Zambia

 

DAY THIRTY-FIVE – 29th October 2010

Mama Rula’s Camp

Trace got up to see the sunrise and then did a yoga session with a couple of the girls then went for an early morning swim.  We left camp at 8am stopping at the market on the way.  We added to our collection of African souvenirs:

A few bracelets and some salad servers – 750 Kwacha (about $4 USD) and jandels, Mike’s old shirt, grey pants and a t-shirt.

Back on the truck and off to the capital of Malawi, this is were we had lunch and picked up some snacks from the supermarket.  We crossed the boarder into Zambia and arrived at Mama Rula’s camp just outside of Chipata at 5ish.  We had a yummy pasta dish and salad for dinner then had an early night as we had another early start in the morning.

DAY THIRTY-SIX – 30th October 2010

Eurika Camp

Up at 5am and off by 6am.  Another long day of travel.  We arrived at Eurika campsite, in Lusaka at about 5pm. 

There were loads of zebra wondering around the campsite, so we got a few good snaps!

          

It was a quiet night after such a long day on the bus.

 

DAY THIRTY-SEVEN – 31st October 2010

Waterfront Campsite

Up at 4.30am – our body clocks are getting use to this!

We hit the road and at 11am it was time for a short stop at a small village to have a walk around, they sold lots of smoked fish.

Back in the truck we stopped at Livingston to drop Patrick our driver off as he had to go back home due to his brother passing away – very sad. 

We then carried onto Victoria Falls which was only 10 minutes drive.  We decided not to go in and do a day trip to Zimbabwe side instead as it is dry season and there is not a lot of water flowing over the falls.  One third of the falls is on the Zambia side and two thirds are on Zimbabwe side.

While the rest of the group were in the falls we wondered around the markets.  Trace traded a t-shirt for a Yamiyami necklace (this is the good luck charm of the region).  We arrived at Waterfront campsite about 4.30pm and went to the bar for a beverage.  The bar had a beautiful view which overlooked the Zambezi River.

 

DAY THIRTY-EIGHT – 1st November 2010

Waterfront Campsite

Up at 7ish for a cooked breakfast made by the campsite of bacon, eggs, sausages, baked beans, tomatoes, onions and toast – amazing and so delicious!  So much for loosing weight in Africa!!

We caught a taxi with Lauren (Canadian), Vicki (Kiwi), Liz (South African), and Claire (English) to Zambia/Zimbabwe boarder.  We then walked over the bridge which crossed the Zambezi River to the Zimbabwe customs office and paid for our visas.

Walking over the bridge 

In the border crossing

After passing through the boarder with no troubles we headed for the Victoria Falls, it was only a short walk up the road.  This side of the falls was amazing and blew us away, if it had of been in full swing we would have been breathless!

We spent about 2 and a half hours walking around the falls.  Here’s a few photos:

     

Then we walked into town to see the open air markets. . . . more shopping!  We ended up buying two giraffes for $45 USD and one of Mike’s t-shirts (fingers crossed we get them into NZ!).  We also got two bowls for $8 USD.

We also walked past these guys singing / playing african music.  Trace liked it so much she negotiated a price for one of their CDs and then joined them playing for a while… We have it all on video but unfortunately we can’t upload videos onto here.

Back in the taxi to camp at 4pm were we had a shower and relaxed before going out for dinner at a Pizza and Pasta Restaurant in Livingston.  This restaurant is a community project were they take kids off the street and teach them the hospitality business.  The food was divine and service was outstanding!

 

DAY THIRTY-NINE – 2nd November 2010

Waterfront Campsite

Our body clocks have been changed forever, we can’t sleep in!  We went to the Livingston Markets with Rory, Kate, Jewels and Tom, these were a bit of a disappointment, not as good as the ones we went to in Zimbabwe, probably a good thing otherwise we would have brought more!

We then decided to head to the Victoria Falls market as we had seen some African style masks there and wanted to buy them after not finding anything like them anywhere else.  We got them for $40 USD after the guy started at $120USD!! -  we are getting better at this!

That afternoon we chilled by the pool before heading out on a river cruise for Shaun’s 21st birthday.  This was a fixed price for as much booze as you could drink in 2 hours – dangerous!  Everyone had a great night!!

 

With our wonderful tour guide Maritjie

  Our Acacia group

DAY FORTY – 3rd November 2010

Waterfront Campsite

Feeling a little hung-over we got up and had some bacon and eggs which hit the spot.

Today it was time for some white water rafting, Mike finally convinced Trace to give it a go, she was a bit nervous about it all!

We were in the water at 9.30am on our 2nd rapid the guide tipped the boat on us and we all went flying.  Trace ended up in an air pocket under the boat which was a bit freaky but expected.

The whole trip was a blast, Mike absolutely loved it and would do it again, Trace on the other hand has ticked that box and wont be needing to do that again!

We were very exhausted after a long day on the river.  We spent the night packing (we have way too much stuff!), and changing truck.  We are now aboard Wami with our driver TJ and our guide Lauren with 4 other people (its a lot quieter).