LAND OF SMOKE THAT THUNDERS
David Livingstone was the first European to see the falls in the 1850s (though the Arab traders probably saw them 500 to 800 years before him. Livingstone named them for Queen Victoria, but the locals know them as the Smoke that Thunders.
Our team arrived here mid-afternoon a week ago Sunday. Livingstone, Zambia is a very different city from Lusaka. First is the presence of many tourists, most of whom are whites. Second is a more noticeable presence of white locals. While Lusaka is a more typical African city with its chaotic city planning (how’s that for an oxymoron), its mix of industrial, commercial and residential spaces in immediate proximity to each other, the grit, dust and car exhaust and the availability of large markets, Livingstone is mainly a tourist town. From here, travellers from all over the world can see the other, more romanticized side of Africa – its stunning scenery, wide open spaces and its rich mix of unique wildlife. Then of course there’s the falls themselves.
It is quite possible to come and see the falls and never really experience what Africa is. I was told by one guide that some overseas tourists arrive at the airport in Livingstone, book themselves into a foolishly posh resort, view the falls, eat western food at the restaurants, buy a few tacky souvenirs and then leave without ever know what country they just visited. These people don’t even realize what a disservice they are doing to Zambians and to themselves by not seeing how real people live here.
On Monday morning, our team visited a local game park just upstream from the falls. With only 1600 hectares, this park is puny compared with others in Zambia and the region.
Still, it is a bit of a jewel in this country as it holds the last 2 white rhinos in all of Zambia.
It also has a small population of giraffes and elephants, buffalos and, always a favourite, the seemingly playful warthogs. There were also zillions of impalas (antelope or deer-like critters), which are about as numerous as mosquitos in Winnipeg in the summer. Once you’ve seen a million you’ve seen them all. There is almost a quiet desperation in the impalas’ faces as tourists grow tired of looking at them and ignore them. They’re the beauty pageant winners in the park yet everyone is looking at warthogs (really big warts!), elephants (nice noses there guys), giraffes (is that a neck implant or are you just happy to see me?) and rhinos (a face only a mother could love). You can almost hear the impalas screaming: “Look at me! Look at me!
Hey you, I’m over here!!! Take MYYYYY PICTURE!!!!!.” How fortunate we were that within 5 minutes of entering the park we came across the rhinos resting peacefully side by side not far from the road. Mother and son. As if the odds were not already impossible for these giant pre-historic looking creatures, being the last 2 in the region, they happen to be related. Add to that the fact that the average female is lucky to produce only 2 or 3 offspring in her entire lifetime and you can understand why these animals are so endangered. The Zambian government is trying to negotiate the import of another rhino from another coutnry to mate with the young male but the cost has so far been prohibitive.
THE FALLS
Victoria Falls are immense. They are much bigger than Niagara, both in terms of height and length. If you were to stretch out the Horseshoe falls on the Canadian side with the American falls they would not equal the length of Vic.
The Zambian side offers a brilliant and wet view…directly across from them. It seem you could almost reach out and touch them, when in reality you are a few hundred metres away. The spray off them is like rain, but the rain is actually falling up! There is a footbridge that allows you to look down into the gorge and get really rained on. There are rainbows everywhere it seems and the vegetation turns from dry woodland to actual rainforest, with giant ferns and lush green everywhere.
PONDERING LIFE AT 9.8 METRES PER SECOND SQUARED
Now, I’ve never been much of a thrill seeker, but there’s something cool about saying you jumped off a bridge in plain view of one of the natural wonders of the world. So the next time someone sneers at me, “So if a friend jumped off a bridge, would you do it too?”, I could say “YES!!!”
The bridge resembles the arched Peace Bridge at Niagara Falls and joines Zambia and Zimbabwe. The bungie jump is apparently the 2nd highest in the world. The elastic cord itself is 35m in length and stretches to a maximum of 111m depending on how heavy you are. Even at that length you are nowhere near the bottom of the gorge (but it certainly feels like the river is rushing toward you awfully fast. In all, 5 volunteers from our build and 1 tour guide we were hanging out with went off the bridge that day. I have to say, the scariest part was getting harnessed up and having the bungie cord attached. You are standing on a see-through metal grate hundreds of metres above the gorge with the roar of the falls behind you. While they’re getting you ready there is a lanyard that ties you to the bridge but I’m terrified of heights so this little strap did nothing to allay my concerns.
Once I was tied up by the ankles, I edged to the end of the deck…
the guys who hooked me up counted backwards from 5 and off I went (literally).
After about 3/100ths of a second I couldn’t even yell or scream and I just began to enjoy it. It was actually a relief to be falling as opposed to standing there waiting for it to happen.
By the time I quit bobbing up and down and they were able to raise me back up to the bridge, the whole thing was over in about 4 minutes. It seemed a lot longer than that. But the scenery (upside down) was beautiful.
On Wednesday, all the Habitat volunteers except me left Livingstone to head back to Lusaka for their return trip home. It was a little strange to suddenly be a lone traveller. I really enjoyed the company of all of my teammates, many of them having great stories of their own travel adventures, and all of them great and interesting people. Oddly, it really felt like I was a world away and an eternity from everything I’ve known yet only little more than 2 weeks had passed. Nearly 4 weeks to go on this trip – such a long time yet I know that Aug. 15 will be here in a blink of an
eye.
I spent the the first half of the day on Wednesday strolling around town and stopped to have a leisurely lunch at a really great seafood restaurant. A seafood restaurant in a landlocked country. Seems a little crazy, but the food was excellent so why argue the point. Fillet of sole lightly breaded and grilled, served with french fries and a cucumber and tomato salad. Oops. I just ate a raw tomato. Damn, I can’t eat the salad! Why do there have to be restrictions on what I can eat when travelling??? But it looks soooo good. Oh what’s the worst that can happen? OK. I’ll just eat the flesh of the cucumber slices and not the rinds. And what about those delicious tomatoes? Well, I just ate one piece so if I’m going to catch anything, I’ve already caught it. Besides, tomato skins are smooth – the little microbes and parasites would slip right off!!! Now off to Zimbabwe!
sedativegunk 