our zambian adventure

well.....2700 miles, 8 border post (which means 8 new stamps in the passport), a ferry ride, 42 elephants, 2 zebra and 3 giraffes and a million goats and donkeys later we arrived back to our home in South Africa. We (really I mean me, but David went along) decided it would be great for the kids to get to experience some different parts of Africa. We have been here 5+ years and they hadn't gotten another African stamp in their passport. So, you feel bad for the littles. David needed to go to Zambia anyway as a part of his role at J-Life. AND I wanted to see other parts of Africa, to be completely honest. It was more my adventure than anyone elses.

We left Heidelberg at midnight because we wanted to make it to the Botswana/SA border by the time it opened at 6am.  We were 5th in line at 5:30. Whew! Our friends, now with J-Life Zambia, had driven up 3 weeks prior and had waited 4 hours at the border post (with 2 very small children). Bless them. We pressed on knowing that we would have to get to Livingstone, Zambia to stay the night at Victoria Falls. Beautiful countryside and not much in between little towns which were far between. Southern Botswana has ALOT of livestock that roam. Plenty of goats and donkeys. Plenty. We arrived at the border post between Botswana and Zambia about 3pm. We (David) had been driving now for 15 hours. LONG! There is a "ferry" that goes across the Zambezi River between the two countries. See below:

We rode this twice, once there and once on the way back. I would recommend it. It seemed safe enough. Although, I did worry a bit about David because the drivers had to stay in the vehicle. Not being able to jump into crocodile infested rivers to "safety". Anyway, it was a fun experience. There are lots of guys that are "agents" that work the border to "help" non-locals through the process. We chose not to use any of the agents. Mostly, I think they are scam artist, but trying to make money for their families (or at least that's what I am telling myself).

Next morning, up bright and early to go see Victoria Falls. We were told to go to the park entrance and hopefully be able to get a bargain getting in. No such luck. David did the best flirting he had available seeing as he's been married 15 years. So, $65 to get in to see the falls. I was skeptical. I thought, $65 to see some water flowing over a cliff. They kinda have you. There's nothing else to see, so whatcha gonna do? needless to say I totally underestimated the magnitude and beauty of the falls. It was gorgeous!! We could have hiked around all day and then some. It was so beautiful. Midway through, David gives my kids a lesson on rocks, water, force and pressure etc...it was totally a Dr. Mark moment. (for those of you who knew Dr. Mark Presley, geology prof and holder of a lot of knowledge, you understand).

ok....I will continue on this Zambian adventure in a second part blog which will contain the actual Zambian portion of this adventure  

xxx

Liz