Livingstone Shinanegans

As per usual, it’s now time for an update on the fun stuff. I think my time in Livingstone has been relatively tame but will leave you to judge that for yourselves

My first weekend was spent at one of the many islands on the Zambezi river, which is appropriately named Jungle Junction. The Zambezi is Zambia’s biggest river, running from the north of the country, working its way Westwards then joining the Chobe river down south [somewhere near Livingstone] at the joint border with Zimbabwe, Namibia and Botswana. Jungle Junction is essentially a jungle island that serves as a get-away destination for tourists and locals in Livingstone. There are several huts scattered around the island, which can house up to 25 people, maybe more. Each hut has the basics – bed, mosquito net and bamboo shelves. Some didn’t have doors so naughty monkeys on the island could barge in and rummage through one’s belongings at any point. Most huts had a clear [and stunning] view of the river. I shared a hut with 2 girls, a Brit and a Cypriot. There is no electricity on the island so candles and torches helped us get around at night. The showers were communal and outdoors, pretty cool actually. Privacy was not always guaranteed; there was the risk of a Peeping Tom having a peek through the cracks of the bamboo walls…err, showers were very speedy! We made the journey out there on a Friday afternoon; the evening was spent at the candlelit bar trying on [and fooling around in] fancy hats, drinking all sorts of beverages and having some intense conversations. The jungle was alive with nature’s music that night. Surprisingly we all slept very well, in spite of the “noise” and real threat of being attacked by wild animals. We woke up to the song of birds and the bright rays of the early morning sun. After breakfast, we all got into canoes and paddled across to a smaller island nearby for a beach-like experience. These islands (in some cases, more like large sandbanks) all have beach sand, so with some beach towels, sun and a bit of imagination, it WAS like being on the beach. We spent the morning there, reading, chatting and frolicking in the river despite the risk of crocs (as in the animal, not the brand of shoes) or hippos popping out at any point. After lunch, we made our way back to Jungle Junction. Some people went off to explore the island, while some extended the lazing around. A few others ventured off on the river in canoes and did a trip round the island. Closer to dusk, a few of us went for a sunset canoe ride. The sunset wasn’t as amazing as anticipated but we did appreciate the serene atmosphere on the river. That night was our final one on the island; we decided to go wild with good music and some dancing. I believe some even opted for singing, which was very entertaining. Less apprehensive about sleeping in the jungle, we retired that night and went straight to sleep. We were quite sad to leave the next day. The island had a unique peacefulness about it that we knew we would miss in the hustle and bustle of Livingstone life

The following weekend, 15 other volunteers and I ventured out to Botswana for a couple of days. The border is located about an hour away from Livingstone; we set off on a Friday afternoon and were in Chobe, Botswana 2 hours or so later; immigration and such took up the rest of the time. The plan was to set up tents and camp for the night at a campsite and go on a game drive early the next morning. We ventured out to the township that afternoon. Chobe [and Kasani, the nearby town] seemed well developed: good roads, shopping malls, etc. We had a little wander around [strangely saw a warthog resting in the parking lot at the mall!] and went back to our campsite around early evening. The tents had been set up; it would be my first experience of sleeping in a proper outdoor tent [not the semi permanent ones i'd encountered thus far] so I was excited. Dinner was a barbecue feast around a warm fire; it was delicious! We retired early that night, as we had to be up at 5.30am the next morning for the game drive. I slept very well that night, certainly better than I expected; no mosquitoes, no attacks from stray lions or hippos! I could get used to this outdoor life! After a light breakfast, we made our way to the Chobe National Park. The game drive was cool; we saw kudus, waterbucks, (both members of the antelope family), elephants [a lot of elephants!], hippos, crocs, eagles, many strange birds, impala [lots of them] and guinea fowls! The park had the Chobe river running through it and other great scenes of nearby hills. We could also see Namibia from one section of it. We went back to camp for a proper breakfast – toast, cereal, fruit and the tastiest omelette I’ve ever had. The dude who prepared it used leftovers from the previous night and it was just one of those that had everything thrown in: potatoes, onions, bacon, eggs, tomatoes, and God-knows-what-else. It was too scrumptious! We packed our stuffed bodies into the truck shortly after breakfast – the extended version and made our way home. There was a lot of sleeping on that bus!

That Sunday, we decided to spend part of the day at one of the posh hotels located near the Victoria Falls. It’s one of those places you go to if you are retired and have some money to get rid of or if you are rich; US$300 a night is NOT how I roll. It had everything on the premises – real AND fake wildlife, curio shops, an ATM, swimming pool, live music, an entertainment centre…even Victoria Falls! AI has some sort of arrangement with them so we get to go and hang out there whenever we feel like it. Anyway, the pool was very nice so we got some swimming done, played Frisbee [in the pool], ordered some lunch and for a few hours, pretended we belonged in that place. We joked about it constantly. After a few hours of seeing life on the other side, we sauntered over to Vic Falls. It is the most breathtaking thing I’ve ever seen – how a crack in the earth’s crust can make your heart skip is just testament to what a wonderfully well-created world we live in. Vic Falls is right on the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe so we saw it from the Zambian side. I would love to see it from the Zimbabwean side but there are many other things I want to see in Zimbabwe, not enough time, so I will have to book a trip out there at some stage, with one or two of my favourite people. The Falls are so deep that looking down them makes one dizzy. We ventured as close to the edge as we could, taking photos and just enjoying the scenery - a lovely way to end the weekend

The last weekend gone was a quieter one. I spent the Saturday at the museum in the Livingstone, which was very interesting. I love museums and learning about the history of countries. The artefacts displayed dated as far back as the stone ages and ran right through to independence and modern life in Zambia. Very insightful! I also got some curio shopping done [as if I haven’t done enough of that…I really need to stop buying stuff!]. The evening was relaxed – movies, dinner, some conversation. Some of the guys had gone white-water rafting on the Zambezi so we listened to the stories they had to tell; it sounded like a lot of fun. As I’d done rafting on the Nile, I’d opted out of this one

Sunday was spent lazing around for most of the day. We’d had some rain the last couple of days and that morning we had the final downpour for the weekend. It made sleeping in a very attractive prospect, one I thoroughly relished. After a late lunch, we made our way to the Zambezi Sun – the posh hotel described above. We quickly nipped to Vic Falls to catch the sunset – amazing. The water had dried up, okay not really. The water from the Zambezi is used to generate electricity in Livingstone and surrounding towns. With the dry season coming up, the water is rationed between electricity generation and running the falls. Sunday was one day that the water was scheduled to be used for electricity. There was still some water at the falls but not nearly as much as is usually there. We had drinks at the hotel to mark the end of a couple of fellow volunteers’ stay in Livingstone. We then went home for few rounds of dominoes and UNO

I’ve scouted round a few restaurants and bars as well. Limpo’s is the local pub and a few of the other volunteers hang out there often; I’ve tagged along on occasion. The restaurants around town usually cater to Western Cuisines, which is fine as I have a good deal of Nshima at the house and its nice to mix it up every now and again. I’ve also been to Rhapsody’s, a South African chain of bars; more upscale [and pretentious] and caters to tourists and expatriates in the area; they serve very good desserts though. Most of my evenings have been spent at the house hanging out with the other volunteers, which was never a waste of time and usually filled with a lot of laughter

I plan to go to Vic Falls next Saturday – I really can’t get enough of it. The plan is to venture over to Devil’s Pool, an experience, which is meant to be terrifying but after bungeeing and white-water rafting, BRING IT ON! [said tongue-in-cheek]
Can’t believe I have only one week left in Zambia [12 left in my trip; 18 weeks in the bag!]. Time is zapping by with a quickness! Next stop, St. Lucia – the African version!