Don't Go Chasing Waterfalls...

At last, the epic tale of Victoria Falls. Its been rough week being back in Gabs from the perpetual vacation that was September. My phone was stolen on Tuesday, temperatures have reached 100 degrees farenheit (with air condition few and far between), and I’ve had frustrating exam experiences in both Parasitology and Traditional Religion in Botswana. But hey, those kind of bumps in the road build character, right?

Anyways, I’ll do my best to recount five of the best days of my life. Flash back to Tuesday, September 14th. UB Professors had finally decide to strike, and chaos abrupted around UB. There was really no physical violence or demonstrating yet, but just a lot of buzz about how the week was going to proceed. Batsi told us CIEE girls he wasn’t sure how long the strike would last but leaders expected until about Friday. Leaving any worry behind, my friends and I packed our bags and headed off to Victoria Falls for the weekend. The mad rush to inform our professors, discuss due dates for papers, and pack for the week flew by, and next thing I knew I was on the bus with Kelsey, Christina, Alicia, and Ranann to Francistown--. We stayed the night in a sketchy little inn and got up literally before the crack of dawn (read: 4 am) to catch out 6 am, 6 hour bus to Kasane. The Francistown bus rank was totally abandoned when we got there at 5:05 am. No obnoxious vendors stuffing Hungry Lion down our throat. As the sun began to rise, the bus rank gradually came to life and we watched big bus after big bus come for Maun, Gabs, etc. Not until around 8 am did our Kasane “bus” show up. We weren’t too thrilled we would be spending the next 6 hours cramped in that glorified combi, but at least it was progress! Things took a turn for the worse when the bus ran out of gas an hour into the drive. We ended up peeing in the buses and sitting on the side of the road for about 2 hours waiting for the driver to collect gas at the nearest gas station. People’s spirits were starting to wane, but I was still pretty stoked---we were on a spontaneous trip to VICTORIA FALLS! In less than 24 hours, I would be bungi jumping off the third highest bridge into the Zambezi River. The thought even now makes me nervous and giddy! The bus conveniently stopped at the Zambia/Botswana border before heading to Kasane so we got off early. To get into Zambia, you have to take a ferry across the Zambezi River. That border point is actually the crossroads of Namibia (Caprivi Strip), Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Its pretty cool to think I was standing literally at the edge of four countries…

The drive to Livingstone really put Botswana in perspective…you can’t even compare the poverty in Zambia to the worst I’ve seen in Botswana. We passed by town after town of shantytowns—entire villages made of corrugated metal and trash. We saw elephants, monkeys, and even giraffes in our drive to our hostel—now THIS is Africa. We also passed by the Royal Livingstone and Zambezi Sun where my parents were going to be staying- basically the definition of luxury safari resort. Livingstone backapackers was no Royal Livingstone, but I absolutely loved the set up! For just $12 a night, we had dorm bedrooms, access to a kitchen, pool, outdoor bar and lounge area, showers, and all the information we could want about Victoria Falls. In the end, we ended up deciding to do the Bungi Adrenaline Package and the Zimbabwe side of Victoria Falls on Thursday, the Whitewater Rafting on the Zambezi on Friday, and shopping and the Zambia side of Vic Falls on Saturday. What a plan!! We were pretty stoked…but even more stoked to get some food in our bellies. After taking out a mere 1.2 million kwatcha for our excursions and accommodation (equivalent of about $240) from the atm, We headed over to Olgas, a restaurant benefiting disadvantaged youth in Livingtone, for absolutely incredible Italian food. Call me crazy, but my pesto vegetarian pasta absolutely hit the spot. As I went to sleep that night, all I could think about was looking over a bridge into a bottomless pit…tomorrow was going to be an interesting day.

Wednesday was officially D-Day (death day?!) My stomach was literally in knots when we woke up the next morning and headed over to Vic Falls. We were joined by Jonny and Gus, two guys from the UK (Gus was originally from Lusaka, Zambia) who were also stupid enough to commit to jumping off a bridge over the Zambezi River…except they had drank 5 more beers each that morning so they were only slightly less weary than me. After watching other people take the jump (gorge swing, bungi jump, etc. we at last faced our fears. Kelsey, Christina and I headed over to the “slide” component of the adrenalin package—a zipline across the Zambezi River gorge. Baby steps. Alicia and Ranann went for the gold and did a tandem Gorge Swing. Watching them do the Gorge Swing kinda made my stomach drop, but my confidence was built by the “tamer” zipline. After the intial shock that I was attached to a cord hundreds of feet over the Zambezi, I began to enjoy the unbeatable views. When we got over to the bridge to do our Gorge Swing, the staff told us we needed to do the bungi jump first since there was such a long line for the Gorge Swing. I remember laughing nervously in disbelief accepting my very scary fate. As I watched Christina hop over to the edge and nearly chicken out of jumping, I got even more nervous. Kelsey took the challenge like a champ. When it came to my turn, I remember stepping up to the bridges edge and looking down to my 111 meter fate, my heart now racing a million beats a minute. I wasn’t so scared that the bungi cord was going to break as much as I was scared I would break my neck from the whiplash or have a heart attack. Arms straight out in the air and 5-4-3-2-1 Bungi! The sensation of free fall is like nothing I have ever experienced. I didn’t start screaming until after the drop—the shock of free fall left me completely speechless. It all happened way to fast as next thing I knew I felt the jolt upwards when the bungi cord bounced upwards. The bouncing up and down after the initial fall was to me was one of the scarier parts. But boy, in the few moments when I did open my eyes, were the views gorgeous. When I got back up on semi-solid ground (the bridge) and saw my friends, I actually started balling. I couldn’t control the whirlwind of emotions had overcome me during the experience. Watching people do the bungi after me was actually more terrifying than before I took the jump. The Gorge Swing ended up being scarier than the bungi. Because you are attached to the rope by the torso and you jump off feet first, the sensation better mimics what I would assume it would be like if you fell off a cliff or building. I came away from the morning feeling accomplished and fearless and excited to break the news to my parents later that night (NOTE: my parents had planned on coming to Vic Falls long before I ever contemplated in going. Vic Falls happened to be the first stop on their Africa Adventure and conveniently timed right when our teachers struck!)

After watching our movies and getting some food in our stomachs, we headed over to Zimbabwe to see the falls from that side. The visa and entrance fee weren’t cheap but the views were spectacular. We walked through the idyllic tropical rainforest to panoramic views of the kilometer-long falls. We took far too many pictures and ran out of the park before we got locked in when it closed.

We stopped by the Royal Livingstone to see if my parents were there yet and after a slightly confusing conversation with the conceierge, I spotted my mom and dad in the distance. It was so great too see them after such a long time. The homesickness I feel in Botswana is an entirely different animal from any kind of homesickness I feel at Georgetown. My friends went back to Livingstone backpackers to wash up before dinner while I watched the sunset, Zambezi Sunrise cocktail in hand, with my parents. Dinner was pretty ordinary and service was ridiculously slow, but hey, TIA. I said my goodbyes to my parents, knowing I would be seeing them shortly in my home city Gaborone in only a few days.

Early morning wakeup in Zambia for another adrenaline-filled day! We hoped on the safari car with some of our friends from bungi jumpi. After a delicious egg and toast breakfast and safety instructions from Baby Face, we got our helmets and life vests on and headed down to the river. The climb down the gorge in itself was a beautiful journey. Alicia, Christina, Kelsey, and I (Ranann isn’t a big fan of water and opted for the elephant ride + helicopter tour of the Falls today) were accompanied in our raft by an emergency medicine doctor from Miami who was on his last day of touring Zambia and our AWESOME guide Vinnie! Vinnie was, to put it honestly, THE MAN. He made us feel super safe and he was so much fun to be around. The Zambezi River boasts some of the best grade 5 (highest is grade 6) rapids in the world. We did the half day excursion which, according to the guides, was better anyways because after Rapid 11 they get a bit boring and repetitive. None of us were very experienced in rafting but we had an amazing and incredibly successful time anyways. I am proud to say that we are they only raft that did NOT tip over in a rapids. We did have one minor mishap—Alicia fell out when we least expected it in one of the smaller rapids—but other than that, we were golden! I would HIGHLY recommend doing the rafting trip. I different kind of adrenaline rush but equally as exciting. I bought awesome pictures from the day, but even those don’t do justice to the strength of the rapids and the excitement of paddling through each one. Once we were done, we had to walk back up the Gorge. The 30 minute log ladder climb up was strenuous but enjoyable nonetheless. Lets just say, we were pretty happy to reach the cold waters and juices at the truck once we reached the top.

After enjoying lunch with our river guides we headed back to Livingstone to clean up before the BOOZE CRUISE!! All our friends from the bungi jumping and rafting came along, making the cruise even more exciting. Open bar and appetizers for two hour as the sunset on the Zambezi River. Couldn’t have asked for a better way to relax after our hard day of rafting in the sun. Some of us were definitely seeing the hippos after the double cane shots and Zambezi Sunrise drinks—but hey, TIA! We brought all of our friends from the cruise back to Livingstone Backpackers to continue the craziness at the bar and pool. Fun times were had by all….

After a late start on Saturday, we headed into Livingstone to do some souvenir shopping. My bargaining skills were a bit rusty since my Asian market experiences, but I did my best to barter down the prices. So much to choose from but we all ended up with gifts, paintings, jewelry a plenty to take back to Gabs. After much convincing by our backpackers friends in Livingstone, Kelsey, Christina, and I decided to face our fears and head over to Devils Pool on the Zambia side of the Falls. Although the Zambia side isn’t as spectacular as the Zimbabwe side, we were able to actually go on TOP of the falls. We heard tales of people being washed over the Falls when they were in Devils Pool when strong currents came, but locals said this wouldn’t be an issue at this time of year (since it hadn’t rain in the region for months). We took their advice found a guide and started our trek across the slippery rocks and logs to Angels Pool. Apparently its only called Devil’s Pool during the rainy season when it is ACTUALLY hazardous. After maneuvering along for about an hour, we finally reached the pool. Angel’s Pool is literally the top of Victoria Falls. We took pictures pretending to fall over the edge and enjoyed swimming in the warm pool before heading back. Its pretty crazy to think we were RIGHT there—another experience you can’t miss out on at Vic Falls!

We met up will everyone else back at Livingstone Backpackers, including Timo and Nadja who had arrived to Vic Falls a day later than us. In true American style, we found the only Mexican restaurant in Zambia, and feasted on delicious enchiladas and burritos! It’s crazy that we were already leaving tomorrow. The rest of the Gabs gang went to bed, but Kelsey and I stayed up chatting with Hugo, Rupurt, Gus, and Johnny—our buds at Livingstone backpackers. We will surely miss their company!

After breakfast at Olgas, we were off to the Zambia/Botswana border. We reached Kasane in good time and flew back to Gabs, compliments to Air Botswana. And man was it nice spending the extra $60 to forego the stuffy 10+ hour bus ride through the heat to get back to Gabs. I was drained from the whirlwind of a trip and sad to be leaving such an awesome place, but you can’t be on vacation forever, right!? Well…the funny thing is that that next weekend I’d be headed down to South Africa for spring break!

PS- once I get a better internet connection (aka Linga Longa tomorrow or this weekend) I will post some pictures from bungi jumping, whitewater rafting, and the Falls!