Trip to Zambia - Part 4 (Victoria Falls!!!!)

I had a lovely swim in the pool the night before we went to the Falls. The water was the perfect temperature and the stars above were gorgeous. It was mid-morning before we were actually on our way to Victoria Falls and I loved the anticipation of not really knowing what to expect. We saw monkeys almost immediately and we were warned repeatedly to put away any food or even just a plastic bag that we might have out because the monkeys would try to take it. Kalengule told us of a time when he had brought his family to the Falls and left a window open in the car while his kids were in the back. A monkey came right into the car and snatched an orange! Though it was an amusing story, I’m sure it would be a little scary to see a baboon coming towards you.

We saw the statue of David Livingstone and heard the Falls long before we saw them. I’ve been to Niagra Falls, but I knew this would greatly surpass them; and boy did it!! My pictures don’t do it justice, which I knew they wouldn’t, but I tried anyway. I also took some video clips and they capture some of the roar from the water, but still don’t give the complete picture of actually being at the Falls.

Kalengule was prepared with a poncho and Kayla and I had our umbrellas; we should’ve just worn our swimsuits with how drenched we got. J There is a bridge called ‘Knife’s Point’ and when it is clear, you can see straight to the bottom of the Falls. We were lucky to be at Victoria Falls during the rainy season because the waterfalls were thick, loud and powerful. We were told that during the dry season, the Falls are sometimes no greater than a trickle. The mist from the waterfalls was covering the bridge, so we couldn’t really see down very far, but it was still a magnificent sight. There were walkways created through the greenery looking to the Falls and in the surrounding area. Some of the views from these areas reminded me of some mountaintop views from back home in the US. I was especially reminded of our long ago church white water rafting outings on the Youghiogheny River in Ohiopyle, PA. Our walk down to the ‘Boiling Pot’ brought fond memories of our ‘wet rafts’ & ‘dry rafts’ as we made our way down the river.

It was no small feat to see the Boiling Pot. In order to get down to it, we had to walk down 629 meters (for my fellow Americans who can’t convert that in your head, that’s about 1800 feet). You know the old saying ‘What goes up, must come down’. Well, the opposite was true in our case. As we trekked down the mountainside, all I could think was, “We have to come back up this way. This path is steep. We’re still going down, how much farther do we have to go?” Despite some of my misgivings, I was so glad we hiked down the mountainside. The area is called the Boiling Pot because that is exactly what it looks like. The water from the falls rushes into the area and churns the water before continuing down the river into Zimbabwe. Even though we are just around the corner from the Falls, the roar from them is barely audible; muffled by the trees and mountains all around us. Though I had worried about our hike back up the mountain, we kept a slow and steady pace and made it to the top much faster than I expected. I have no doubt God’s angels were helping us along. J

Once we got back in the car, we couldn’t tell if we were more wet from the water or our sweat from the hike. Nsama was prepared with some fruit and chicken for us to snack on – a welcome treat after our expedition. After our rest, we headed on to a Wildlife Park in hopes to see some animals in their natural habitat. It was a slow start to see any life in the park. We were able to drive in our own vehicle, but we didn’t have a guide so Kalengule was just told to keep his car on the roads that looked more used than the others. Though we did see Impalas right away, it was a good hour and a half to two hours before we saw any big animals. Nsama has great eyes and caught a glimpse of a giraffe. Kalengule was able to pull up very close to it so we could get some pictures and a video. Even though I have been close to giraffes in the zoo, that just doesn’t compare to seeing them in their natural habitat and being in such close proximity (without a fence between you) to them!

The guards at the entrance had said that we probably wouldn’t see any elephants because the ground is too soft and they are fearful of getting stuck in the mud. They did say that we should be able to see some rhinos, but after driving through most of the park, the rhinos had still eluded us. We pulled up to a little picnic area and another guard station and asked them about the rhinos. One of the guards said he would take us to where they are so he got in the car with us – his gun and all – and led us out the park and across the street, where we didn’t realize the park actually continued.

We stopped after driving a little ways into this side of the park and the guard called one of his co-workers to ask where the rhinos were. He said, “Wait, I see something moving like a baboon; maybe that’s you.” Which made all of us laugh. When his co-worker, Dickson, arrived, we had the opportunity of a lifetime. Dickson said he would take us on a walking safari to see the rhinos! This was not technically part of the fee for our admission to the park and some wildlife parks would charge 90 USD and up for a walking safari (we paid 15 USD/each for this park). We started walking in a single file line behind Dickson. He also had a gun slung over his shoulder, which was mostly comforting to see.

Nsama didn’t feel up to walking, though she did want to see the rhinos, so the other guard stayed with her at the car. Turns out, God didn’t want her to miss the rhinos. J Soon after we had left the car, Nsama heard some rustling grass and wondered at our quick return. It didn’t take long for her to realize her mistake though because right in front of the car walked four rhinos – two males, one female and a baby rhino. The guard radioed to Dickson and told us to come back towards the vehicle. When we made it to the vehicle, we had a clear view of the rhinos and they were magnificent. Just about the time I figured Dickson would stop us and allow us to take some pictures of the rhinos, he kept going; closer and closer to the rhinos. I trusted him because I knew he knew what he was doing, but I was absolutely amazed that we were able to get as close as we got! If you’ve seen my FB profile picture, you’ve seen how close we were to the rhinos – magnificent! Dickson even pulled us closer for the pictures! J It was an incredible miracle to have seen & done all that we did at the park. We even saw a herd of water buffalo on our way back out of the park.

Our evening was pretty low key. Kayla and I took a walk to find a restaurant that took VISA cards & we finally found one close to where we were staying; which was nice. We enjoyed some good food and fun conversation with Victor, our bartender/waiter. We also got to enjoy walking some music videos on VH1 – when we saw ‘YMCA’ playing, we knew this was the place for us to eat. J We had tried to go to a Mexican restaurant (I have really been missing good Mexican food – it’ll be one of my first meals when I get back to the US), but they only took cash and we knew we wouldn’t have enough to cover dinner and the rest of our expenses.

I enjoyed another dip in the pool – Kayla too – before we headed to bed and prepared to leave for Lusaka the next morning…