After our very wet visit to the Vic Falls on the Zambian side, we headed to the border to cross into Zimbabwe. For entertainment purposes, we left two of our passengers behind at the craft market side (and no, not my Katie as this was one of the first markets she did not look in – WTF?) and made them run almost to the Zim border. Actually it was punishment for completely neglecting the time limit we had been given on the Zambian side causing the remaining 25 of us to have to wait in the bus in the plus 35 degree heat which was, as you can imagine, very unpleasant.
Once we had regrouped we forked over the 75 dollars (second most expensive visa is for Canadians – what did we do to piss of the Zimbabwe people I wonder???). We arrived at the campsite at a pretty decent time and were immediately subjected to a slide show presentation of all the activities that we were going to be able to do. There were so many to choose from but we had narrowed our choices down to the microlite, lion walk, adrenalin day, booze cruise and the horseback safari. The one thing we had remembered from our first trip to Zimbabwe, despite its struggling economy, was that everything was very very expensive and this was definitely the case for the activities. All of the items we had highlighted as interesting were going to cost us nearly $1000 US for the two of us and that was if we somehow circumvented paying for a second visa when entering back into Zimbabwe. We were originally told by Absolute Africa that we would not be entering Zimbabwe but rather doing all of our activities from the Zambian side. However, because previous sanctions against Zim had just begun to be removed, Absolute Africa made its return back to Zim because the activities would be 2/3 the price. Unfortunately, this was not explained to us in any great detail before the trip started and before entering we were told that if we wished to do any activities on the Zambian side, we could easily go but would have to pay for a $20 day visa. Although, this was true we had not been informed that once leaving on the day visa you would have to pay the full amount to re-enter Zim. There was not even an option for Canadians to buy a multiple entry visa, whereas most of the entries could and could do so cheaply. Again, we must have really pissed them off!!!
So being that it was going to be $95 USD extra to do the microlite from the Zambian side and that there was not going to be any package discount (although we were going to be doing so many extra activities) we decided that we would stick with the Adrenalin Day, the Lion Walk and the Booze Cruise with the group. We would start the Adrenalin day bright and early at six the next morning.
Later that evening we were treated to traditional Zulu dancing by a local group of musicians. The show was great but what made it better was that they dragged about a third of our group (Melissa, Christine and Jemma were our highlights) into the audience to join in. The one great thing about the bus is that we get to see a lot of things and do a lot of things we would not get to see on our own. For example, there are many sample gigs/dances and presentations like the ones we had here that were put on because our group is so large. We have met a lot of overlander trucks on this part of our tour but none have been as big as ours with some only having seven people in total for the entire trip. So...everywhere we go there is always enough of us to draw attention from local business.
I was really surprised when both barmen recognized me from our previous stay. None of us could remember each other's name but everyone definitely remembered each other. It was nice to be remembered and it was definitely not to do with my drinking habits during my previous stay because I had resorted to drinking only cokes during the day and sleeping at night. It reinforced our love of the Zimbabwean people and their friendly and caring nature.
It was good that we had went to bed early the previous night because I needed to be up before Katie so I could rip to town to put together her birthday present. I had decided the night before that I was going to get a photo from Legzira transformed into a painting by one of the local artists. I could not find a good picture of the two of us and it was obvious as to why. We had been the only two on the beach so who was going to take it? It wasn't hard to find some pictures I liked – in fact, I had great difficulty in selecting just one and picked six of my favorites. The next difficult part was to to find an internet shop that was open early enough to do my printing. After that I would just have to drop off the picture and hope that the artist was there so I could explain the details. I was pretty sure I had figured out the logistics but TIA and things can go wrong. Luckily one of the other guys on the trip had hoped to get a surfing picture of his grandfather made into a painting as well so I had company. Everything turned out even better than expected. The internet shop not only had a printer (as they had told me the day earlier) but they had an awesome photo printer and it only took about ten minutes to print off my six pics and Brendan's pic. The only snag was that the painter was not there but after ten minutes of waiting another of his colleagues showed up and so we gave him the instructions and kept our fingers crossed.
We managed to have everything wrapped up with extra time before we were to be picked up to go on our Adrenalin day (Day 47). Katie had been a bit reluctant the previous day about the Adrenalin package but despite her feelings, she had still signed up. When I got back in the morning, she was bouncing with energy and was so excited for what lay ahead. To give the words 'Adrenalin Day' a little more explanation, it is essentially a day jammed with activities over the gorge just downstream of the Vic Falls. I think most of these activities would be a little less exciting had you not been doing them over a 110m drop to the water front that looked like it could quite possibly rip a body in half (the water levels were so high that the river rafting was closed until the water level receded). The activities that we could do included abseiling/rap jumping down a 45m cliff, flying fox (flying over the gorge while suspended to a series of cables – look maa no hands!) over the gorge, ziplining down from the top of the gorge at 160 km/hour (haven't worked out the math, that is just what we were told) and last but definitely not least, the gorge swing (a vertical jump from a cantilevered platform where after 75m of free fall you begin to swing 170m across the gorge ).
We had to split into groups to minimize the time on each event and our group (Rhesa, Tom, Janelle, Fysh, Katie and I) chose the abseiling first so we could get it out of the way. We figured the gorge swing looked like it was going to be the scariest/funnest of all and so we wanted to have it for last. We started with rap jumping and somehow Katie got put as the first person who would repel down the cliff head first. It was surreal watching her hang over an extremely high drop for the second time in the last 4 months but this time she seemed a little more confident (okay...this drop was nothing compared to the one we had faced at Tsitsikama with the bungee jump). The abseiling was not what anyone pictured and was more painful than fun. To top this off, we had to carefully walk along a narrow (and unconstrained path) path before climbing on very sketchy ladders to the top. When this was all said and done,the majority of the group had had enough but Tom and I decided to go one more time...but this time, we repelled down the cliff with our face to the wall and feet first. Although it was not nearly as painful, it was pretty lame as we were unable to control our speed on the descent.
From the abseiling we worked our way over to the highwire (flying fox). The scariest/funnest (depends on who you are) part of the thing is running as fast as you can (not very fast when all strapped and dragging a huge pulley) and jumping off the edge of the platform. Fysh had the best pose with his impression of superman and he managed to hold it for the entire rip across the gorge, continuing it on the way back as well.
The zip line took much less time than the rock climbing and although we were all hungry, we were eager to get the zipline out of the way so we could be left only with that gorge swing for the entire afternoon. Yup we were being a bit greedy but after watching the others jump off it all day, we were pretty excited, even if some of them had screamed the entire way down (the winner is definitely Christine, who started her blood retching scream even before her feet left the platform (while crouched down in the foetal position) – lol...the funniest pics ever!).
We couldn't have been any luckier because there was no groups left to do either of them and because the zipline and the gorge swing were side by side, we were going to get to do them at once. Katie didn't seem to keen on doing the gorge swing first so Fysh and Janelle went first while we did the ziplne. The only two rides you can do tandem are the zipline and the gorge swing so the couples set out to out do each together. Fysh and Janelle bravely stepped up to the platform and after a quick countdown launched off and plummeted quickly out of our view. The look on their faces was priceless and it was funny that Fysh was the screamer...Janelle said her voice was caught in her throat. After they had gone we headed down the zipline. It started pretty exciting because we were tricked into thinking he wasn't going to let us go until we had reached the bottom platform but well before we were into place he just let us go and we started ripping down. It was a lot of fun but was over too soon and then the pain of hanging from a harness across your crotch kicked in and Katie (??) especially was saying stuff you can't say in Canada – haha...this is an inside joke!
Tom was the next in line and he decided to go backwards (Katie thought he was nuts!) – well after his fall, he was still shaking from the experience. Rhesa was next in line to jump and she bravely jumped off facing forwards – Katie was pretty impressed with her especially since she was going solo.
Again we got great reports from Rhesa and so somehow with the help of the tour operators I managed to convince Katie that for our first jump should be done backwards. She was a little upset at first and I was not sure if she would seriously consider it because she honestly looked scared shitless. But with no real pushing from me (the remainder of the push came from the staff – they said it would be brave and cool) Katie decided to go for it. After getting strapped in and getting helped to the edge of the platform we turned backwards. When the countdown came Katie didn't have much time to doubt her decision because once the countdown was finished she had me and a very heavy rope pulling her over the edge. It was a surreal feeling because after arching backwards over the edge we were immediately tumbling uncontrollably end over end...and from our perspective, it looked as if we would crash amongst the rocks. At one point I caught a glimpse of Katie's face and I could swear through the hair strewn across her face I could see tears. The fall lasted only maybe three seconds and when we started to swing (the best part) I found that my eyes had not deceived me...Katie was crying. She told me that her breathe was completely taken away from the fall and so the only other natural thing she thought she could do was cry, so cry she did. She had actually only cried for about ten seconds and then suddenly snapped out of it and was super excited and ready to do it again (but definitely not backwards). Rhesa had said that she knew Katie was crying despite how far away we were. She had been able to tell because of the they way I was comforting Katie (we have it on video!) as we waited to be pulled up.
We pounded down our lunch so that we could be the first ones back to the platform for another gorge swing. After completing everything once we were allowed to repeat any ride as many times as we wanted...hence the name 'Adrenalin Day'. We had been told that the record for the gorge swing was 17 times but we thought why would anyone want to do it 17 times...but that was before we jumped. After we jumped, everyone was keen on the same ride...the gorge swing! We all realized that there was no way the record could ever be matched unless we had been individuals and had spent the entire day jumping. Not everyone wanted a second jump - actually, I think it was only Christine who was still shaking from her experience and decided to watch from the side. Everyone alternated between starting forwards, backwards and in a handstand position. Unfortunately, Katie and I were only able to go twice (limited time) but managed to try a solo handstand in addition to our tandem backwards jump. Surprisingly, the handstand was not really scary at all but maybe that was because you could see everything before you launched off the edge and maybe because they kind of tossed you over the edge after lifting up your feet. The workers decided to play some jokes for the second round as they knew we had the courage to come back for more and so they had to play with our minds. When they held Katie in her handstand position, instead of immediately counting down from 3, they held her there for 30 seconds encouraging her to push off herself...but, knowing my Katie, she would not move. Finally, while upside down, she screamed at them to let her go, which after hearing her voice, they did. When Rhesa was next in line (jumping backwards), they started to let her fall only to hold her back at the last minute. For those of you who have done any kind of bungee jumping, you can understand that this is the cruellest part because it is only the actual jump itself that is the scariest, once that is over the feeling of falling through the air is absolutely 100% amazing. We ended the day an hour later than was originally planned and with eight gigs of jump pictures between all of our cameras.
When Katie and I had been to Zimbabwe three months prior, we had been lucky enough to hear about this neat restaurant called 'The Boma'. We had liked it so much that we thought it would be a great restaurant for the group (didn't hurt that I would be getting out of my cooking duties and Katie getting out of her washing up duties for the night...jk). Even with the group treating our guides (Moses and Robert) to their meal, we managed to get the meal at a better price than we had on our last visit – another perk of having a large group. The evening was great and everyone seemed to have enjoyed themselves. With the exception of the vegetarians (Becky and Niguel) everyone feasted on the different types of wild game meat (Bilsey skipped the appetizers, soups and salads and went straight for the very delicious warthog – a smart man). They would fill up one plate with meat and when it ran out they would go and refill it. The warthog was a favourite just as it had been for us and people still were talking about it days afterward. Everyone liked the place so much that at one point, one of our newer recruits (' English Katie'...and not 'Tom-Katie' who also happens to be English) decided that she would do a hip hip hooray for Katie and I for planning it. She was quickly shut up because we were in a public place, but despite her distance from us, we got the gist of what she was trying to do. I don't think we have ever mentioned that we have THREE Katie's on this trip...which drives my Katie crazy because she never knows when she is being called. She encouraged everyone to call her by her nickname, K-Diggity Dawg, but only Bilsey and Christine seemed to catch on. Jemma, our 'GEM' of the group, calls my Katie 'Canada' which she also quite likes, I think it is because it gives her distinction from 'Katie' . We finished off the supper experience with drumming and dancing which was really good, as expected. Before leaving, we made sure that everyone in our group had dessert, which consisted of the Boma Worm! Jeremy, Fysh and Max went around handing out the worms...complete with the pre filled out certificates of achievement – lol!
After dinner there wasn't much of a party back at the campsite because everyone was so full that they just went straight to bed (again with the exception of the 'youngins' who stayed up and partied all night long).
The next morning (Day 48) was our Lion Walk Experience. It was a bit confusing trying to get everyone together on time to hit up the bus. There was so many people talking and so much shit going on that I missed the conversation about not wearing sandals to go for a walk with the lions (not too sure where Katie was either). I guess my better judgement should have made me change my shoes but I did not. When we got to the lion park there were three of us wearing sandals. I guess I was the only one that was worried. Katie didn't seem the least bit worried but I thought it would be better to be safe than sorry (I like my toes) and so I tried to cover my toes with kleenex (Katie laughed the entire time). In my attempt to erase my stupid actions, I managed to just make them worse because the guide said that having kleenex covered toes would be just more of a distraction and would increase my chances that lions would eat my toes.
We split into two groups and headed out to meet our lions (Note: All of these programs use the money they raise from entree fees to pay for the resources needed to raise the number of lions and help to re-introduce them into the wild – It is not just a money making scheme). The group of lions we were to walk with were both 7 months old and were sister and brother. They were chilling out on a rock nearby the camp when we found them. We had already been given the do's and the dont's prior to seeing the lions but while we were with them, a little reminder/refresher would have been nice. Mairie was told to go up and pet the lions and this is where that reminder would have been good. She forgot to put her stick to the side of the lions head and immediately he turned towards her while she was posing for a picture. Fearing her safety the guide quickly shouted to distract the lion and gave Mairie just enough time to get her stick back in place. I don't think the lion would have meant any harm but one swing from these creatures and you would be reeling backwards with a huge open gash – they are after all lions.
I think they feared that some people were worried about the lions and how to approach them when they were sitting down. Imagine approaching your cat when they are laying down. They want to roll over and play with your hand as you try to pet them. Well...now times the size and strength of your cat by ten and then imagine playing with it – it was pretty crazy. So we started to walk with the lions instead. It was quite surreal walking along side the lions occasionally petting their backs. We each took turns leading (well following really) the lions, stopping occasionally to take pictures either when the lions would head into a tree or would stop and pose for a picture. Although these animals are somewhat trained, you still have to watch out for them because they are still wild animals...with real and potentially dangerous teeth and claws! Katie found this out when she ran around a small bush to catch a picture of me with the lions. When she rounded the bush she was startled to see the male lion there half ready to pounce her. The lion had anticipated what she was going to do and he was ready to play but luckily the guide had seen what was happening as well and jumped in just in time (Katie's reaction was priceless). After spending an hour with our group of lions we swapped with the other group who had been placed with two lions that were about 13 months old. It was hard to imagine that in only 6 months they could have nearly doubled in size. After a short walk and some pictures with this new group we were disappointed that the lion walk was over. It was a neat experience to walk with the lions and would have been great to be one of the volunteers who spends the entire day with the lions helping to prepare them for the wild. An added benefit was that I ended the tour with my toes - haha.
We arrived back at the campsite and just spent the remainder of the day relaxing. In the evening a couple of local guys decided to put on another good show for us. Two of the guys came out with kerosene balls on fire and started spinning them over their head to the beat of the drums. It got very intense and you could see that all their practice during the days (we always seen them doing something around the camp) was paying off big time. By the time the show was done most people had already went to bed but there was a couple of people that been drinking pretty hard and were ready to go to the town bar. I decided after a couple of drinks and closing down the camp bar, that I would follow them to town and see what the night life here was like. We headed to a new club called Blue Zulu. It was a pretty hopping and luxurious club and was a lot of fun. What made it more interesting was that Nickhel (one of our group) was pretty smashed and was getting us all into the dancing. Nickhel had never drank alcohol before this trip, so, naturally, he denied he was even the slightest bit drunk. It turned out to be quite a late night and I was glad that I was going to be able to have a sleep in the morning.
Well I though I was going to be able to have a sleep in but Katie had slept early the night before and was ready to shop at 7:30 am (Day 49). I didn't like the look she was giving me when I said I wasn't ready to get up quite yet so I thought how bad could it be if I just got up and went shopping for a little bit. How wrong was I? We ended up shopping for nearly 4 hours at one small market. We had taken a bunch of our belongings that we no longer needed because the local people in Zim are always looking to swap t-shirts, shoes or whatever for their hand crafted souvenirs. Worst part is that everyone there really wants the sale so they don't want to let you move on to the next market so you take a bit of an emotional beating having to say no about ten thousand times to the same person. After four hours I thought I was going to die but we managed to swap out everything we had taken with us and end up with three times as much volume in souvenirs. Even on the way back we managed to make more sales.
I know that in our Malawi post Katie mentioned that I am quite the shopper. Well this much is true. BUT! Katie has been appointed by our group as the number one shopper on the trip and I thought it was definitely worth noting. Not that this is a bad thing because it has sparked many others on the bus, myself included, to do more shopping. Therefore, no one will regret not buying that “one special” carving when they get home and is helping to spur the local business.
I could barely think straight after shopping because I was running on only four hours of sleep and the sun was pounding down on us. It was hard to imagine that we were going to be going on a booze cruise in the evening on the Zambezi river because I sure didn't feel like it and from the looks on the faces of the people who had went out the night before, they didn't either. Nevertheless we went and crazy did it turn. The booze cruise or “Sunset Cruise” as it is supposed to be called is essentially a trip down the river where we get to see animals (if lucky), have snacks and drink as much booze as you can in two hours. By the end of the trip we were being threatened to be taken back to the pier because of noise and people were falling all over the place. On the way back to the campsite Tom had a great idea to strip naked and run up and down the bus aisles. I am not sure how the couple of seats at the front didn't realize what was going on. When we arrived at the campsite I went looking for Katie's shoes on the bus and ran into a pile of puke!
That was just the beginning. Before we had dinner two of the girls had puked and passed completely out. Tom had streaked through the camp site grounds. Mairie was nearly out cold sitting down and her camera was found in the bowl of the mens washrooms – WTF??? Luckily one of the local guys had been honest enough to ask around if it was anyone's camera. After swapping the memory card (camera was dead at this point) into a different camera we knew it was Mairie's...but the question still remains - how did it end up in the Men's washroom? My Katie was doing quite well in comparison and was helping the sick ones out by encouraging them to drink copious amounts of water. We both (with the help of others) carried Mairie to her tent and put her to bed and set up shifts to watch her.
Katie then retired to the dance floor where she played match maker with her backgammon buddy Christine and...I think his name was Chris (from SA). Either way, I think Katie was even more excited when they were kissing. They danced all night and Jemma and Katie kept taking video and pictures (stalkers maybe???). They joked with Christine that the night ended with just a kiss because Christine, for some apparent reason kept flashing people her white kiwi bum which scared Chris off - WTF???
Next up was Nickhel (again). Although, he would again later deny that he had gotten drunk, he tried to superman onto a concrete walkway (or something like that) and messed up his shoulder. This made it real difficult when twenty minutes later we had to carry him, passed out, to the tent. We decided that we would put him with Mairie so we could watch them both. By the end of the night there was five people puking with many more seeming close to it. Despite all the drama and the fact that the real party was done by 10:30 pm (most were too drunk and passed out) it was an awesome night and a good way to end for those of the group who were leaving.
In the morning everyone looked like death but we had a lot to do. Those that were leaving had to take out their stuff from the truck and get a ride arranged. We also had to figure out who puked on Anna's gear in her tent. We had put Nickhel in there with Mairie but no one could confirm if it was him who had puked on her gear. Some people even went as far as to examine the puke to determine if there was meat in it or nor (after all, Nickhel is a Vegetarian). Who knows, maybe he even did it on purpose...jk...not!
It was a very sentimental morning (Day 50) as we were saying goodbye to part of the group who had been with us pretty much from the beginning of the trip. There is always a few who you don't mind leaving behind but almost all of them would be certainly missed for the last three weeks of the trip. It is hard because you get to know someone and when you say goodbye, although there is a chance you may see them again, it is likely the last time you will ever see them. I think we may definitely have to head to Australia at some point because we have met so many awesome people (Bilsey and Laura who are the coolest and as Katie would say, “the cutest couple we have ever met') from the 'Land Down Under'.
We left the gates of the campsite singing our favourite theme song, 'JAMBO' and waved goodbye to our Absolute African Friends!
Monday, October 11, 2010
ZAMBIA!!!
By now, we had started to get used to the long drives in the truck...so, it came as no surprise when Moses informed us that we had yet another long day. We packed up and were on the road by 7am. With the exception of a few bathroom stops and a quick grocery run, (where we picked up another newbie named Nickhel) we remained cooped up in the hot-humid truck until 5pm. It then took an additional 1.5 hours to cross the border into Zambia where by we had yet another hour of driving – fun, fun , FUN!!! Chrisitine and I gave everyone a chuckle when we whipped out our backgammon at the border and where playing while we were in cue. The last half hour of the drive turned into a club as we blasted the music and had the entire truck dancing and grooving to its beat (Jambo Bueano, I Just Cant Wait To Be King, London Underground and Bhomeian Rhapsodey).
When we reached our camp at Mama Rula's, we had just enough energy to set up our tents - the days drive had killed us. After supper, which was served at 9pm, Jeremy and I headed straight to bed.
The following morning (Day 38) was yet another early one where we were up, packed and fed by 7am. We drove the 130km to South Luangwa which took just over 5 hours with the African road conditions – TIA (This is Africa)! When we pulled into the Croc Valley Camp, we were very pleased with the facilities – the camp was situated along the Luangwa River where crocs and hippo's infested the water. There was a swimming pool and fantastic bathrooms with proper sit down toilets and hot showers (total luxury). The owner sat the group down and basically scared 50% of the group with stories about what has happened in the past. All that separated the camp from the National Park was the River and he told us that this does not stop the animals from crossing over. On previous experiences, he has had Elephants drinking out of the swimming pool, a baby elephant stuck in the swimming pool (and there are scratches to prove it), hippo's out grazing next to tents, a pride of lions walking around camp and Hyena's scavenging for table scraps. Moses also informed us that it was at this location that a bull elephant had smashed the back of the truck window during the night to access some fruit it had smelt. So, as a result, we had to be very careful and we were not allowed any food in the tent and all fruits and veggies had to be locked up in the fridge.
Majority of the group cooled off in the swimming pool before departing on our afternoon game drive at the South Luangwa National Park. There were 2 4x4 Jeeps that picked the group up and immediately after exiting the camp, our Jeep stumbled across 2 elephants feeding (Momma and her baby). We continued to spot a lot of elephants as we drove throughout the park and we could not help but notice how small these elephants were (tusks included) to the ones that we have seen in the past. Our guide informed us that this was not always the case but because of the heaving poaching which occurred many years ago, the elephants adapted. Because most of the large tusked elephants had been wiped out the only elephants to give birth to new babies were those with small tusks, forever changing the lineage in the park.
When the sun was starting to set, the Jeep pulled over and we had some refreshments and peanuts before beginning the night drive. The highlight of the night drive was that we stumbled into three different leopards (which is VERY uncommon) and all were separate sightings. I accidentally forgot my glasses so I could really only claim to have spotted two...although I did mistake a warthog for a leopard – not sure if that one counts – lol! The first spotting was really cool because he had hidden himself in a bush. When he was ready to leave, we heard a twig snap and that was it, he was gone and we could not believe how fast he had disappeared. When we were dropped back off at camp, Moses and Robert had prepared for us an amazing supper – I think I would be correct when I say that the group inhaled the food because within 5 minutes of being served, all plates were empty. This is my only negative thing I have to say about the over lander...I hate that we eat so late because there is nothing healthy about eating a big meal right before heading to bed. But with this being said, there is nothing we can do to avoid it because we are either always driving or on the go that by the time we have arrived at camp or returned from an excursion, it is already so late in the afternoon.
The next morning (Day 39) Jeremy and I were up and ready for our morning game drive. Majority of the group opted for another game drive although it was an extra expense we had to incur (the first game drive was covered by the group kitty). I was actually on the fence about whether I should go or not but I am so grateful that I did go because nearing the end of our morning drive, Janelle spotted a Leopard!!! Our very old but very cute driver could not spot it so we all showed him where to go. He actually drove off the road and into the bush which Jeremy and I were pretty amazed about. Just as we thought we had lost him, the Leopard darted up out of the grass not more than ten feet from us. He sat there for a few minutes posing which gave every one on the truck ample time at picture taking. As he started to leave, he crouched and in stealth like mode (he was hunting impala's not more than 50 feet from us) crawled across the ground with his prominent shoulder blades sticking high up in the air – so so cool! After he continued towards his kill, our guide starting reversing and had nearly everyone on the truck ready to scream bloody murder. Jeremy and I had been on enough game drives to know that driving off road is a huge offence in a National Park and we just assumed he was scared – I mean, what he just did for us could have cost him his job. When we were back on the road, he apologized and told us it is not encouraged to watch when a Lion or Leopard hunts because our presence could throw the creature off. We accepted this (although we might not have believed it) and then again, he stopped and quite timidly told us not to tell anyone we went off of the road. We were all touched and even the people on the truck that were angry with him before realized just what he had done for us.
The remainder of the day was spent relaxing and lounging in the hot Zambian sun. I relaxed by visiting with Christine, reading and a bit of blog writing (this blog has become a major nuisance but we are sure that in years to come when we look back and reminisce, we will be so appreciative that we wrote our whole journey down) while overlooking the breathtaking view of the river and the hippos below. Actually, at one point in the day, I watched in horror as three locals walked into the river with a canoe – I mean, HELLO...don't they know that the waters are infested with crocs and Hippo's??? Although they did get into the canoe when they reached the mid point of the river, I could not take my eyes off of them and I was sure that at some point, I would hear their screams as they were attacked. Jeremy spent the entire day hanging with the yougins...I say youngins because we have a group of 5 guys that are 18...they have tons of energy and bring tons of energy to the group – we absolutely love them! These are the same guys that stay up drinking at the bar till 3 and 4 in the morning EVERY NIGHT- WTF??? Oh...how to be young again. It was also Willl's 19th Birthday (yes...birthdays = yummy birthday cake!)so the boys made sure that they had Will feeling really good by late afternoon. Jeremy came back to me shirtless and covered in welts from drinking ping pong games that they had been playing all afternoon. After a delicious supper the entire group headed to the bar to celebrate. Will did surprisingly good considering he had consumed loads of beer and had done at least ten shooters before finally succumbing to the 19 year birthday puke (because lets face it, we have all been there and done it...and felt the effects the following day). That night as we crawled into our tents, we fell asleep to the sounds of Hippo's grazing nearby.
The following morning (Day 40) we had the luxury of sleeping in...of course, as it so happened, we were unable to sleep in because as soon as the sun came out, the tents were like convectional ovens. But even with that being said, it was so nice to wake up and kick back and relax and take our own time to eat breakfast before packing up. That day we drove the 130 kms back (5+ hours) to Mama Rula's. When we arrived, Billsy and Laura rallied a decent sized group for a run. Although I was unable to keep up with either of them, Janelle, Rhesa, Christine, Melissa, Anna and I were quite content to hover in the back. The highlight of our run was when a couple of local (extremely adorable) kids joined in our run with us. We were high fiving them and encouraging them to keep up with us. When we were at our half way point, we abruptly stopped and changed directions...this had the kids really confused but they still continued to follow us. I was very impressed because here we were, more than double there size and we were completely exhausted...I cant not even imagine how they were feeling (although they looked completely fine). When we reached back to camp, I got the girls to join in on my boxing circuit. We were told that a German Shepard had just taken a poo right around the area we were at so we all made sure to double check the area of grass we were in and around. I guess Anna had not looked closely enough because on her first sit up that she went down on, she came up screaming with poo smeared all over her shirt – it smelt disgusting (although it was kind of funny!). That night Jeremy's cooking group made the most delicious burgers and rice salad and again, it was completely inhaled. Later on that night, a crowd gathered around Jeremy...or should I say Barber Jeremy as he shaved off all of the hair on Nick, Chris and Trino's hair (he actually left a Mohawk on both Trino's and Nick's hair) and surprisingly, it kept us entertained for the remainder of the night.
The following morning (Day 41) was yet again another early day and we hopped on the truck and were bound for Lusaka, the capital of Zambia. We briefly stopped at a Shoprite for supper groceries before making our way to the campsite. The truck ride was uneventful until our truck popped the curb and drove across the meridian onto oncoming traffic. We thought this was very strange but then we saw others around us doing the same and realized it must have been a very common practice in this country...after all...TIA. As we were driving (on the wrong side of the road) we came across another over lander truck called Gecko. We have ran into the Gecko's before at some campsites and I think it is just an unwritten rule that opposing over lander trucks are your 'arch enemy'. It couldn't have worked out any more beautiful then it did because as we crossed back onto the 'right' side of the road, wouldn't you know that we were immediately adjacent to the Gecko's. They smiled at us and started waving...but that was before Nick and Trino starting spraying them with water guns (Gemma earlier that day had purchased some water guns not realizing just how fantastic and useful they would be). They retaliated with their own water bottles and as it worked out, Janelle (an innocent bystander on the truck) was the only one that got wet. So...here we were, 2 overlanders stuck in rush hour traffic having a full force water fight – it was so great.
After we sealed up all the windows one of the young guys thought it would be funny to follow up the water fight with a dance off and before you knew it, we were listening to 'I'm too sexy for my shirt'. So, in minutes the guys were completely shirtless and dancing like I have never seen before. Jeremy and Billsy would probably take the cake for most ingenious dance and I have the whole episode on video! Jeremy at first went down the aisle and after placing his one foot on the bookcase started doing deep lounges. He then placed his other foot on the fridge and was complete off of the floor lounging deeper and deeper (I laughed and told the girls around me that he has been holding out on me – haha!). When traffic finally started to move an hour later, it was not long before we pulled into camp and just as we did, the song, "I Got A Feeling" by the Black Eyed Peas starting playing. When Moses came into the truck to give his spiel about the campground and supper etc., he got caught up in the moment and ended up dancing the entire song (again, I have this on video). I assumed he would dance for maybe like 30 seconds and then ask to turn it down...but nope, he danced the whole song and it was completely priceless.
That night we cooked BBQ Chicken and Veggies. I have never eaten pumpkin before as a Veggie until this trip. We have it all the time back home but in baking and not by itself. I had to consult with my Canadian friends, Melissa and Brandon, to confirm if they felt the same way that I did. They did of course but we made an oath to eat it back home as a veggie because it is so delicious and Jeremy and I can not believe what we have been missing out on all of these years. So those of you reading this, trust us...just go out and buy a pumpkin, clean out the seeds and cut it up into pieces – wrap it in tinfoil and barbeque it like you would a baked potatoe – yummy yummy!
The following morning (Day 42) a small group of us went for a morning run. As usual, Laura and Billsy were at the front with Max and Christine. Janelle,Rhesa and I were in the back and as we were running, we joked that we were on a 'Game Run' as we had run across Impala's and Gazelle's (and the night before there was a Zebra spottingin the campsite). We returned back to camp feeling so refreshed and ready to take on another long day on the truck. Half an hour later, Billsy and Max strolled back in. We had just assumed that Christine and Laura were also back and in the bathroom showering. We later found out that they had not returned because they had gotten horribly lost (we joke that it was the blind leading the blind as they are notoriously bad for their directions) and their 40 minute run turned into just under 1 ½ hours. The truck drive was uneventful, with the exception of a blown tire which was fixed in under half an hour thanks to Robert, Moses and my Jeremy. We were bound for Lake Kariba, a days drive away where we would be spending the following three nights on a house boat. We were informed before hand that there were 2 double rooms and bundles of bunks. The couples rolled dice to determine who would get the luxury of the double bed and wouldn't you believe our luck, our number was drawn as well as Billsy and Laura.
We arrived late at night and spent the first twenty minutes transporting the group's food down a very dark and steep hill onto the houseboat. Once this was done, we had to climb back up the hill and transport our own personal belongings and booze to the boat. It was quite the process. Because we arrived at the camp so late, it was yet another late supper (we ate at 9;15pm) and so of course majority of the people were well on their way to being drunk...especially the birthday boy, Trino (I heart birthdays!!! and mine is next in line). For the remainder of night, the group drank and played cards. Just when I was ready to head to bed, the young Jibaltyo boys decided to jump into the freezing cold hot tub and have a quick splash. Similar to the "I too Sexy"dance off on the truck, they started chanting each others name to 'man up'and join them in the tub. Of course, my Jeremy was first in line and I tried to plead with him not to go because he was sick and the water was freezing. But...of course, Jeremy glad;y through off his shirt and headed for the tub. This continued until all the guys were in the tub splashing around like a 2 year old. The boys next started chanting the girls and they made it as far as Aussie Claire and Rhesa before there was literally no more room in the tub. I again have all of this on video – too funny!
The next morning (Day 43) was a great sleep in for all and Jeremy and I were so SO appreciative for the fact that we were not in a tent and rather sleeping on the ground had actual beds. The day was very relaxed and was just spent reading and sleeping. The sun was still not out which was a huge disappointment for all of us. Jeremy, Claire, Mairie and I helped with the prep work for Lasagna for supper (the boat had an oven so we made sure that for every meal we utilized it to its full extent). When 5 o'clockk hit, everyone eagerly went downstairs to prepare for the 'fancy dress party'or what we liked to call, the 'ugly dress party". We had purchased these awful looking dresses and clothes in a local town in Malawi for 500 kwachas ($3 dollars). It was funny to see the locals, after pulling up in our overland truck,come sprinting at us with bags full of these dresses. I was joking with Brandon (our Canadian Friend) that the dresses looked like the clothes you can pick up from Value Village when we both noticed a Value Village price tag – talk about ironic! We all started to get decked out and I was so excited to pull out my never used before make up bag (I had brought it along for Europe). I gave myself the hot 60's style bangs with very gaudy make up. Everyone loved my make up job that I had done so they asked me to do theirs...boys included. I think in the end, I had done almost all of the make up and it was so easy too because even if I screwed up, it added to the uglyniess look. I was especially pleased with Jeremy's make up as I gave him a long curly moustache with my black eye liner! Before the party officially started we all had our own personal portraits taken which are priceless.
Chris (the fun and hard core party animal) was in charge of making the punch which meant that it was very very strong. So, again, similar to last night, most people were feeling pretty good even before the supper was served. We spent the entire night dancing our hearts out (I totally felt like I was back in my University days and dancing the night away with my girls). Jemma had purchased some outrageously large sunglasses which made for some really funny pics. Jeremy was enjoying his time with the young boys and Tom (who quite possibility had the gayest outfit next to Brandon) in very inappropriate but hilarious poses.
At one point during the night, I was so sweaty that I needed a quick breather. I leaned against a column next to Aussie Claire and then Jemma who just randomly had some Saran wrap wrapped us together. We laughed and thought it was all fine (as we were having a great heart to heart conversation) until Trino, grinning ear to ear held up a large garbage sized container filled with the cool hot tub water. I warned him and told him countless times that if he did what I think he was going to do, that I would personally kick his ass. He hesitated then apparently went for it after Jeremy leaned in his ear and said go for it (I found this out later otherwise Jeremy would have also been a dead man). After being completely drenched from head to toe, Claire and I looked at each other in shock and, like lunatic savages, ripped off our Saran wrap and tackled Trino. We had him pinned to the ground and were successfully ripping his clothed off when Jeremy tackled me in attempt to save him. Thanks to Jeremy';s extra effort, Trino managed to make a run for his bedroom. I had also snuck away at was chasing after him when Jeremy, a second time, tackled me and we both flew into the counter of the bar. We sat there laughing and regaining our breath before Claire and I again went for Trino. By this point, he was safely locked behind his bedroom door. We realized just how scared he truly was and of course we did not want him to spend the remainder of the night locked in his room so we promised him that we would call a truce. He timidly came out of his room and we all had a truce hug but ever since that moment, he has been scared shitless of both Claire and I. When we came back to the dance floor, Billsy was laughing his ass off and showed us his pictures of what just happened. We laughed so hard (I guess we all did minus Trino) when he started narrating the story as an animal documentary and calling us girls "the hyena's" and Trino as the "wounded prey". All in all, it was a FANTASTIC night and memories and pictures that we will treasure forever.
The following morning (Day 44), some of us were starting to get up while others (the young ones) were just heading to bed. Again, the sun still did not shine which made a lot of people very angry, myself included especially when we have had 95% perfect weather while on this trip. I was reading on the top deck when some guys came up for a swim. Lake Karibu is infested with crocodiles but because we were in the middle of the lake, the captain informed us that it was safe out here. I still thought, "HELL NO" would you ever catch me dead jumping into that water. Well...can you imagine who was the first to go in???? Of course it had to be Jeremy!!! Even some of the girls went swimming which was pretty impressive considering they jumped off of the third floor deck - crazy – crazy – crazy people!!!
Jeremy went fishing with Tom on a small motor boat but sadly caught nothing. I relaxed on the top deck with Billsy, Laura, Christine and Gemma. We gossiped, read and played game after game of Backgammon (Christine is my Backgammon Buddy) and I even convinced Gemma to give me a pedicure – my lucky day! When the sun set, we could not believe how fast the day went...especially because the following day the house boating would be over and we would be back to our uncomfy tents. That night after supper, most people chilled out except for Brandon and Mel who had much to celebrate as they had just been informed that Brandon had finished 3rd out of his class of 100 in law – go Canada!
Early the next morning (Day 45) we got up and had to scramble to pack our disaster of a room back into our bags and be off the boat by 8:30. Once we managed to get everything off the boat we were taken on a tour of the croc farm. It was a large farm that takes trouble crocs from the surrounding villages and keeps them in captivity so they don't harm any one us or some local doesn't take things into his own hands. There is thousands of crocs on the farm and as we pulled up to the pool of crocs it was amazing to see them all sitting together not trying to kill eachother...okay well some of them were.
We were on an open jeep and were all a bit timid when they drove us right into an area which had a large pool with thousands of several meter sized crocs. Some of them were sitting no more than a meter off the road and when we stopped beside them everyone leaned farther into the truck to stay as far away as we could. At one point we pulled up to the water and the guide told us to get out of the truck. He had a large stick which he said could be used to poke to the nose of the most curious crocs that ventured up to us. After feeding the crocs and watching them jump over eachother to try and get the food we sat watching them. At one point one of the crocs tried to slyly climb up closer to the guide. He seemed very sure of himself and tried to poke the nose of the croc with his long stick. It did not have the effect he had explained and the croc kept getting closer. This was a bit worrisome but what really scared everyone was when all of a sudden all of the crocs became spooked and started to stir and move quickly around. Luckily they must have been a little scared of us because they all ran back into the water.
After our croc tour we hopped back on the truck and headed for Livingstone. Because all of us had amassed a huge collection of wooden figurines over the last week, we were to stop at a post office and post all of our souvenirs back to Canada. Maira had sent back some of her stuff at our last destination and paid an arm and a leg to do so. Therefore, we were a bit apprehensive of how much our 50 kilograms would cost us so we thought we better look into how much we could take on the plane. We had originally thought we were able to take two bags each at a weight of 32kg per bag but after my mother had talked to the airline we were not certain we could do so. Unfortunately, most of the internet networks in town were down (it is not uncommon for an entire city to lose internet at once). We finally managed to find one and to our horror our bag limit was much less than we had originally thought. Therefore, we quickly ran back to the truck grabbed one of our oddly shaped items and began scrambling to pack it. We managed to finish the packing quickly and luckily had to pay only $150 to send it back home. We still have one more box to pick up in South Africa to repack and take with us. We can't afford to get there and have to pay another $150 per bag because we are already going to be pretty tight on room and weight.
After the post we headed to Victoria falls to see it on the Zambian side of the river before heading to the other side. Many of the people had gotten off the truck and figured that when Moses said we will get wet, that he was exaggerating. We had been to the other side and informed people that what he was saying was true. However, we never realized that it would be so different. The initial lookouts rained down a fine mist but when we went to cross the bridge there was actually a river flowing down it. At this point it was just Katie and I and we struggled to make it up the bridge without following over. At first it didn't seem like it would be worth it but when we were crossing the bridge we passed the most spectacular circular rainbow. When we reached the other side we found Chris wearing his normal attire (corduroy pants and dress shirt) but now he was dripping wet. He had figured it wouldn't be too bad but now realized he had been wrong. It didn't matter because it was so hot out that he was nearly dry by the time we had finished visiting the falls and gotten free laundry service.
We spent an hour and a half at the falls and managed to get great pictures with the two of us and the rest of the group. However, now we can personally say that the view from the Zimbabwean side is much nicer and you managed to stay a little dryer.
When we reached our camp at Mama Rula's, we had just enough energy to set up our tents - the days drive had killed us. After supper, which was served at 9pm, Jeremy and I headed straight to bed.
The following morning (Day 38) was yet another early one where we were up, packed and fed by 7am. We drove the 130km to South Luangwa which took just over 5 hours with the African road conditions – TIA (This is Africa)! When we pulled into the Croc Valley Camp, we were very pleased with the facilities – the camp was situated along the Luangwa River where crocs and hippo's infested the water. There was a swimming pool and fantastic bathrooms with proper sit down toilets and hot showers (total luxury). The owner sat the group down and basically scared 50% of the group with stories about what has happened in the past. All that separated the camp from the National Park was the River and he told us that this does not stop the animals from crossing over. On previous experiences, he has had Elephants drinking out of the swimming pool, a baby elephant stuck in the swimming pool (and there are scratches to prove it), hippo's out grazing next to tents, a pride of lions walking around camp and Hyena's scavenging for table scraps. Moses also informed us that it was at this location that a bull elephant had smashed the back of the truck window during the night to access some fruit it had smelt. So, as a result, we had to be very careful and we were not allowed any food in the tent and all fruits and veggies had to be locked up in the fridge.
Majority of the group cooled off in the swimming pool before departing on our afternoon game drive at the South Luangwa National Park. There were 2 4x4 Jeeps that picked the group up and immediately after exiting the camp, our Jeep stumbled across 2 elephants feeding (Momma and her baby). We continued to spot a lot of elephants as we drove throughout the park and we could not help but notice how small these elephants were (tusks included) to the ones that we have seen in the past. Our guide informed us that this was not always the case but because of the heaving poaching which occurred many years ago, the elephants adapted. Because most of the large tusked elephants had been wiped out the only elephants to give birth to new babies were those with small tusks, forever changing the lineage in the park.
When the sun was starting to set, the Jeep pulled over and we had some refreshments and peanuts before beginning the night drive. The highlight of the night drive was that we stumbled into three different leopards (which is VERY uncommon) and all were separate sightings. I accidentally forgot my glasses so I could really only claim to have spotted two...although I did mistake a warthog for a leopard – not sure if that one counts – lol! The first spotting was really cool because he had hidden himself in a bush. When he was ready to leave, we heard a twig snap and that was it, he was gone and we could not believe how fast he had disappeared. When we were dropped back off at camp, Moses and Robert had prepared for us an amazing supper – I think I would be correct when I say that the group inhaled the food because within 5 minutes of being served, all plates were empty. This is my only negative thing I have to say about the over lander...I hate that we eat so late because there is nothing healthy about eating a big meal right before heading to bed. But with this being said, there is nothing we can do to avoid it because we are either always driving or on the go that by the time we have arrived at camp or returned from an excursion, it is already so late in the afternoon.
The next morning (Day 39) Jeremy and I were up and ready for our morning game drive. Majority of the group opted for another game drive although it was an extra expense we had to incur (the first game drive was covered by the group kitty). I was actually on the fence about whether I should go or not but I am so grateful that I did go because nearing the end of our morning drive, Janelle spotted a Leopard!!! Our very old but very cute driver could not spot it so we all showed him where to go. He actually drove off the road and into the bush which Jeremy and I were pretty amazed about. Just as we thought we had lost him, the Leopard darted up out of the grass not more than ten feet from us. He sat there for a few minutes posing which gave every one on the truck ample time at picture taking. As he started to leave, he crouched and in stealth like mode (he was hunting impala's not more than 50 feet from us) crawled across the ground with his prominent shoulder blades sticking high up in the air – so so cool! After he continued towards his kill, our guide starting reversing and had nearly everyone on the truck ready to scream bloody murder. Jeremy and I had been on enough game drives to know that driving off road is a huge offence in a National Park and we just assumed he was scared – I mean, what he just did for us could have cost him his job. When we were back on the road, he apologized and told us it is not encouraged to watch when a Lion or Leopard hunts because our presence could throw the creature off. We accepted this (although we might not have believed it) and then again, he stopped and quite timidly told us not to tell anyone we went off of the road. We were all touched and even the people on the truck that were angry with him before realized just what he had done for us.
The remainder of the day was spent relaxing and lounging in the hot Zambian sun. I relaxed by visiting with Christine, reading and a bit of blog writing (this blog has become a major nuisance but we are sure that in years to come when we look back and reminisce, we will be so appreciative that we wrote our whole journey down) while overlooking the breathtaking view of the river and the hippos below. Actually, at one point in the day, I watched in horror as three locals walked into the river with a canoe – I mean, HELLO...don't they know that the waters are infested with crocs and Hippo's??? Although they did get into the canoe when they reached the mid point of the river, I could not take my eyes off of them and I was sure that at some point, I would hear their screams as they were attacked. Jeremy spent the entire day hanging with the yougins...I say youngins because we have a group of 5 guys that are 18...they have tons of energy and bring tons of energy to the group – we absolutely love them! These are the same guys that stay up drinking at the bar till 3 and 4 in the morning EVERY NIGHT- WTF??? Oh...how to be young again. It was also Willl's 19th Birthday (yes...birthdays = yummy birthday cake!)so the boys made sure that they had Will feeling really good by late afternoon. Jeremy came back to me shirtless and covered in welts from drinking ping pong games that they had been playing all afternoon. After a delicious supper the entire group headed to the bar to celebrate. Will did surprisingly good considering he had consumed loads of beer and had done at least ten shooters before finally succumbing to the 19 year birthday puke (because lets face it, we have all been there and done it...and felt the effects the following day). That night as we crawled into our tents, we fell asleep to the sounds of Hippo's grazing nearby.
The following morning (Day 40) we had the luxury of sleeping in...of course, as it so happened, we were unable to sleep in because as soon as the sun came out, the tents were like convectional ovens. But even with that being said, it was so nice to wake up and kick back and relax and take our own time to eat breakfast before packing up. That day we drove the 130 kms back (5+ hours) to Mama Rula's. When we arrived, Billsy and Laura rallied a decent sized group for a run. Although I was unable to keep up with either of them, Janelle, Rhesa, Christine, Melissa, Anna and I were quite content to hover in the back. The highlight of our run was when a couple of local (extremely adorable) kids joined in our run with us. We were high fiving them and encouraging them to keep up with us. When we were at our half way point, we abruptly stopped and changed directions...this had the kids really confused but they still continued to follow us. I was very impressed because here we were, more than double there size and we were completely exhausted...I cant not even imagine how they were feeling (although they looked completely fine). When we reached back to camp, I got the girls to join in on my boxing circuit. We were told that a German Shepard had just taken a poo right around the area we were at so we all made sure to double check the area of grass we were in and around. I guess Anna had not looked closely enough because on her first sit up that she went down on, she came up screaming with poo smeared all over her shirt – it smelt disgusting (although it was kind of funny!). That night Jeremy's cooking group made the most delicious burgers and rice salad and again, it was completely inhaled. Later on that night, a crowd gathered around Jeremy...or should I say Barber Jeremy as he shaved off all of the hair on Nick, Chris and Trino's hair (he actually left a Mohawk on both Trino's and Nick's hair) and surprisingly, it kept us entertained for the remainder of the night.
The following morning (Day 41) was yet again another early day and we hopped on the truck and were bound for Lusaka, the capital of Zambia. We briefly stopped at a Shoprite for supper groceries before making our way to the campsite. The truck ride was uneventful until our truck popped the curb and drove across the meridian onto oncoming traffic. We thought this was very strange but then we saw others around us doing the same and realized it must have been a very common practice in this country...after all...TIA. As we were driving (on the wrong side of the road) we came across another over lander truck called Gecko. We have ran into the Gecko's before at some campsites and I think it is just an unwritten rule that opposing over lander trucks are your 'arch enemy'. It couldn't have worked out any more beautiful then it did because as we crossed back onto the 'right' side of the road, wouldn't you know that we were immediately adjacent to the Gecko's. They smiled at us and started waving...but that was before Nick and Trino starting spraying them with water guns (Gemma earlier that day had purchased some water guns not realizing just how fantastic and useful they would be). They retaliated with their own water bottles and as it worked out, Janelle (an innocent bystander on the truck) was the only one that got wet. So...here we were, 2 overlanders stuck in rush hour traffic having a full force water fight – it was so great.
After we sealed up all the windows one of the young guys thought it would be funny to follow up the water fight with a dance off and before you knew it, we were listening to 'I'm too sexy for my shirt'. So, in minutes the guys were completely shirtless and dancing like I have never seen before. Jeremy and Billsy would probably take the cake for most ingenious dance and I have the whole episode on video! Jeremy at first went down the aisle and after placing his one foot on the bookcase started doing deep lounges. He then placed his other foot on the fridge and was complete off of the floor lounging deeper and deeper (I laughed and told the girls around me that he has been holding out on me – haha!). When traffic finally started to move an hour later, it was not long before we pulled into camp and just as we did, the song, "I Got A Feeling" by the Black Eyed Peas starting playing. When Moses came into the truck to give his spiel about the campground and supper etc., he got caught up in the moment and ended up dancing the entire song (again, I have this on video). I assumed he would dance for maybe like 30 seconds and then ask to turn it down...but nope, he danced the whole song and it was completely priceless.
That night we cooked BBQ Chicken and Veggies. I have never eaten pumpkin before as a Veggie until this trip. We have it all the time back home but in baking and not by itself. I had to consult with my Canadian friends, Melissa and Brandon, to confirm if they felt the same way that I did. They did of course but we made an oath to eat it back home as a veggie because it is so delicious and Jeremy and I can not believe what we have been missing out on all of these years. So those of you reading this, trust us...just go out and buy a pumpkin, clean out the seeds and cut it up into pieces – wrap it in tinfoil and barbeque it like you would a baked potatoe – yummy yummy!
The following morning (Day 42) a small group of us went for a morning run. As usual, Laura and Billsy were at the front with Max and Christine. Janelle,Rhesa and I were in the back and as we were running, we joked that we were on a 'Game Run' as we had run across Impala's and Gazelle's (and the night before there was a Zebra spottingin the campsite). We returned back to camp feeling so refreshed and ready to take on another long day on the truck. Half an hour later, Billsy and Max strolled back in. We had just assumed that Christine and Laura were also back and in the bathroom showering. We later found out that they had not returned because they had gotten horribly lost (we joke that it was the blind leading the blind as they are notoriously bad for their directions) and their 40 minute run turned into just under 1 ½ hours. The truck drive was uneventful, with the exception of a blown tire which was fixed in under half an hour thanks to Robert, Moses and my Jeremy. We were bound for Lake Kariba, a days drive away where we would be spending the following three nights on a house boat. We were informed before hand that there were 2 double rooms and bundles of bunks. The couples rolled dice to determine who would get the luxury of the double bed and wouldn't you believe our luck, our number was drawn as well as Billsy and Laura.
We arrived late at night and spent the first twenty minutes transporting the group's food down a very dark and steep hill onto the houseboat. Once this was done, we had to climb back up the hill and transport our own personal belongings and booze to the boat. It was quite the process. Because we arrived at the camp so late, it was yet another late supper (we ate at 9;15pm) and so of course majority of the people were well on their way to being drunk...especially the birthday boy, Trino (I heart birthdays!!! and mine is next in line). For the remainder of night, the group drank and played cards. Just when I was ready to head to bed, the young Jibaltyo boys decided to jump into the freezing cold hot tub and have a quick splash. Similar to the "I too Sexy"dance off on the truck, they started chanting each others name to 'man up'and join them in the tub. Of course, my Jeremy was first in line and I tried to plead with him not to go because he was sick and the water was freezing. But...of course, Jeremy glad;y through off his shirt and headed for the tub. This continued until all the guys were in the tub splashing around like a 2 year old. The boys next started chanting the girls and they made it as far as Aussie Claire and Rhesa before there was literally no more room in the tub. I again have all of this on video – too funny!
The next morning (Day 43) was a great sleep in for all and Jeremy and I were so SO appreciative for the fact that we were not in a tent and rather sleeping on the ground had actual beds. The day was very relaxed and was just spent reading and sleeping. The sun was still not out which was a huge disappointment for all of us. Jeremy, Claire, Mairie and I helped with the prep work for Lasagna for supper (the boat had an oven so we made sure that for every meal we utilized it to its full extent). When 5 o'clockk hit, everyone eagerly went downstairs to prepare for the 'fancy dress party'or what we liked to call, the 'ugly dress party". We had purchased these awful looking dresses and clothes in a local town in Malawi for 500 kwachas ($3 dollars). It was funny to see the locals, after pulling up in our overland truck,come sprinting at us with bags full of these dresses. I was joking with Brandon (our Canadian Friend) that the dresses looked like the clothes you can pick up from Value Village when we both noticed a Value Village price tag – talk about ironic! We all started to get decked out and I was so excited to pull out my never used before make up bag (I had brought it along for Europe). I gave myself the hot 60's style bangs with very gaudy make up. Everyone loved my make up job that I had done so they asked me to do theirs...boys included. I think in the end, I had done almost all of the make up and it was so easy too because even if I screwed up, it added to the uglyniess look. I was especially pleased with Jeremy's make up as I gave him a long curly moustache with my black eye liner! Before the party officially started we all had our own personal portraits taken which are priceless.
Chris (the fun and hard core party animal) was in charge of making the punch which meant that it was very very strong. So, again, similar to last night, most people were feeling pretty good even before the supper was served. We spent the entire night dancing our hearts out (I totally felt like I was back in my University days and dancing the night away with my girls). Jemma had purchased some outrageously large sunglasses which made for some really funny pics. Jeremy was enjoying his time with the young boys and Tom (who quite possibility had the gayest outfit next to Brandon) in very inappropriate but hilarious poses.
At one point during the night, I was so sweaty that I needed a quick breather. I leaned against a column next to Aussie Claire and then Jemma who just randomly had some Saran wrap wrapped us together. We laughed and thought it was all fine (as we were having a great heart to heart conversation) until Trino, grinning ear to ear held up a large garbage sized container filled with the cool hot tub water. I warned him and told him countless times that if he did what I think he was going to do, that I would personally kick his ass. He hesitated then apparently went for it after Jeremy leaned in his ear and said go for it (I found this out later otherwise Jeremy would have also been a dead man). After being completely drenched from head to toe, Claire and I looked at each other in shock and, like lunatic savages, ripped off our Saran wrap and tackled Trino. We had him pinned to the ground and were successfully ripping his clothed off when Jeremy tackled me in attempt to save him. Thanks to Jeremy';s extra effort, Trino managed to make a run for his bedroom. I had also snuck away at was chasing after him when Jeremy, a second time, tackled me and we both flew into the counter of the bar. We sat there laughing and regaining our breath before Claire and I again went for Trino. By this point, he was safely locked behind his bedroom door. We realized just how scared he truly was and of course we did not want him to spend the remainder of the night locked in his room so we promised him that we would call a truce. He timidly came out of his room and we all had a truce hug but ever since that moment, he has been scared shitless of both Claire and I. When we came back to the dance floor, Billsy was laughing his ass off and showed us his pictures of what just happened. We laughed so hard (I guess we all did minus Trino) when he started narrating the story as an animal documentary and calling us girls "the hyena's" and Trino as the "wounded prey". All in all, it was a FANTASTIC night and memories and pictures that we will treasure forever.
The following morning (Day 44), some of us were starting to get up while others (the young ones) were just heading to bed. Again, the sun still did not shine which made a lot of people very angry, myself included especially when we have had 95% perfect weather while on this trip. I was reading on the top deck when some guys came up for a swim. Lake Karibu is infested with crocodiles but because we were in the middle of the lake, the captain informed us that it was safe out here. I still thought, "HELL NO" would you ever catch me dead jumping into that water. Well...can you imagine who was the first to go in???? Of course it had to be Jeremy!!! Even some of the girls went swimming which was pretty impressive considering they jumped off of the third floor deck - crazy – crazy – crazy people!!!
Jeremy went fishing with Tom on a small motor boat but sadly caught nothing. I relaxed on the top deck with Billsy, Laura, Christine and Gemma. We gossiped, read and played game after game of Backgammon (Christine is my Backgammon Buddy) and I even convinced Gemma to give me a pedicure – my lucky day! When the sun set, we could not believe how fast the day went...especially because the following day the house boating would be over and we would be back to our uncomfy tents. That night after supper, most people chilled out except for Brandon and Mel who had much to celebrate as they had just been informed that Brandon had finished 3rd out of his class of 100 in law – go Canada!
Early the next morning (Day 45) we got up and had to scramble to pack our disaster of a room back into our bags and be off the boat by 8:30. Once we managed to get everything off the boat we were taken on a tour of the croc farm. It was a large farm that takes trouble crocs from the surrounding villages and keeps them in captivity so they don't harm any one us or some local doesn't take things into his own hands. There is thousands of crocs on the farm and as we pulled up to the pool of crocs it was amazing to see them all sitting together not trying to kill eachother...okay well some of them were.
We were on an open jeep and were all a bit timid when they drove us right into an area which had a large pool with thousands of several meter sized crocs. Some of them were sitting no more than a meter off the road and when we stopped beside them everyone leaned farther into the truck to stay as far away as we could. At one point we pulled up to the water and the guide told us to get out of the truck. He had a large stick which he said could be used to poke to the nose of the most curious crocs that ventured up to us. After feeding the crocs and watching them jump over eachother to try and get the food we sat watching them. At one point one of the crocs tried to slyly climb up closer to the guide. He seemed very sure of himself and tried to poke the nose of the croc with his long stick. It did not have the effect he had explained and the croc kept getting closer. This was a bit worrisome but what really scared everyone was when all of a sudden all of the crocs became spooked and started to stir and move quickly around. Luckily they must have been a little scared of us because they all ran back into the water.
After our croc tour we hopped back on the truck and headed for Livingstone. Because all of us had amassed a huge collection of wooden figurines over the last week, we were to stop at a post office and post all of our souvenirs back to Canada. Maira had sent back some of her stuff at our last destination and paid an arm and a leg to do so. Therefore, we were a bit apprehensive of how much our 50 kilograms would cost us so we thought we better look into how much we could take on the plane. We had originally thought we were able to take two bags each at a weight of 32kg per bag but after my mother had talked to the airline we were not certain we could do so. Unfortunately, most of the internet networks in town were down (it is not uncommon for an entire city to lose internet at once). We finally managed to find one and to our horror our bag limit was much less than we had originally thought. Therefore, we quickly ran back to the truck grabbed one of our oddly shaped items and began scrambling to pack it. We managed to finish the packing quickly and luckily had to pay only $150 to send it back home. We still have one more box to pick up in South Africa to repack and take with us. We can't afford to get there and have to pay another $150 per bag because we are already going to be pretty tight on room and weight.
After the post we headed to Victoria falls to see it on the Zambian side of the river before heading to the other side. Many of the people had gotten off the truck and figured that when Moses said we will get wet, that he was exaggerating. We had been to the other side and informed people that what he was saying was true. However, we never realized that it would be so different. The initial lookouts rained down a fine mist but when we went to cross the bridge there was actually a river flowing down it. At this point it was just Katie and I and we struggled to make it up the bridge without following over. At first it didn't seem like it would be worth it but when we were crossing the bridge we passed the most spectacular circular rainbow. When we reached the other side we found Chris wearing his normal attire (corduroy pants and dress shirt) but now he was dripping wet. He had figured it wouldn't be too bad but now realized he had been wrong. It didn't matter because it was so hot out that he was nearly dry by the time we had finished visiting the falls and gotten free laundry service.
We spent an hour and a half at the falls and managed to get great pictures with the two of us and the rest of the group. However, now we can personally say that the view from the Zimbabwean side is much nicer and you managed to stay a little dryer.
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