It seems like most of the world’s famous waterfalls tend to span two or more countries – as is the case with the mighty Victoria Falls separating Zimbabwe from Zambia. We made our way to Livingstone via Lusaka (the capital) and noticed the change from East to Southern Africa immediately. One Zambian woman we met put it this way “we actually have some order here.” The infrastructure is the most prominent improvement, including almost universal adherence to traffic signals. Other notable differences include the pervasive use of English and a more organized marketplace (with real supermarkets – mostly chains from South Africa).
Livingstone is the “jump-off” point for activities on the Zambian side of the falls, including the adrenaline rush bungee, zip lines and other even more hair-raising gorge swinging apparatus.
Our first stop was Livingstone Island, a small outcropping of grass and trees sitting at the edge of the “Horseshoe” section of the falls. It is here that Dr. Livingstone exclaimed “scenes so lovely must have been gazed upon by angels in their flight.” The Island can be reached by speedboat from the luxurious Royal Livingstone Hotel (no we weren’t staying there – but when we arrived by cab from our backpacker accommodation we were still greeted by the staff singing local welcome songs). After only a five minute walk from the mooring point on the Island, we emerged from the woods and beheld one of the “new” Seven Wonders of the World (due to the fact that it has the largest sheet of falls in the world – length x height combined).
We were already within 10 metres of the overhang, but our guide had plans to get us closer. We spent the next 45 minutes carefully finding footholds in the rapids to reach the precipice of the watery abyss (in low water season one can walk along the top of the entire length of this section of the falls and even venture out to a swimming hole at the edge).
Then the “big” surprise – a sumptuous breakfast of Florentine-esque eggs, cheddar scones and morning glory muffins, all served under a canvas falls-view tent.
The Hotel is so fancy they have their own walkway and entrance to the falls national park. We spent the next few hours following the various paths: down to the gorge (guarded by Baboons), along the drenching walkway adjacent to the falls, and to the border bridge (from which some newly made friends were hurling themselves).
The next day we decided to chance the “Lion Encounter” – a special program of walking with Lion youths (around 14 months old) before they are moved to be part of a breeding program for reintroduction of their offspring to the wild. It is one thing to view and photograph them at a reserve or park, quite another to accompany them for a morning saunter. The similarities to domestic cats is eerie as they roll around playfully, chase tails, grunt and groan and fastidiously groom, all incorrectly intimating the need for less caution – but we are warned that, despite their time with humans, these are still basically untamed animals.
Before leaving the area, I booked myself a helicopter flight over the falls (Les bowed out of this one). While we were able to view much of the falls area the day before, the river flows over several cataracts spanning 1.7 kms and so the best way to get context is from above.
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| Livingstone Island from Above |
It was time to meet our fellow travelers aboard a Zambezi booze cruise, as we were about to join an overland truck expedition for the next two weeks to journey through Botswana and Namibia (as it is supposedly a bit more difficult to reach the parks and natural areas by public transport).
For more Zambia photos - see flickr at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/thegoobers_pics/sets/72157626217136746/
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