Day 11 Zambia - Victoria Falls

After a nice breakfast at our guesthouse, we headed off to OR Tambo. ‘Huh?’, you ask. That’s the present name of the Johannesburg International Airport. Piet says they keep renaming things like airports depending on who’s who in current politics.

We had an 11 AM flight to Livingstone, Zambia. Unfortunately, while putting my duffle bag onto a cart, I lifted, turned and my back felt instant pain. Fortunately, my travel mates were very sympathetic and helped me considerably all throughout the day. The Joburg Airport has lots of wonderful shops but we really didn’t have much time to spare.

We were supposed to begin boarding at 10:15 but it happened about 45 minutes later. The flight was an hour and 45 minutes and we got lunch – bangers and mash, a.k.a. sausages and mashed potatoes. The potatoes were nicely flavoured and it was served with cooked onions.

The Livingstone Airport is a small one and going through customs seemed to take an eternity. Visitors must buy a visa to enter the country: either single entry visa for $50, or multi entry for $80. As we are coming back to Zambia after Botswana, the $80 USD made the most sense. It’s a really cool entry in my passport book.

We were picked up by Brenda from G Adventures and taken to our hotel about 20 minutes away. It is in a national park right beside the Zambezi River. Our room had a patio door that opens onto a bit of grass, and then the river is right there!

We didn’t have long in our rooms before we picked up for a tour of Victoria Falls. Enroute we passed many people on bicycles, most of whom were carrying large loads, boxes, and big jugs of juice. It was hot out and they were pedalling slowly. The locals had a lot more clothes on than we did, after all, it is still winter here.

We also passed a couple of elephants wandering near the side of the road and our driver stopped to let us watch. The falls viewing area is in a park and our guide paid our admission. 

First we went to the upper falls and dipped our feet in the water. Then we walked back and onto the lower falls viewing area. They truly are majestic and far larger than Niagara. We kept stopping at viewpoints every so often and marvelling at the breadth and depth of the falls. The sun together with the water spray, created the most magnificent rainbow that seemed to grow larger we further we went.

We crossed a long narrow bridge along the pathway. It wasn’t a suspension bridge, but some people were nervous about crossing it anyway. It was impossible not to get wet but it felt wonderful. My camera got wet too but I didn’t care. The photos were worth it!

When we got back we headed to the hotel restaurant for drinks and supper on the patio by the river. The sun set as we were sitting out there and it was beautiful. After such a hot day, I was surprised at how cool the evening was by 9 PM.

It’s just after 10 PM and I am beat!