Lusaka - Livingstone
If I was on my way to
fall in love with this country, I now consider to marry Zambia. I am back after
5 days of vacation in Livingstone with Natasha and Philip. But let me start at
the beginning….
I took the bus to
Livingstone at 6.00 on Wednesday morning. I called James, my driver, the day
before to make sure that he would pick me up around 4:30. Well, he did not show
up… I was lucky that Marten could provide me with another phone number and so I
eventually made it to the bus station in time and took my seat number 39 at the
window waiting for the driver to take me to Livingstone. One thing about bus
journeys is that you never know when they start, when you get to your
destination, and whether the air condition works or not. The bus company I was
going with was however surprisingly leaving on time, had air condition all over
my face and arrived in Livingstone exactly 6 hours after we left Lusaka.
Highlights of the trip:
11)
The
nature: It felt like I got to see the real African countryside. So many
beautiful passages, small villages of wooden sheds and people at bonfires,
beautiful blue sky and an Afircan sun burning through the window, causing head
ache and creating a certain smell in the bus.
22)
The only animals
that I saw on my journey to Livingstone were a lot of buffalos and cows and a
fried chicken, which my neighbor was eating. I was lucky that my stomach was
not as upset as it used to be, otherwise the combination of smells and the lack
of sleep could have easily caused a worse scenario
33)
Speed: The
bus was in time…I said that already. It had to be because we were going around
140 km/h. It felt like 3459743 km/h though.
I had a panicking moment which also made me feel more than awake when
one of the drivers suddenly stood up. Given the fact that due to the
differences in heights within the bus, one could only see the bumping heads of
the two drivers sitting in the front. Usually, back home the driver sits on the
left side. I was still sleepy and was therefore surprised when the one to the
left suddenly stood up….who was driving the bus? Why is he walking
around?....ah I get it….the one on the right is holding the wheel!
Livingstone
I arrived at
Livingstone around 12.00 and was welcomed by one million taxi drivers who
offered me their services. Since I did not know how far away the hostel
(“Jollyboys”) would be, I took a taxi that dropped me in front of the hostel
after 500 meters. If I would have known that, I could have saved the 20,000
kwacha! At the reception I waited for Philip and Natasha who arrived one day
earlier in Zambia and now jumped out of the pool (yes we had a pool at the
hostel) and ran into my arms. We haven’t seen for a while, and it was so great
to see them in Zambia. After our journey to Taiwan it was the next adventure
that we would share for the next 5 days.
The cold water of the
pool, the sun on the back, and the Mosi (local beer) in the hand made the start
of our stay. We decided to take it easy today since we were having quiet a schedule
for the days to come. We went for
Chinese food, made a short trip to the supermarket, and waited until midnight
in order to celebrate Philip who turned 25 on February 23rd. We
shared a room and slept under one big Moskito Net. I was fighting my cold that
the AC in the bus had caused and was lucky to catch up on some sleep. I would
need the energy for our trip to the Victoria Falls next day.
Victoria Falls
Three words….
Beautiful, Powerful, Wet!
We took the shuttle to
the falls at 10.00. After a Birthday Breakfast and a lot of sun blocker, we
finally entered the Victoria Falls. I only had to pay 5000 Kwacha (1$) since my
working permit makes me alike a Zambia citizen. The Victoria Falls were discovered
by David Livingstone when he travelled through Africa. Given the size and the
noise of the falls, one could wonder how somebody would have possibly missed
the Victoria Falls. There were different paths one could take, so we started
with the panorama/photography path. One had an amazing view on the falls from
distance and the nature surrounding the falls. The picture was completed by the
bridge that displays the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe. We met a guy who
was selling the bills of the Zimbabwean currency to us, so Philip and I are now
lucky owners of the bills having the highest value in the world
(50.000.000.000(bio) dollars). The sun
was burning on our heads, but even though the falls were still further down the
park one got wet by the “smoke of the water”. In local language the Falls are
called the “smoke that thunders” which turned out to be more than true.
But before getting
really close to the actual Falls we went down a path to get to the “Boiling
Spot”. It was a path through a jungle-like part of the park with beautiful
butterflies, many baboons starring on our backpacks expecting us to feed them,
and big spiders hanging from the trees. When we got to the boiling spot we
understood the meaning of the name. It was the part of the Zambezi river there
the water that came down the falls makes a sharp turn to the right and this
creates a whirlpool that is so powerful that it becomes a paradise for all wild
water rafting specialists. One had a perfect view on the bridge/border from
which people do the legendary bungee jumps (we even witnessed one of them).
Imagining the Australian girl falling into this whirlpool a couple of weeks ago
makes it even harder to belief how she got out of there. It became even more
surprising when we discovered two crocodiles taking a sunbath just 25 meters
from where we enjoyed the beautiful view on the river. Really….crocodiles and
no fences? I want to get out of here….! Those were my first thoughts. But
crocodiles are as lazy as I am on a Sunday afternoon. They did not move a
centimeter so Philip started to throw stones in their direction….well he
luckily missed. I think if they would have been closer to us or there wouldn’t
have been so many rocks between us, this birthday could have turned out to be
Christmas for the crocodiles. On our way
back (which meant we had to climb (!) about 1 kilomter up again) we met ca. 15
baboon who awaited us at the end of the path. These monkeys are huge….and they
have sharp teeth….and they are always hungry. We didn’t dare to move since we
did not know how they would react. Especially because they had little babies
with them. Finally, I thought that these baboons have to deal with us humans
every day and in the end we are not so different from each other at all. So I
started walking through the herd of baboons, with a backpack full of confidence
AND full of crackers! Both me and the crackers made it to the main path and
Philip and Natasha eventually took many
amazing pictures of the baboons.
The next path we took
led to the falls. A wall of water that comes down with such a power and such a
speed that one could barely hear what the person next to you tried to tell you.
If I would have to name this path I would call it “The walking shower”. In the beginning we were still able to take
pictures but the closer we got, the more water we would face. We started to
pack all valuables and electorinc devices into my backpack which was supposed
to be water proof. In the end it turned out to be only half true. My cell phone
and my camera became really wet so that the batteries stopped working. An expansive
visit! At least the sim card worked and I could save all the pictures. And: I
could actually enjoy the view and the moment without being busy taking pictures
all the time. It was amazing….you could
almost touch the falls. And they are gigantic….much bigger than the ones in
Iguaçu or in Niagara. A small (!) bridge
led to a small island really close to the falls, and for one moment you were
standing right within the Falls. (At least that’s how it felt like). Completely
soaked but completely happy, we spent quiet a time starring at the water coming
down, proud to share such an amazing experience all together. Pictures will
help to explain what we saw…even though one has to be there in order to
understand the power which I described.
Dry again! After 30
minutes….this sun really burns the brain out of your head. But you barely feel
it since the air is dry and not humid. It does not exhaust you, it just toasts
you and you cannot escape. The shade that people are using is occupied by
baboons, parking cars, shops, food stands, etc. Whenever you get a spot in the
shade you enjoy the few seconds of cooling down your body. We used the souvenir
shops in order to do so….not the best decision we made that day. Even though we
found some interesting souvenirs to take home with, the way the many salesmen
and saleswomen wanted us to be their customers was both annoying and
uncomfortable. An interesting lesson we learned and a tiring one as well.
Back home in the
hostel we were enjoying the cold pool, starting to invite our best friend Mosi
to the party. What a day….and what a birthday! A group of African women
performed African dances at the hostel, beer tastes as good in Livingstone as
it does in Lusaka, my two best friends from back home in Zambia, The Victoria Falls,
and a clear starry night above us….! But there was still more to come!
Natasha and med gave
Philip a present that we all would going to enjoy. The day started early in the
morning around 6:30 with a game drive. A driver picked us up at the hostel and
brought us to a beautiful Lodge close to the Zambezi River. We got into one of
these Safari cars and started our 2.5 hour drive through the National Park
Mosi-o-Tunya (“the smoke that thunders”). Even though we are in a wet season
the big animals (Elephants and Rhinos) barely move to the park since the ground
is too wet, we got to see many species and beautiful settings. Starting with
Impalas we got to see many Zebras, Giraffes, “Pumbas” (the one from Lion King…I
do not know what the English name is), many birds, Water buffaloes, baboons,
Gnus, etc. It was a great experience to see so many of these animals in
wilderness; no fences – just the beauty of nature. Since there are no predators
in the park (lions, and wild cats etc), this area is a safe surrounding for
most animals and a great opportunity to protect them. Baobab trees and sausage
trees were another highlight in the trip which led us along the Zambezi River
all the time. The game drive was part of a combination package that would
include a sunset boat cruise on the Zambezi River. Back at hostel we spent time
on the market, went for lunch, and visited the Livingstone Museum until we
eventually got picked up by our driver again. When we got on the cruise one
could already sense the atmosphere of this stunning setting. The calm river,
the sunset, and the calming nature around made this trip a memorable one. An
including features was an open bar (free drinks (!)) and traditional African
barbeque and snacks during the trip. Enjoying my company, enjoying myself, and
enjoying the Hippos at the side of the river (they are huge, especially when
they are yawning), I felt like the happiest Muzungu on earth. Too bad that this trip and this vacation had
to end. I will come back at the end of March, doing a Safari to Botswana to see
elephants and Lions as well, and have to wait one month only until I will see
Natasha and Philip again back home in Lund.
I had a great time,
memorable experiences, I took great pictures, and feel extremely motivated to
start my last month in Zambia. I will provide you with some pictures later this
week, since our office is without internet this week.
So long….
Keine Kommentare:
Kommentar veröffentlichen