Sitting in the very new and pleasant and friendly International Airport in Livingstone. Our African adventure has come to an end.
Our last few days have been busy and a little bit of an anticlimax after all of our remote adventures.
We took a day trip to Chobe National Park in Botswana. We were with a family group of Portuguese who were fun to be around but it was a very "touristic" trip and interesting how quickly we have become less excited about seeing leopard and hippo and crocs and antelopes. The elephants are endlessly fascinating and there are thousands at Chobe . We saw family groups close up wallowing in the mud, the larger elephants protecting their young from crocodile attack. We sure know a lot more about elephants in particular and many African animals than we did before.
The trip was a full day and cost about US$200 each by the time we paid for visas.
Sadly our budget was pretty well blown and I decided to forego the thrill of the Devils Pool and we went to Zimbabwe instead to look at the falls from that side. It was a very hot day for the walk across the bridge in no mans land surviving all the very persuasive and highly skilled and desperate sales people along the way. 2 or 3 hot kms past endless copper carrying trucks patiently waiting to get across the border.
The Zambian exit and entry was straight forward but when we reached Zimbabwe we waited at least 45 minutes to pay our US$30 each and have our passports slowly scrutinised and passed through many hands before finally being stamped and we were allowed into Zim for the day.
It was worth it. The falls even at their lowest were spectacular.
The walk around the various view points was several kms but there was moisture in the air and some vegetation that reminded us of home.
When we exited Zimbabwe we waited maybe 15 mins before someone came to the desk to stamp our passports again then trudged back across the bridge.
We have used taxis a lot in the last few days. They are supposed to be licenced drivers and wear a uniform of light blue shirt and black pants but anyone can find those clothes. Cars cruise around giving a gentle toot to announce they are available. The cars mostly wouldn't be allowed on the road at home. Door handles broken, cracked windscreen, padlocked boot, windows don't wind down and all are pretty much wrecks. One was even very quickly jump started. For all this, we liked the taxi drivers. We learned to negotiate a price before we got in then we could chat freely on the way knowing we weren't going to suddenly be asked to buy something.
Livingstone is seriously short of tourists at this time of year and the traders are quite desperate.
Our last few hours were spent souvenir shopping and visiting a local village( a bit like a Rotorua experience). It was actually not very nice. The first Zambians who didn't look happy.
So, last thoughts of Africa.
Maybe a month earlier would have been more pleasant heat wise.
Malaria - the experienced travellers don't bother taking preventative meds and the long term expats sometimes take them in the rainy season.
Drugs are so cheap here that we have bought our malaria cure just in case.
I have been bitten a million times and the preventatives don't necessarily work. It isn't malaria season yet but there are still malaria carrying mosquitos around.
We also have our bilrhiza meds just in case.
We brought far too many clothes following the gear lists recommended. Thank goodness they were mostly op shop. We gave away all of our long sleeved Safari shirts and it was too hot to wear long pants ever.
Didn't need sleeping bags. I have worn my croc sandals everyday and my merril sandals twice on walking Safaris.
We have felt totally safe and secure right throughout all the African countries we have visited. Accomodation and camps all have night staff patrolling either for animals or people.
Toilets have been clean and western style except for the medical clinic in Malawi.
This has been an amazing adventure and we are returning richer for our experiences.