Friday, December 13th – Monday, December 16th 2024
World Tour Days 41 – 44
The overland tour continued with several big driving days to get to Livingstone, Zambia. The first day was about 7.5 hours long with a stop at Tribal Textiles to see how they hand make prints for furniture and decor. We spent the night in Cipata before heading off to Lusaka the next day which was a 9 hour drive. On the third day after an 8 hour drive, we finally made it to our destination of Livingstone, where we could visit Victoria Falls from the Zambia side.
Nick and I took a taxi to the Victoria Falls and walked all the foot paths. We could see everything there was to see there within one hour easily. There is a trail that goes down to an area called the “Boiling Pot” which is where lots of the water from the bottom of the falls collects with lots of force. There is also the bridge where people bungee jump from which was cool to watch. There were baboons with babies on the path and not very many people (although we were there in the late afternoon). We spent the evening having dinner at the hotel’s restaurant. It was on the water and we watched as sunset boats cruised back and forth. We tried crocodile on skewers and it was delicious; it tasted a bit like of a mix between pork, scallops, and chicken.
The next day was our highlight activity at Victoria Falls and our last day in Zambia. In the morning we took a taxi with Chloe and Alex to our meeting point for the Devil’s Pool excursion. The activity started off with a boat ride through the rapids to get to Livingstone Island. Once on land we walked to a toilet with the best view ever: water and a rainbow. We walked along cool rocks and had views of Victoria Falls and the gorge area. There was a double rainbow, and one of them was curved down into the gorge in a semi-circle. After posing for some pictures there it was time for the main event.
To reach the Devils Pool area we swam along a river with a strong current (due to the waterfall). Then there was a rocky area where we could sit and watch as people took turns sitting on the ledge that had formed right where the waterfall went over the edge.
Our legs could be deeper in the water but the rest of us was above. There were several small fish that would nibble our feet and legs. This would not have been a problem, but there was definitely a fish in there that was significantly bigger and caused me to fully panic. The first bite I got was this big fish putting all of my toes in its mouth. All of the pictures of Nick and I show me full panic, legs up in the air (they are supposed to be down in the water). It was at least entertaining to Chloe, Alex, and Nick, who were laughing hysterically.
We did couples photos, a group photo and individual photos. The individual photos were the coolest as we got to hang over the edge of the waterfall. The guide behind us would hold us by our ankles and we could look over the edge and watch the water tumble down. We felt the power of the water under us, too.
After our exhilarating time over the waterfall’s edge we walked back to the area with the huts where breakfast awaited. We were served a crumpet wrap with bacon jam, and an amazing salad that had watermelon, cheese, and other goodies. After that it was time to boat back to the meeting point and leave Livingstone Island.
A quick taxi to the Zambia border and we exited the country. The four of us loaded up our backs and fronts with all of our belongings and walked across the bridge to get to the Zimbabwe immigration area. The walk was hot and lasted much longer than what we had been prepared for but after so much time on the truck we welcomed the exercise. In Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe we also got to stay in a permanent tent with real beds rather than sleeping mats and bags. In Livingstone we were luckily upgraded to a full hotel room as the permanent tents were fully booked.