Zambia and Victoria Falls

Monday, December 24th
We arrived into Livingstone Airport around 1:00, purchased our double entry Zambia Visas for $80 per person, met our transfer guide and immediately booked The Flight of Angels Helicopter tour with that same tour company. He drove us to The Royal Livingstone Hotel, a beautiful hotel with a Colonial English decor. It's almost as if we'd taken a step back into time! The hotel was adjacent to Victoria Falls and we could see the mist from the falls right from our room.
We quickly checked in and met the guide from United Air Charter to take a flight right over one of the majestic 7 Wonders of the Natural World. It was a little weird at first as we took off but in no time at all we had a magnificent view of the Zambezi River, the Falls, our hotel situated right on the river bank, and the towns of Livingstone and Victoria Falls. It was absolutely amazing and we even purchased the DVD which goes into great detail about the river, falls and David Livingstone who discovered the beautiful place. We bought the DVD because it showed us in the helicopter! Afterward we settled in our room and snapped a few photos of the zebras grazing in front of us. It was Christmas Eve and instead of having the nice dinner in the restaurant we decided to just relax in the lounge with something light, a few drinks and take in the gorgeous scenery. Monkeys scurried about everywhere and they are smart, they know how to hunt down people who have left food in their open rooms! No feeding or getting too close of course. As I would see a baby grasping onto its mother I would try to get close to get a picture but the little things were so scared they screamed at me! That night we slept heavenly on the nice cool room. Next morning was going to be an exciting one!

I'll be darned if I can figure out how to incorporate the DVD of our flight into the blog!  I will update if and when I do!  It's a great DVD, full of info about Vic Falls and capturing all of the amazing views that we were able to see.  There is also the a funny video of us the inside of the helicopter that really only shows us!

Link to the PICTURES from Day 1

Tuesday, December 25th
Merry Christmas! What a way to spend our Christmas, seemed almost surreal but definitely not Christmas like despite all of the beautiful decorations around. It was the hottest and most adventurous filled Christmas I can ever remember spending. The breakfast a The Royal Livingstone was fabulous, enough to fill us for the rest of the day which is good considering it was the only meal included in the room rate! Our boat was scheduled to leave at 8:45 for the Livingstone Island, just a few hundred meters into the river from the hotel, and the absolute best way to see the falls up close and personal...in The Devils Pool! Taking the boat over to Livingstone Island, looking at the massive drop off approaching, it was very intimidating! We were welcomed with a nice island drink and then taken out to the islands edge to hear about the process. There wasn't much time to decide if we actually wanted to make the swim across the current over to jump in the Devils Pool because of reservations one after another. We didn't go all that way to watch other do it so we joined hands, Calvin our guide, Dave, me and Nicole from South Africa and walked the rocks into the river to swim over to,the pool. It seemed like it took forever probably because I was scared beyond belief. Not so much of the pool but the rapid water that we had to swim through to get there. Calvin was awesome, carefully guiding us and ensuring we were as safe as possible. It was actually quite refreshing once we made it to the smaller island that the pool I solvated near, but standing atop the rocks looking at the water rush over the edge of the falls (I at least) didn't think I could do the jump! Calvin jumped to show us the way, Dave went and survived and after major hesitation and a few screams I did the jump myself! What an adrenaline rush! Calvin quickly caught ahold if me and set me on the ledge next to Dave because I was still yelping out a few small screams and pretty caught up in the fast flow of the swirling water! Nicole jumped and then we sat and relaxed and caught our breath and took in the excitement of where we were and what we were doing. We had to climb out of the pool holding a rope and make our way back across the river very carefully. Back on the island my limbs regained their strength and we joined the others in the group who weren't as daring. Of of the guys filmed it and I'm hoping he sends the video so I can post it. I'm sure everyone would love to see me shaking like a leaf as I cross the river! At the camp they prepared a nice meal of Eggs Benedict, coffee, juice and warm muffins. If was great to digress about the adventure we just experienced!

That afternoon we walked to The Falls. We had free access with our hotel card. On the way we walk through the sister resort called Zambezi Sun. First we walked the wet trails along the Zambia side of the falls protected with rain coats getting beautiful pictures of the river and Falls. We could see people bungee jumping from the bridge over the falls which seemed a heck of a lot scarier than what we did in the morning! There were quite a few people out on Christmas Day enjoying the beauty and majesty of the Victoria Falls. We went to the main entrance of the Zambia side of the falls to inquire about going to the Zimbabwe side. We took a taxi ($10) to the Zambia border where we had an exit stamp in the passport and fill out entry passes for Zimbabwe. We then got in another taxi because the same taxi is not allowed in for smuggling reasons. In Zimbabwe we had to obtain Visas for entry ($60) and immediately noticed such a difference in border control, litter everywhere, baboons rummaging through garbage containers and just a distinct sense of a poor country. Another €50 and we entered into the Zimbabwe side of the falls. It was a very pricey afternoon but well worth the views! The mist was heavy as we were facing the heaviest water flow of the falls. One of the best views was being across from Livingstone Island and the Devils Pool watching people do what we did earlier in the day! It's approximately 150 meters down in the gorge between where we were standing and the pool across the way! Another $10 taxi back and we were happy to get back to the hotel and claim a chair by the inviting pool.

The nightfall was coming and the zebras were out grazing. We chose to have a nice dinner in the restaurant that night overlooking the river, and listening to the hippos grumble and monkeys screeching! It was a great Christmas, one that we will never forget for sure.

Link to PICTURES from Day 2

Wednesday, December 26th
We had nothing planned for most of the day. This was the relaxing part of our trip! A later breakfast, another walk down to the Falls for a view from the Eastern Cataract trail, a photo opportunity with some more zebras (including a 2 day old colt!) and a relaxing time by the pool was how a good chunk of the day was spent. The resort was quiet during the day as most people are out on activities. We watched monkeys, listened to the helicopters fly above went on a river safari that afternoon.
The river safari was pretty fun. It was a small boat that took us up and down the Zambezi with unlimited drinks and snacks. In fact the captain, Prof, told us that the more we drank the higher the chance to spot the animals :) we saw tons of hippos and got pretty close to them in the boat and crocodiles, we saw them them up close and personal! It lasted about two hours and included a stop at one of the islands in the river for some more nice snacks and a potty break.

It was late back at the hotel for dinner (too late for us anyway :) so we stayed on the deck enjoying some drinks, the view and our last night. The next day was a full day of travel to get us to Cape Town.

Link to PICTURES from Day 3


Our home away from home for 3 nights.

Ready for the helicopter flight!

Victoria Falls from the air, it was magnificent!

Relaxing in the lounge on Christmas Eve.

Victoria Falls from the edge!

On the edge! Devils pool is behind the small island our heads,

We did it!

Crazy monkeys everywhere!

The baby zebra was 2 days old!

Look close, there's a croc back there!

Beautiful sunsets every night

-Posted using BlogPress from my iPad