We were up early for a short hike to the second catarac of Victoria Falls walking along the rim of the Zambezi Gorge in Zambia. Victoria Falls is actually located in Zambia but some of the best views of the entire falls are from the Zimbabwe side. We returned to the Zambezi Sun for a wonderful African outdoor breakfast after which we were picked up by our Wilderness Safari guides for a walking tour to Victoria Falls. We did some bouldering to get great photo vantage points of the falls and the "smoke that thunders" in the distance. We decided to head out on our own to cross the Victoria Falls Bridge which connects Zambia and Zimbabwe since Hilary wanted to bungy jump off the bridge! We made a wrong turn which turned out to be a great adventure as we were soon surrounded by a colony of baboons. Remembering not to smile and show our teeth which is viewed as an act of aggression by babooons, we were finally able to relax realizing the baboons were not going to attack us. We delighted in watching their antics....seeing babies carried under their mother's tummies and on their backs, seeing them play and fight, seeing the mother picking things out of her baby's hair and seeing Big Daddy do the vertical mambo - can't keep a good man down! A native spotted us on the wrong side of the fence and directed us around to the path to the bridge. We needed to clear customs to go out on the bridge since it is a border crossing. The native followed us like a puppy reciting all the names of the US Presidents in reverse order - he got them all right and would shame most American kids his age!
He showed us to the bungy jumping site where we watched a mom and son do the "swing" which is a take-off on bungy jumping - looked like great breathless fun! Hilary was so ready to give it a try but unfortunately there was a line ahead of us and their "irregular" business hours made it impossible to fit our schedule. Besides, it was 10am and we had managed to claim the last seats on the 10:30am launch to Livingstone Island, the location in the middle of the Zambezi River where David Livingstone first viewed Victoria Falls. We took the obligatory photos at the Zimbabwe border crossing and purchased a copper friendship bracelet from our presidential-reciting friend! Our guide, Angel, actually gave Hilary his copper bracelet!
The ULTIMATE Victoria Falls experience was about to be ours! Our Wilderness Safari guides picked us up at the bridge and whisked us to the Royal Livingstone Hotel for our launch to Livingstone Island - the ultimate place to view the falls - from the top of the main catarac. The view of the "smoke that thunders" from the Royal Livingstone is spectacular - the incredible spray created by the thundering falls rises high in the sky and whets your appetite for what lies ahead! It took about ten minutes to reach Livingstone Island, a primitive island that has only two structures - the "loo with a view" (open air toilet facing the falls) and a lovely canopy tent for the delicious eggs benedict brunch that followed our ultimate Victoria Falls experience.
With four guides 14 of us swam the currents of the Zambezi River to a rock located above Devil's Pool, on the very rim of Victoria Falls - a few feet from where it drops 328 feet into the gorge below! It was the ultimate thrill to swim in the pool and sit on the very rim of the falls with a double rainbow as our backdrop - simply incredible! One of the guides had taken our cameras in a water-proof bag and took countless photos of the experience! Folks watching us from the Zimbabwe side were in disbelief - waving wildly, snapping photos and giving us the thumbs up - surely wishing they could join for this once-in-a-lifetime thrill! One of our guides had removed his shorts for Hilary's use since she came without a bathing suit!
We swam back the way we came, enjoyed bunch and then returned to our hotel for some pool time and a walk around the grounds where we saw zebra, giraffe and monkies. A beautiful three hour sundowner cruise on the African Queen as the sun was setting on the Zambezi River revealed hippos, crocodile, elephants, cape bufflo and impala all along the banks. We capped the day with a five-star dinner at the Royal Livingstone Hotel where Charlie enjoyed crocodile curry - yummy! Hilary befriended a lovely native lady named Martha who worked for the hotel. She couldn't get enough conversation about the US election and, like all Africans we met, is pulling for Obama for President!
Zambia's much beloved president died suddenly of a stroke at age 59 just days before our arrival and his state funeral was being held on Wednesday, September 3. He is credited with turning the country around and making it a viable economy and democracy. He was also purging the country of corruption. Billboards along the roadsides reflected his government's campaign to rid the county of corruption. We returned to our hotel to learn that our hoped-for early morning mircolite flight over Victoria Falls would not be possible because of our departure time to drive to the Zambia-Botswana border to begin our safari. We went to bed with huge smiles for the "on the edge" day we so enjoyed in Zambia!
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