Day 6
We made it to the border of Zimbabwe around midday, only to be turned away because we didn't have a 4x4. The guard told us directions to the next border, which was about an hour away but once we passed through it we would only be half an hour outside of the falls.
The border took a little while because we had to get visas, but it was surprisingly easy. A man met us at the door and offered to help us out. There were a ton of people and it was really hot but all we could do was wait. Even the men at the counter were really nice. We got through in about 45 minutes and headed for the falls. We could see the river from the road and we passed a bunch of ostrich and other small game. We'd passed a ton of signs that warned us of game crossing, but usually we saw warthogs or kudu on them. Then we passed one that got us super excited.. elephant!! We decided to get out to take a picture and then realized it was only appropriate to have a dance break too!
We pulled into the small touristy town of Victoria falls in the early afternoon. We stopped at a grocery store for a couple snacks and were approached by young men selling souvenirs and money. Fun fact! Zimbabwean currency is suspended, so there are 5 accepted currencies: South African rand, Zambian dollar, Botswana pula, the euro, and the U.S. dollar. It was so weird to see U.S. money again! It's really long and skinny compared to all the other money we've gotten used to.
Trying to find the backpackers that evening was a little confusing. We almost drove all the way into Zambia looking for it! We drove up a bunch of different roads but luckily Victoria Falls is a pretty small town that you can't really get lost in. We finally found Shoestrings and set up our tents. The whole place was really nice; they had a bar and restaurant with outside seating next to a pool and fire pit. There was even a marketplace and little spa set up on the opposite side. There's a booking office on location so we booked a full day of rafting for the next day.
We woke up really early and walked to the Wild Horizons adventure office before being picked up in a big, open safari vehicle. They took us out in the brush across from the park entrance to a little pavilion area where we got our safety briefing. Then we suited up in our helmets and life jackets before they drove us to another location. We had to climb down some really steep stairs and climb across some rocks and ledges before finally getting to our boats. They split us up into teams with our own instructors. Ours was Orbit, who has worked there for 20-some years! He took us out into the calm part of the Zambezi to show us what to do. Then he had us swim around in the water to get the feel of it. Then we set off! There are 21 rapids during the dry season; during the wet season there are only about 16 I think. They have names too: http://thezambezi.com/zambezi-river-rapid-guide.html There were also a few bonus, un-named rapids that were exposed because of the lower water. They ranged from a class 1 to a class 5; we had to get out and walk around the only class 6. It was a lot of fun and we never lost anyone from our boat! It was the 4 of us and then one other couple, Julie and Vincent from Belgium. When the rapids got bigger the instructor told us to get down so we wouldn't fall out. We did this over one of the rapids and either Julie or Emmi accidentally knocked Vincent out of the boat! Other than that no one ever fell out... until rapid #18: Oblivion. All I remember seeing is what looked like Damon jumping out of the boat, but he later said he was really knocked out. Then I went under and got stuck for a little bit. When I came up I kept gasping for air but couldn't clear the water out of my mouth because I kept getting pulled back under waves. I came up once to see Emmi a few feet ahead of me but neither of us could breathe to say anything. Then I went under one more time and felt a hand pull me out. I came up to the surface to see Nick pulling me down the river. Up ahead, Julie and Vincent were floating away too. I got stuck on some rocks that wanted to pull me off to the side, then just kept floating way ahead of everyone else. Orbit and Damon had pulled a few other people into our boat then grabbed me, then Emmi. we paddled downstream to pick up anyone else that had fallen out. We thought all three boats had flipped, but it turns out only the last boat made it through with everyone still in. It was a pretty scary experience but still worth it. We didn't get the chance to eat breakfast since we left early so at this point we were getting pretty exhausted. We finally reached the end but had to carry our equipment, and ourselves, up the gorge to our lunch spot. We reached the top and had a delicious lunch that the other workers prepared for us before heading back to Shoestrings.
An hour or so after getting home I got this terrible migraine and started feeling weak. I slept in our tent for the rest of the day until the Wild Horizons guys brought our video over. I ate a little bit and felt way better. Just in time to see the ride that gave me the whiplash that had me down for the count all day! It turns out that our boat didn't just flip, the front came up and we were completely vertical! Damon fell out first and avoided all the damage. Emmi did a flip over the side of the boat. I fell with the boat and rolled backwards over my head before getting trapped under the boat. What a day!
Later that night we made reservations for this restaurant, The Boma, that was recommended to us by people on our boat cruise in Botswana. When we arrived, they wrapped us in African-printed cloth and led us to our table. We ordered two bottles of wine for the table (usually only R50 or $5 in South Africa) and crocodile tale for our starter. After that we were free to go to the buffet and fire pit. It was a really cool atmosphere; they had drummers and dancers, people who came around to paint your face or read your fortune, and a fire pit in the middle of the restaurant. The crocodile tale was really good; it tasted like the cold chicken strips you'd get on a salad. I tried sirloin, warthog meat, chicken, ostrich, and a kudu stew from the buffet. They also had worms to taste. Emmi was the only brave one to finish it and get a certificate! After dinner they brought us drums to play and then we went up to dance in a circle. I left to use the restroom and when I came back the check was waiting, and Emmi, Nick, and Damon were silent. Turns out our touristy meal had a tourist price of $240! We were all in shock but at least we can laugh about it now. And, of course, this is the only picture we got...
The next morning we did an elephant back safari. Emmi and I rode on Tendai, a momma elephant. She had a 12-year old and a 3-year old, who still nursed so we had to stop a few times. The baby made a weird groaning/clicking sound when she wanted to eat each time. We didn't see any game but it was a nice ride and we got to feed the elephants in the end!
We still had all day so we drove to the park and paid the outrageous fee of $30 each to go see the falls. It was a little under-whelming since we had already rafted the Zambezi, but still cool nonetheless. We started near the Cataract Island and made our way through each stop. The falls weren't at full force since it's dry season but they were still really impressive and we took a gazillion pictures! And got a little bit soaked too!
Afterwards we decided there was nothing else for us to do and we were having issues with our cards working so we decided to pack it up and start driving towards Kruger that afternoon.
We never had any problems with Zimbabwe until we were close to being out. First, Damon got pulled over for going just a couple km's over the limit, and was told to get out of the car and was given a ticket which he could pay there. Then, the border was miserable! It was confusing enough to begin with, but then we asked a man for help and he demanded we pay him $200 or else he'd say that we didn't claim things as we came into South Africa. Luckily we only had $20 in cash to give him so he accepted it. Finally we had to have our car checked and the man heckled Emmi a little bit before letting us go. Needless to say we were very excited to be back in our "home" country!
Next up: Kruger National Park
Just wait til you see what we found on safari!! :)
No comments:
Post a Comment