attendants directing you and showing you were to go. The stations weren't fully complete yet but they have ambitious plans for this Gautrain, let me tell ya. I had a very nice ride to the airport, and I would recommend it for anyone travelling to or from Jo'burg.

The flight over to Zambia was quiet and the real treat was at the very end of the flight you fly right over Victoria Falls and I was fortunate enough to be on the correct side of the plane to see it. Impressive doesn't cover it. I was so excited to get there and to start exploring I could barely sit still.

When I arrived my hostel picked me and two Spaniards up to transfer us to the hostel. I had thought about going straight to the falls and then coming back in time for the cruise, but what ended up happening was a more than adequate alternative. Once I got checked in, I decided I needed to plan the 24 hours I had really well in order to make the most of them. I sat down at the activities desk, with whom I had been in correspondence about what I should do. Within 10 minutes I had booked a microlight flight, a Zambezi cruise and decided against the game drive the next morning. I was all set. So an hour later I was picked up and taken to an airfield not far from the falls. Microlights are basically sophisticated hang-gliders. They have long wings, with an open carriage that hangs below them. I sat behind the pilot with my feet hanging out over nothing the whole ride. Nothing but awesome views all around.

Me in the microlight over the falls.

 The flight was incredible. It was much better than being inside a helicopter cockpit and not feeling the wind or the spray from the falls. It was expensive but well worth the experience. I have some really good pictures which I will post soon.


After the microlight I was taken directly to the sunset cruise I had booked. I immediately met some really great Irish medical students who were, as usual, fun and welcoming. We spent the cruise together and they had some amazing insights into Zambian health care. As part of their degree they are doing work in hospitals in Zambia and in Tanzania for three months. It happened to be their first weekend off and I was pretty fascinated/horrified by some of the stuff they told me. Every day I thank God to live in America and have the most advanced medical care available to me at all times. So it was an educational and fun evening. The sunset over the Zambezi was lovely and we saw lots of wildlife: elephants, hippos (tons of those), a few crocs, and an impala. They all come to the river at sunset to drink. It was a great night and after the cruise where the booze was flowing freely, there was a sing-a-long bus ride back to the hostel instigated by the Irish which continued when we sat down at the hostel bar to wait for the England/US match to start. It was a good two hours we were sitting there. I met two Finnish girls, one of whom was working for a Finnish NGO and helping organize humanitarian aid. Everyone in Zambia is doing something interesting. I met an American from UNC Chapel Hill who is working for a non-profit charity website taking photographs of the organizations it helps. He and I were buddies during the US game as everyone else seemed to be rooting for England. And what a game it was. Hope you all had a chance to watch it.

I couldn't have asked for a better crowd to be around in Zambia. Staying at a hostel while travelling alone helps and you can usually find people to split cab fares and such with you. It made watching the game that much better to have both Americans and English there. Lots of trash-talking and predictions. Watching the English faces when the goalie flubbed that save... priceless. So I was glad to be there. Though, later that night, around 4am a big group of guys came back and woke everyone up. I did sleep though, which was fortunate.

The next morning I woke up early and was at the Zambia side of the falls by 8am. I had my trusty rain jacket and camera and was ready for a wet and thrilling experience. Walking up to Mosi-Oa-Tunya (the native name for Victoria Falls, meaning "the Smoke that Thunders") was incredible. You walk through a path and you feel it and hear it before you can see it. Many people say that to get the full experience for Victoria Falls you have to see it from both the Zambia side and the Zimbabwe side. I had already decided to do both and the Zambia side isn't as extensive as the Zimbabwe side, as I learned. Zambia brings you RIGHT up to the falls where they are just in front of you and the spray right now, being high water, is enough to soak you through and through. I walked across a bridge that went right through the spray and it was like walking through a 4-way rainstorm. Rain comes up down and sideways at you but it's not at all harsh. It's really quite a thrill. I thought of when I worked at an outdoor store in Fairfax, and would have people test out the Gore-Tex jackets in the rain cave. I wish I could have sent them to Vic Falls. there's no better test for Gore-Tex than the spray from the biggest waterfall in the world. Coming out on the other side of the bridge you get a great view of the Batoka Gorge and often, rainbows. I have some good pictures there too.

Finishing up on the Zambia side, I began the walk over to Zimbabwe. Yes, I walked to another country. It was pretty great had it not been for the teenagers hawking their African curios and ridiculous Zimbabwe currency constantly. I walked past this big market they had at the opening to the Zambia Victoria Falls and everyone immediately asks where you are from and for me, they all commented on the US team's performance the night before. I imagine they all have a line prepared for whatever country you are from. They've probably seen it all. So they meet you, introduce themselves, shake your hand, then immediately tell you some big story about how they are a local artist and about their speciality. Which, oddly enough, is exactly the same specialty as 7 other booths in the market. But no no, theirs is the best. So it takes some navigation. And you can bargain them down a good bit. I'm still not sure if it's real but I got a beautiful malachite necklace for $20US which is pretty good. I still think I should have tried for less though.

So like I said, walking to Zimbabwe. The border patrols are pretty funny. It costs an arm and a leg to go between the two countries, which I guess, it makes sense. They know they have one of the world's most amazing natural sights and they sure make you pay for it. Between the visas and the park entry fees, I think I paid almost $150 USD when it was all said and done. But I do have some cool stamps in my passport now. When you walk over to Zimbabwe, you cross the bridge over the Batoka Gorge where lots of people do bungee jumping, rope swings, and abseiling. I did none of these things. If I had done anything I would have gone rafting on the Zambezi. It's at its peak right now and with class 6 rapids, it would have been one wild ride. Unfortunately, there was no time. I was really pleased just to walk along the winding paths and keep getting views of the falls and to be rained on constantly in the brilliant sunshine. Even with the thundering falls, I found the parks to be really relaxing and serene. The pathways have lush vegetation since they get rained on all day every day for most of the year, and it was really quiet. There were not a lot of people around and in parts it was just me, some monkeys, and the falls. It was a great morning.

I headed back to the hostel around noon to catch my flight and was very sad to leave Livingstone. I had an incredible time in the two countries and would encourage anyone, from anywhere to make the trip and stay a lot longer than me. My microlight pilot was from Baltimore and he said he had been living in Australia and then moved here into the bush to fly these planes for tourists. I thought, maybe I'd like to borrow a year of your life...