18th September 2009 - to Vic Falls

We had a long day on the truck and arrived late afternoon at Vic Falls.

Victoria Falls (or Mosi-oa-Tunya (Tokaleya Tonga: the Smoke that Thunders) is on the Zambezi River at the border of Zambia and Zimbabwe. The name Victoria Falls was given to the falls by the Scottish explorer Dr. David Livingstone. He named the falls after the reigning queen at the time. Whilst it is neither the highest nor the widest waterfall in the world, it is claimed to be the largest. This claim is based on a width of 1,708 metres and height of 108 metres forming the largest sheet of falling water in the world.

When we arrived we could hear the thunderous roar of the falls. We went to the travel agent and arranged our activities for the next few days before we checked into our campsite. The campgrounds were patrolled by armed guards.

Had a swim in the pool which was really refreshing and walked to a beautiful motel where we had a buffet meal and local entertainment.

19th September 2009

9am Helicopter Flight over the falls. This flight gave us our first view of the falls. It was amazing.

1pm Betty Jenny and I had a massage. The place where we had the massage was in someones front yard. It was hilarious. Men and women stripping off in a garden. We had our nails painted and we felt pampered after camping for the past two weeks.

4.45pm Garry, Betty Jenny & I went on a dinner cruise down the Zambezi. It was so relaxing, we even saw elephants walking in the shallows at sunset.

20th September 2009

We were changing trucks today and meeting a new guide, driver and cook and of course new passengers. Ruth, an english woman was our tour guide, Joseph our Cook and Mwangi our Driver. Both Joseph and Mwangi came from Kenya. This group had been travelling together for six weeks so it was harder to mix as their groups had been well formed.

The truck rules were also very different.

After our meeting Garry, Betty, Jenny & I walked down to the Falls. The walk it self was very interesting. We were constantly asked by the locals to buy their wares, in fact at times it was bordering on harrassment. They would trade anything, clothes, jewellery, sun glasses, foreign money, food etc. As you take the path and hear the water pounding and witness the vapor rising, you quickly understand the name, "smoke that thunders. The scenery was magnificent and the falls were breathtaking. There were warthogs on the pathways, grunting and digging. People riding the rapids below. It was definitely the highlight of my trip. We walked back to camp through a local market (big mistake, the harrassment was terrible couldnt wait to get back to camp). We had a farewell dinner with the our fellow passengers and crew.