Victoria Falls and the start of Dragoman

20Nov09

So after Kat and I arrived in Livingstone we chilled out at our hostel and enjoyed not moving! We read our books and did little else for two days until we met up with the Dragoman tour group that we’d be traveling with through Botswana, Namibia and South Africa. The group seems nice but both Kat and I immediately felt slightly trapped by the idea of being on a tour. We’d booked the tour before we’d left and part of me regrets not having had the confidence to have done this last leg of the trip on our own… but, pole sana, life goes on!

The first day of the tour we were still in the Livingstone area but cooped up camping at some ridiculously fancy hotel a far way from the town center. We did more reading.

The next morning we FINALLY went to see Victoria Falls! The water levels were very low so the falls weren’t at their fullest but they were still beautiful. Kat and I did a walk (recommended to us by people we met in the hostel) along the very top of the falls. You are right on the edge and there is no barrier. The coolest thing about it is you are walking where there is raging water during the high water so the rocks are strangely shaped with large holes cut out of them. We walked by Livingstone island to a pool called “Devil’s Pool” which is situated right at the edge of the big falls. Basically you swim through the Zambezi river right to the edge of the water where you can sit. It was pretty incredible and the water was nice and warm. I love swimming so it felt awesome to swim in such a cool river.

After the falls the Dragoman group headed off to Kasane, Botswana. The border crossing was crazy and involved taking a ferry across the river. Botswana is beautiful but, like Zambia, in wet season, so there is a fair bit of rain. We set up our tents at the ridiculously posh “Chobe Safari Lodge” and ate dinner. The chef is named Mash and he is Kenyan so I am still speaking swahili which makes me feel a bit better about having left Moshi. After dinner we went to the “bush-bar” which is situated right by the river. There were hundreds of huge termites flying around the whole area, attracted to the lights. Many of the people on the tour were afraid (ugh) but I thought they were so beautiful. Their wings (two pairs) were massive and they looked almost like fairies against the light. I wish I could have taken a picture that would have done the scene justice. After the bar we went to bed unprepared for the storm that would soak our tent overnight. Pole sana!

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