I'm in Africa now

waterfall rainbow
see all photos »

I arrived in Livingstone, Zambia on Thursday after a 14 hour bus ride from Tsumeb, Namibia. I know there’s a map on this site but just know that it shows my travels as the bird flies, not as I go. We drove through the Caprivi strip and over the border, it was quite a nice ride actually. I got in the bus at midnight and after a long stop at the border we arrived in Livingstone at 2. And it is Africa here. How I imagined it would be. Right off the bus taxi drivers crowded us, “taxi, madam?”, and that is the most common phrase I have heard since I’ve been here. While in Namibia and South Africa workers were either parking guards or street sweepers, here most people seem to be taxi drivers. The streets are dirty, half paved and half dirt and full of litter. And besides at my hostel, which, by the way, seems to be the hang out for the sun-drenched “adventure” traveler (I don’t think I am quite blonde, tan, or young enough to fit in), all I see are black people. I love it. Namibia and South Africa are very similar countries (Namibia just became its own country 15 years ago), you even use the same currency, but this is a totally different scene.

zambia and zimbabwue
see all photos »

This town thrives on tourism, though, and I did my part to contribute. Before coming I decided not to splurge on any adventure activities but things changed once I got here. Zambia is currently in the driest part of the year and that means that the falls are not flowing as they do in all of the post card pictures. The Zambezi river forms the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe and seeing the falls from the Zambian side costs half the price, plus you don’t have to pay an extra $35 Zimbabwe visa fee. But at this time of year the falls are mostly in Zimbabwe, expect for a small trickle. They are so wide that you can’t see the Zimbabwe part except for the mist. So, to tell you the truth, I was a little disappointed at my first experience with one of the seven wonders of the natural world.

that's me with the red helmet
see all photos »

I did, however, have a nice hike on top of the falls through the river. I met an American woman who has been living in Africa as a writer for the last couple of years and we explored together. It was pretty amazing being up there, there are no fences to stop you from jumping off the falls, you could easily just send yourself over. We were also able to illegally cross over to Zimbabwe, even if it was just a few meters (there are no border crossings on the edge of the falls!) so that was pretty fun.

mousebird backyard(i stayed there for 3 days, i thought i should take a picture)
see all photos »

I really wanted to see the whole falls, though, and word amongst other travelers was that the best way to do that was in a microlight flight which I took first thing this morning. I have to say it was definitely worth the splurge (it was only $25 more than it would have cost to walk to the Zimbabwe side). A 15 minute ride took me over the falls twice, as well as up the river where I saw Hippos and elephants bathing.

That done, I think my short stay in Zambia is complete- besides expensive river rafting and bungee jumping, swings and ziplines, there’s not much else to do here in Livingstone. Tomorrow I have a flight to Johannesburg, where I will stay for a day or two before I bus it to Mozambique. Of course these plans are subject to change but for now that’s it.

view of the falls from the Zambia side (yes, I am a true tourist)
see all photos »

I am feeling much better now that I am on my own. I can’t tell you how happy I was to say goodbye to the Dutch- as sweet as they were to take us around I was ready for some new company, and even better, alone time! And today marks one month I have been on the road- time is already going too fast!

Love,

H