Today marks our last full day in Livingstone (tear), but we squeezed as much culture out of it as we could. This morning Nicole and Allison opted to go on a bike tour of Livingstone and surrounding villages with Patrick, a local high school student who works as a guide to pay for his housing and education. Our first stop was the local market, which was quite unlike the touristy ones we had seen in town. Vendors sold everything from vegetables to fish from the Zambezi to beans (LOTS of beans) to clothing to pots and pans and everything in between. Some notable local delicacies we saw in abundance were dried caterpillars (which would then be cooked in tomatoes and onions), fried tiny fish that resemble sardines, and rocks. Yes, rocks. Women here suck on them in an attempt to get the mineral content out. This is especially common when they're pregnant. Patrick gave us twenty minutes to explore the market, but told us that he wouldn't come with us. He explained that many people would want to chat with us, but would be deterred by his presence. Everyone was extremely friendly, shouting "hello! how are you?" as we walked by. Many asked us to take their picture, as they got a huge kick out of looking at it immediately after. Next we went to the pre-school, where we were greeted by throngs of children who wanted to hold our hands, legs, and anything else at their level. We got a tour of the school and the facilities, and the children even sang us a welcome song! It was hard to make out all the words, as they were each shouting at the VERY top of their lungs, but it was adorable nonetheless! These children, as well as the ones we saw all along our bike ride don't often get the chance to leave their village/go to Livingstone, so many have never seen a white person before. We felt like local celebrities as they would laugh, wave and yell "hello! MUZUNGU!" which is a friendly slang term for 'white person'. Even as we were biking through villages, children would run along beside us, trying to grab our hands or our bicycles, chasing us until their mothers called them back home. We then stopped by the Zambezi river for a break, and continued along through another village in the middle of the country side. It was really neat to see how the people of Zambia really live, as most of our activities in Livingstone have been pretty touristy thus far.
After we got back to Jollyboys, we reunited with Julia and decided to head into town for a traditional lunch. Nshima is the staple food of the country - it is made from cornmeal, and is a polenta-like texture. Most Zambians eat it for both lunch and dinner, and it is eaten with your hands and dipped in mixtures of beans, vegetables or meat. We all had our nshima with 'village chicken' in a delicious tomato sauce and thoroughly enjoyed it! We then lazed around Jollyboys for the afternoon, did some last day errands, and are getting ready to leave the country! So sad! We'll be boarding a bus to Lusaka tomorrow, spending the night in the city, and flying out Wednesday morning for our long journey home. Luckily we still have a stopover in Amsterdam to look forward to, otherwise the travel home would be long and tedious. Nonetheless, we're all sad to see this incredible vacation come to an end. We hope you've enjoyed reading about our adventures - fear not, you'll get to re-live them again once our pictures surface on facebook!
Monday, 18 July 2011
Sunday, 17 July 2011
Football at the Lubasi Orphanage
One of the neat things about Jollyboys is that they are connected with Lubasi Orphanage, a home for over 30 orphans and vulnerable children. Every Sunday backpackers from the hostel have the opportunity to go to the orphanage and play football (soccer) with the children. After recuperating from Ladies Night with a serious sleep in and morning by the pool, we headed over to Lubasi with some fellow backpackers. Upon arrival we got a tour of the facilities, and a breif history of the home. Then we got a chance to get on the soccer field! We were immediately impressed by the skills of these barefooted little boys, who played as though the ball was attached to their feet. Even though we weren't quiteeee at their level, they happily welcomed us to play with them. After they tired us out, we spent some time on the swing set chatting with some of the girls about school, food and their life at the home. We were all completely impressed by how smart, friendly and polite they all were - not to mention absolutely adorable! Even when we decided it was time to leave, children kept stopping us to chat on our way out. We were all so happy that we'd been here on a Sunday and had the chance to visit Lubasi - it truly is an invaluable asset to the Livingstone community.
Ladies Night with the Locals!
Last night we were still riding high on adrenaline from our day at the gorge, so we decided to forego our standard 9pm bedtime in favour of a night on the town with some Jollyboys staffers and MANY locals. Earlier in the week on the boat cruise we had met Faith, who organizes excursions at Jollyboys. After she spent the night boozing and cruising with us, she knew that we would be the perfect addition to Ladies Night in Livingstone (aka every Saturday night). We had been making these plans all week, and were really looking forward to celebrating our last Saturday in Africa, as well as the completion of all the amazing things we've done on this trip.
After we grabbed dinner, we were getting ready to go (translation: finding our least worn/dirty shirt, and readjusting our messy buns) when a knock came at our dorm door. Faith had sent us a messenger to ask "are you prepared?", and to inform us that she would meet us at a "pub" downtown. A few rounds of bananagrams and three bottles of wine later, we were finally ready to meet up with Faith and take on Ladies Night. As we were leaving Jollyboys, the gate man was luckily just finishing his shift, and also wanted to join Ladies Night! Even more lucky was the fact that he had Faith's cell phone number, and offered to walk us to the pub.
As soon as we got to the pub (translation: a raging nightclub, complete with black lights and full wall mirrors), we realized this was the local nightlife we'd been looking for. We were lead to the top floor by our gate man friend (Jonathan), and found Faith busting a move on the dance floor, so we grabbed some drinks and joined her! It was immediately evident that we were the ONLY visible non-locals (translation: caucasians) in the bar. Perfect opportunity for Julia to bring out her ghetto dance moves!! After a while we switched venues to the Fairmont Hotel, where another pumping nightclub awaited us. At around 2am (note: 5 hours past our normal bedtime) we lost our groove and ability to keep up with Faith and cabbed back to Jollyboys to call it a night. It was definitely a great way to spend our last weekend in Africa, and memorable for both us and everyone else present last night. Ie. we just got recognized as "the girls from last night" by the Jollyboys computer technician, who then insisted that we go out AGAIN tonight. Ladies Night = success!!
After we grabbed dinner, we were getting ready to go (translation: finding our least worn/dirty shirt, and readjusting our messy buns) when a knock came at our dorm door. Faith had sent us a messenger to ask "are you prepared?", and to inform us that she would meet us at a "pub" downtown. A few rounds of bananagrams and three bottles of wine later, we were finally ready to meet up with Faith and take on Ladies Night. As we were leaving Jollyboys, the gate man was luckily just finishing his shift, and also wanted to join Ladies Night! Even more lucky was the fact that he had Faith's cell phone number, and offered to walk us to the pub.
As soon as we got to the pub (translation: a raging nightclub, complete with black lights and full wall mirrors), we realized this was the local nightlife we'd been looking for. We were lead to the top floor by our gate man friend (Jonathan), and found Faith busting a move on the dance floor, so we grabbed some drinks and joined her! It was immediately evident that we were the ONLY visible non-locals (translation: caucasians) in the bar. Perfect opportunity for Julia to bring out her ghetto dance moves!! After a while we switched venues to the Fairmont Hotel, where another pumping nightclub awaited us. At around 2am (note: 5 hours past our normal bedtime) we lost our groove and ability to keep up with Faith and cabbed back to Jollyboys to call it a night. It was definitely a great way to spend our last weekend in Africa, and memorable for both us and everyone else present last night. Ie. we just got recognized as "the girls from last night" by the Jollyboys computer technician, who then insisted that we go out AGAIN tonight. Ladies Night = success!!
Saturday, 16 July 2011
Adrenaline Rush in the Batoka Gorge!
Hi friends! So today was probably one of the craziest days of our trip to date. Before you read any further (parents), we all survived and had a great time! We signed up for a full day of adrenaline activities that take place in the Batoka gorge (that the Zambezi river runs through). The three main features of the day were: repelling/abseiling down a rock face into the gorge, the "flying fox", which is a zipline that spans the gorge, and (brace yourselves) the famous gorge swing. Before we go any further, you may be interested to know that after Nicole's traumatic rafting experience yesterday, she immediately returned to the hostel and cancelled her reservation for today and planned on coming to be Julia and Allison's personal photographer. This morning however, she woke up with a partial change of heart, and decided to commit to the abseiling and ziplining (the "easy stuff"). How she managed to end up doing ALL THREE activities still eludes her.
First up - repelling! This was a warm-up activity, but it was by no means for the faint of heart. We were each harnessed and had to repel ourselves backwards down a vertical rock face 150 metres into the gorge. Allison sailed down, as this is very similar to rock climbing, while Julia and Nicole spent a little more time dangling in the air. Nonetheless, we were all much better the second time around after lunch. Nicole hopped down the rock like a pro - she was even having fun!! And Julia and Allison tried abseiling, which is the same activity but you walk/bounce down the wall facing the ground (it looks as though you're actually walking straight down a vertical wall). Very cool!
Next was the flying fox - a definite crowd pleaser. Once again we were harnessed in, and given a 5 metre ramp to run down before diving off into the gorge (superman style). We zipped back and forth across the gorge a number of times, enjoying both the fantastic view and the sense of security a zipline provides. Nicole loved this activity so much that it gave her the boost she needed to do...
THE GORGE SWING. This is the main attraction of the gorge, and by far the scariest and most unique. It's essentially a feet-first bungee jump; rather than hanging by your ankles, you are in a full torso harness. Once you leap off the side of the gorge (yowza!), a 53 metre, 3.5 second free-fall awaits you (YOWZA!). After this, you swing back and forth through the gorge, realize you're still alive, and start to enjoy the view. There are a few different ways you can take the plunge, and we all started with the classic single person forward swing. This entailed standing on the platform and just stepping off on the count of three. This was definitely the scariest and hardest part! Nicole decided that if she didn't go first, she wouldn't go at all. After a few walks back and forth to the edge of the platform, and some soothing words from our Samuel L Jackson-esque jump instructor, she finally went for it!! Allison and Julia followed, with much less convincing, and we all congregated at the bottom of the gorge full of adrenaline and excitement.
The climb out of the gorge offered plenty of time for contemplation, during which Nicole decided that once was enough for her. Julia and Allison however were raring to go again - tandem style!! They were both harnessed individually, and then linked together at the hip (literally). Arms around each other, and legs tied together, Samuel L Jackson inched them backwards on the platform. On the count of three, they were instructed to 'roll back!' into the gorge (YOWZA!!). They both noticed a huge increase in the speed of the free fall (especially Julia), and loved the different view that falling backwards offered. They were even more pumped than after round one, so they decided to do it AGAIN! Had the hike out of the gorge been less strenuous, they could have gone all day. Lucky for the staff, 5 hikes out of the gorge in the blazing sun was enough for them.
All in all, we had an AMAZING day - and we're SO proud of Nicole for coming and doing everything!! We bought a video of our day, and can't wait to show you all when we get home. If you can't wait that long, youtube "the zambezi gorge swing" (parents beware - we've protected you from this for long enough). Our next two days will be a little more low-key, but we're still excited for the activities we have planned (don't worry, they're all safe!). Check for an update soon!
First up - repelling! This was a warm-up activity, but it was by no means for the faint of heart. We were each harnessed and had to repel ourselves backwards down a vertical rock face 150 metres into the gorge. Allison sailed down, as this is very similar to rock climbing, while Julia and Nicole spent a little more time dangling in the air. Nonetheless, we were all much better the second time around after lunch. Nicole hopped down the rock like a pro - she was even having fun!! And Julia and Allison tried abseiling, which is the same activity but you walk/bounce down the wall facing the ground (it looks as though you're actually walking straight down a vertical wall). Very cool!
Next was the flying fox - a definite crowd pleaser. Once again we were harnessed in, and given a 5 metre ramp to run down before diving off into the gorge (superman style). We zipped back and forth across the gorge a number of times, enjoying both the fantastic view and the sense of security a zipline provides. Nicole loved this activity so much that it gave her the boost she needed to do...
THE GORGE SWING. This is the main attraction of the gorge, and by far the scariest and most unique. It's essentially a feet-first bungee jump; rather than hanging by your ankles, you are in a full torso harness. Once you leap off the side of the gorge (yowza!), a 53 metre, 3.5 second free-fall awaits you (YOWZA!). After this, you swing back and forth through the gorge, realize you're still alive, and start to enjoy the view. There are a few different ways you can take the plunge, and we all started with the classic single person forward swing. This entailed standing on the platform and just stepping off on the count of three. This was definitely the scariest and hardest part! Nicole decided that if she didn't go first, she wouldn't go at all. After a few walks back and forth to the edge of the platform, and some soothing words from our Samuel L Jackson-esque jump instructor, she finally went for it!! Allison and Julia followed, with much less convincing, and we all congregated at the bottom of the gorge full of adrenaline and excitement.
The climb out of the gorge offered plenty of time for contemplation, during which Nicole decided that once was enough for her. Julia and Allison however were raring to go again - tandem style!! They were both harnessed individually, and then linked together at the hip (literally). Arms around each other, and legs tied together, Samuel L Jackson inched them backwards on the platform. On the count of three, they were instructed to 'roll back!' into the gorge (YOWZA!!). They both noticed a huge increase in the speed of the free fall (especially Julia), and loved the different view that falling backwards offered. They were even more pumped than after round one, so they decided to do it AGAIN! Had the hike out of the gorge been less strenuous, they could have gone all day. Lucky for the staff, 5 hikes out of the gorge in the blazing sun was enough for them.
All in all, we had an AMAZING day - and we're SO proud of Nicole for coming and doing everything!! We bought a video of our day, and can't wait to show you all when we get home. If you can't wait that long, youtube "the zambezi gorge swing" (parents beware - we've protected you from this for long enough). Our next two days will be a little more low-key, but we're still excited for the activities we have planned (don't worry, they're all safe!). Check for an update soon!
Friday, 15 July 2011
Rafting in the Zambezi!!
We. Are. Exhausted. This was an epic day to say the least! We had heard that the Zambezi river, which runs in the Batoka gorge between Zambia and Zimbabwe, is one of the best/wildest places in the world to white water raft. Because the water is low at this time of year, we could only do rapids 10 through 25 (which, as it turned out, was 14 too many for Nicole). Although the water is "low", we were assured that the Zambezi is NEVER tame, so we were both excited and a little nervous for our trip down the river.
Our day started bright and early at 8am, when we were picked up and taken to another hotel. Here we met up with our fellow rafters, and were briefed on how the day would go. We grabbed our gear, piled in a giant doorless transport truck with seats, and drove half an hour to the edge of the gorge. We had been warned that the walk into the gorge down to the river would potentially be the hardest part of the day - this was not an understatement. Armed with only flip flops, and carrying paddles, helmets and life jackets, we descended Kili-style (down rocky/steep/slippery terrain). One wipe out (Julia), and some cuts and bruises (Julia and Nicole) later, we saw the joyous sight of our rafts. Obviously Allison arrived down the gorge first, completely unscathed, as she waited for her battered companions and the 25 other rafters.
We hopped in our raft with 3 others from France, and our trusty guide Steve (who we had told earlier that we wanted to "go for a spin" - translation: flip the raft Steve!!). Noteable fact: flipping is not allowed on most rivers. If Nicole had known this, she would have foregone this activity. Nonetheless, we got our day started on rapid 10. We started slow, admiring the beautiful scenery, and building up our rafting confidence. This confidence was immediately shattered by rapid 11; aka the Overland Truck Eater, which rates a measly 2 out of 5 on the rapid intensity scale. Somehow, the way we hit this rapid ejected all of our rafters (minus Allison. Obviously). Nicole spent a moment under the boat, and Julia was lucky enough to grab onto the boat's rope. Nicole asked Steve if we could back-paddle to the beginning and let her off the bloody raft - unfortunately this was not an option. From this point on, Steve and Nicole were very close (literally and figureatively. She owes him a beer on Saturday). Slightly shaken, we hauled everyone back into the boat, and headed for rapids 13 through 25.
We managed the next few rapids with relative ease, until Steve informed us that we were approaching "The Terminators" - rapids 16a and 16b (both rated a 4). 16a went smoothly - 16b was another story. We entered the rapid, and the nose of our raft went STRAIGHT UP in the air, flipping completely, ejecting everyone and everything from the boat. Even Steve didn't stand a chance. Allison and Julia ended up under the boat, and emerged only to be thrown THROUGH the rapids until the safety kayaker reached them (a good thirty feet downstream of the raft). Note: this is called being a "long swimmer" - one that is too far from the boat to have a chance at getting back in. We clung to James, our safety kayaker, and floated down the river laughing hysterically at what had just happened. He informed us "you guys flipped PROPER" - translation: that was a GIANT flip. Meanwhile, Nicole had been tossed in the opposite direction, riding the rapids solo whilst chasing Steve and the raft. Much less traumatic than being under the boat. Once everyone and all of our paddles had been collected, we regrouped. Note: we were the first boat to flip, and the ONLY boat to have a flip of this magnitude. Well done Steve! Never fear, we have video evidence of this momentous occasion (our flip replays FOUR TIMES in slow motion).
Rapids 17 through 25 were tame by comparison, though Nicole somehow managed to get tossed from the raft for the third time. Mastering it by this point, Steve basically had her back in the raft by the time her feet hit the water. Nicole's day was starting to look up! We pulled up to shore, wet and exhausted, and prepared to hike out of the gorge. We were greeted with beer, coke and water at the top, and we chatted with fellow rafters and the crew about the craziness we had all just experienced. Even those who had rafted before agreed that the Zambezi is in a league of its own. We piled into the truck and headed back for some lunch and watched the video of the day's highlights. Please note: our flip got the biggest reaction (as well it should). We arrived back at Jollyboys exhausted, but with plans to party with the rafting crew on Saturday night. Tonight will be another early night as we have another massive day of activities lined up for tomorrow - stay tuned!!
Our day started bright and early at 8am, when we were picked up and taken to another hotel. Here we met up with our fellow rafters, and were briefed on how the day would go. We grabbed our gear, piled in a giant doorless transport truck with seats, and drove half an hour to the edge of the gorge. We had been warned that the walk into the gorge down to the river would potentially be the hardest part of the day - this was not an understatement. Armed with only flip flops, and carrying paddles, helmets and life jackets, we descended Kili-style (down rocky/steep/slippery terrain). One wipe out (Julia), and some cuts and bruises (Julia and Nicole) later, we saw the joyous sight of our rafts. Obviously Allison arrived down the gorge first, completely unscathed, as she waited for her battered companions and the 25 other rafters.
We hopped in our raft with 3 others from France, and our trusty guide Steve (who we had told earlier that we wanted to "go for a spin" - translation: flip the raft Steve!!). Noteable fact: flipping is not allowed on most rivers. If Nicole had known this, she would have foregone this activity. Nonetheless, we got our day started on rapid 10. We started slow, admiring the beautiful scenery, and building up our rafting confidence. This confidence was immediately shattered by rapid 11; aka the Overland Truck Eater, which rates a measly 2 out of 5 on the rapid intensity scale. Somehow, the way we hit this rapid ejected all of our rafters (minus Allison. Obviously). Nicole spent a moment under the boat, and Julia was lucky enough to grab onto the boat's rope. Nicole asked Steve if we could back-paddle to the beginning and let her off the bloody raft - unfortunately this was not an option. From this point on, Steve and Nicole were very close (literally and figureatively. She owes him a beer on Saturday). Slightly shaken, we hauled everyone back into the boat, and headed for rapids 13 through 25.
We managed the next few rapids with relative ease, until Steve informed us that we were approaching "The Terminators" - rapids 16a and 16b (both rated a 4). 16a went smoothly - 16b was another story. We entered the rapid, and the nose of our raft went STRAIGHT UP in the air, flipping completely, ejecting everyone and everything from the boat. Even Steve didn't stand a chance. Allison and Julia ended up under the boat, and emerged only to be thrown THROUGH the rapids until the safety kayaker reached them (a good thirty feet downstream of the raft). Note: this is called being a "long swimmer" - one that is too far from the boat to have a chance at getting back in. We clung to James, our safety kayaker, and floated down the river laughing hysterically at what had just happened. He informed us "you guys flipped PROPER" - translation: that was a GIANT flip. Meanwhile, Nicole had been tossed in the opposite direction, riding the rapids solo whilst chasing Steve and the raft. Much less traumatic than being under the boat. Once everyone and all of our paddles had been collected, we regrouped. Note: we were the first boat to flip, and the ONLY boat to have a flip of this magnitude. Well done Steve! Never fear, we have video evidence of this momentous occasion (our flip replays FOUR TIMES in slow motion).
Rapids 17 through 25 were tame by comparison, though Nicole somehow managed to get tossed from the raft for the third time. Mastering it by this point, Steve basically had her back in the raft by the time her feet hit the water. Nicole's day was starting to look up! We pulled up to shore, wet and exhausted, and prepared to hike out of the gorge. We were greeted with beer, coke and water at the top, and we chatted with fellow rafters and the crew about the craziness we had all just experienced. Even those who had rafted before agreed that the Zambezi is in a league of its own. We piled into the truck and headed back for some lunch and watched the video of the day's highlights. Please note: our flip got the biggest reaction (as well it should). We arrived back at Jollyboys exhausted, but with plans to party with the rafting crew on Saturday night. Tonight will be another early night as we have another massive day of activities lined up for tomorrow - stay tuned!!
Thursday, 14 July 2011
Day of VICTORIA FALLS!
One of the biggest attractions that drew us to Zambia in the first place was to see Victoria Falls, one of the seven natural wonders of the world. So from 10am to approximately 9pm this evening, we immersed ourselves in, across from, on top of, and below the falls.
Our morning started with an activity we had signed up for through Jollyboys - a tour of Livingstone Island. The island sits at the lip of the falls, and we had heard it offers an unparalleled view, so we had to check it out. We realized at breakfast that none of us reallyyyyyy knew how this day worked (we were only confident that a boat ride and a delicious meal would be involved). We were dropped off at the ultra-swanky Royal Livingstone Hotel, where we were then collected by a little speedboat that took us to Livingstone Island. For maybe the tenth time on this trip, we felt a tad out of place - we were the youngest in the group by about 30 years, and were perhaps the only ones not STAYING at the Royal Livingstone. When we got to the island, we were welcomed with a traditional Zambian drink made of corn, sugar and strawberries. Yum! We were then instructed to remove our shoes, roll up our pants, and don giant ponchos. We were allowed to bring our cameras, but had to leave all other posessions behind, as we began our tour of the island. To try and give a mental picture, the island is sitting level with the very lip of the falls. There was water rushing over the falls on both sides of us, and in front of us was water gathering in a pool ready to go over the edge.
Still unsure of what we were doing here, our guide Alex began leading us through slippery, swampy, muddy terrain that lead to the pool of water that sits at the top of the falls. We followed in disbelief as he instructed us to "hold hands!" and inched us closer and closer to the edge of the falls. Spray was everywhere, our cameras were soaked (as were we), and there were rainbows all around (even double rainbows - we now understand the youtube excitement!). He took us one by one to the VERY edge, where we could literally look straight down the falls to where the water collects. This was unlike anything we had EVER seen before, as evidenced by each of our reactions when we first looked over. From this vantage point we also had a very unique view of the rest of the falls - we were basically standing IN the falls, looking at them on either side of us. As usual, pictures will describe this much better than our words can. This basically wrapped up our tour of the island, and we were lead back to the tent for a hot foot bath and a fancy brunch (scones and eggs benedict - delish!!). Talk about a meal with a view!
Once the boat brought us back to the mainland, we decided to explore Mosi O Tunya (Victoria Falls) National Park. We rented ponchos and followed a path along the edge of the gorge that the falls create, getting soaked for the second time today. It was neat to see the falls from this view as well - we could really get an idea of how massive the falls were, and how much water thundered over them each second. We followed a second path down into the gorge to the Boiling Pot, a whirlpool where water collects at the base of the falls. From here we could also see the bridge that joins the Zambian and Zimbabwean sides of the gorge. It also happens to be where crazy people bungee jump and gorge swing from, and we watched some of them in action. We climbed back out of the gorge, and headed back to Jollyboys for dinner - only to head back to the falls a mere two hours later.
Usually the park closes at 6pm, but we're lucky enough to be here during the full moon when it re-opens at 7 to allow for viewing of the lunar rainbow. Again, we didn't really know what to expect, but heard this was something we should NOT miss. We re-entered the park and were taken to a viewpoint near the lip of the falls. From there we could see a full rainbow in the mist of the falls created by the light of the full moon. A rainbow at night - again, something we had definitely never seen before (and may never see again)! It was certainly worth the trek back out, and hopefully our pictures do it justice!
This was a phenomenal day, but we are officially falls-ed out! This calls for an early bed time so that we're ready to go WHITE WATER RAFTING on the Zambezi river tomorrow!! Should be a blast!
Our morning started with an activity we had signed up for through Jollyboys - a tour of Livingstone Island. The island sits at the lip of the falls, and we had heard it offers an unparalleled view, so we had to check it out. We realized at breakfast that none of us reallyyyyyy knew how this day worked (we were only confident that a boat ride and a delicious meal would be involved). We were dropped off at the ultra-swanky Royal Livingstone Hotel, where we were then collected by a little speedboat that took us to Livingstone Island. For maybe the tenth time on this trip, we felt a tad out of place - we were the youngest in the group by about 30 years, and were perhaps the only ones not STAYING at the Royal Livingstone. When we got to the island, we were welcomed with a traditional Zambian drink made of corn, sugar and strawberries. Yum! We were then instructed to remove our shoes, roll up our pants, and don giant ponchos. We were allowed to bring our cameras, but had to leave all other posessions behind, as we began our tour of the island. To try and give a mental picture, the island is sitting level with the very lip of the falls. There was water rushing over the falls on both sides of us, and in front of us was water gathering in a pool ready to go over the edge.
Still unsure of what we were doing here, our guide Alex began leading us through slippery, swampy, muddy terrain that lead to the pool of water that sits at the top of the falls. We followed in disbelief as he instructed us to "hold hands!" and inched us closer and closer to the edge of the falls. Spray was everywhere, our cameras were soaked (as were we), and there were rainbows all around (even double rainbows - we now understand the youtube excitement!). He took us one by one to the VERY edge, where we could literally look straight down the falls to where the water collects. This was unlike anything we had EVER seen before, as evidenced by each of our reactions when we first looked over. From this vantage point we also had a very unique view of the rest of the falls - we were basically standing IN the falls, looking at them on either side of us. As usual, pictures will describe this much better than our words can. This basically wrapped up our tour of the island, and we were lead back to the tent for a hot foot bath and a fancy brunch (scones and eggs benedict - delish!!). Talk about a meal with a view!
Once the boat brought us back to the mainland, we decided to explore Mosi O Tunya (Victoria Falls) National Park. We rented ponchos and followed a path along the edge of the gorge that the falls create, getting soaked for the second time today. It was neat to see the falls from this view as well - we could really get an idea of how massive the falls were, and how much water thundered over them each second. We followed a second path down into the gorge to the Boiling Pot, a whirlpool where water collects at the base of the falls. From here we could also see the bridge that joins the Zambian and Zimbabwean sides of the gorge. It also happens to be where crazy people bungee jump and gorge swing from, and we watched some of them in action. We climbed back out of the gorge, and headed back to Jollyboys for dinner - only to head back to the falls a mere two hours later.
Usually the park closes at 6pm, but we're lucky enough to be here during the full moon when it re-opens at 7 to allow for viewing of the lunar rainbow. Again, we didn't really know what to expect, but heard this was something we should NOT miss. We re-entered the park and were taken to a viewpoint near the lip of the falls. From there we could see a full rainbow in the mist of the falls created by the light of the full moon. A rainbow at night - again, something we had definitely never seen before (and may never see again)! It was certainly worth the trek back out, and hopefully our pictures do it justice!
This was a phenomenal day, but we are officially falls-ed out! This calls for an early bed time so that we're ready to go WHITE WATER RAFTING on the Zambezi river tomorrow!! Should be a blast!
First days in Zamb!
Hi friends!! Since last we wrote, two planes and a bus have taken us from Stone town, Zanzibar to Livingstone, Zambia! We arrived at Jollyboys, a highly recommended hostel in Livingstone on Tuesday afternoon. We were immediately impressed by Jollyboys - it was full of fellow backpackers (finally!!), and has everything from a pool to ping pong tables to a pit full of pillows (we can invision a lot of Lipstick Jungle viewing in here!) to a delicious bar and restaurant. A week here will be a perfect way to end off our trip! Our first night was spent getting the lay of the land, and pouring over the numerous activity binders as we decided how we'd fill our last days of vacation. We signed up for some incredible adventures - stay tuned to hear all about them!!
Wednesday (yesterday) was our first full day in Livingstone. Lucky us, this happens to be the day that Jollyboys offers a free walking tour of the town! We set out at 10am with a group of travellers from the states and our trusty guide Leo, and learned a little bit of the history behind Livingstone. After that we did some wandering of our own - mostly sticking to the bakery and the market (surprise surprise!). Then we geared up for our first big activity - a sunset/booze cruise along the famous Zambezi river! We cruised for a couple of hours, spotting some hippos and giraffes along the way, and enjoyed a gorgeous sunset. We also enjoyed the food, the drinks, and partying with the travellers we met on the walking tour as well as some fellow Canadians who were also staying at Jollyboys. The night continued back at the hostel bar (with hostel staff - big ups to Faith, who is also planning to take us out for "Ladies Night" on Saturday - stay tuned for that as well!). We attempted some crazy American drinking games, but had to call it a night around 9pm (did we mention the cruising and boozing started at 3:30?). Little did we know we'd need every minute of that 12 hour snooze to make it through the giant day o' Victoria Falls that was to come...
Wednesday (yesterday) was our first full day in Livingstone. Lucky us, this happens to be the day that Jollyboys offers a free walking tour of the town! We set out at 10am with a group of travellers from the states and our trusty guide Leo, and learned a little bit of the history behind Livingstone. After that we did some wandering of our own - mostly sticking to the bakery and the market (surprise surprise!). Then we geared up for our first big activity - a sunset/booze cruise along the famous Zambezi river! We cruised for a couple of hours, spotting some hippos and giraffes along the way, and enjoyed a gorgeous sunset. We also enjoyed the food, the drinks, and partying with the travellers we met on the walking tour as well as some fellow Canadians who were also staying at Jollyboys. The night continued back at the hostel bar (with hostel staff - big ups to Faith, who is also planning to take us out for "Ladies Night" on Saturday - stay tuned for that as well!). We attempted some crazy American drinking games, but had to call it a night around 9pm (did we mention the cruising and boozing started at 3:30?). Little did we know we'd need every minute of that 12 hour snooze to make it through the giant day o' Victoria Falls that was to come...
Monday, 11 July 2011
Snorkeling, Spices & Streetfood in Stone town!
Jambo!! We got to Stone town on Friday afternoon after maximizing our last morning in the sun, and decided to see what the town had to offer. We had heard Stone town was the place for all our shopping needs, so we perused some of the small stores before heading to dinner. We decided to check out the famous Forodhani Gardens, a square on the water that fills nightly with food vendors.
As soon as we reached the gardens, we realized this was the place to eat as it was teeming with locals and tourists alike. There were numerous food stands set up in the middle of the park, selling a vast array of local fare. The main attractions were the fish stands, offering everything from shark to baracuda along with flatbreads (coconut, garlic, naan and local favourite chapati), salad and fries. Then there were the sugarcane juice stations, where it was being freshly squeezed to order, that unfortunately we didn't try until our last night. The fruit stations offered whole mangoes, watermelons and pineapple - delish! Finally, the Zanzibar pizza station which served both meal and dessert versions of a stuffed chapati crepe. Our favourite was obviously one filled with nutella and GIANT banana slices, fried and drizzled with chocolate sauce. DROOL. This market was our dinner home for two of the three nights we spent in Stone town (until we all craved a burger and fries - a little taste of home on our last night).
Now that we've covered the culinary/most important chapter of our time in Stone town, we'll move on to our daytime adventures! On Saturday we signed up for a snorkeling trip to Prison Island, which had been recommended to us earlier in the trip. The day started with a (choppy) sail in a traditional wooden dhow to the island. We were expecting a day of beach, boats and snorkeling until we unloaded at the island and were lead to a sanctuary of giant tortoises. Have no fear, pictures to follow. They were HUGE, and lucky us! We got there at feeding time! After frolicking and taking way too many pictures, we hit the beach for a bit of pre-snorkel sun. We headed back out on the dhow and were taken to a 'reef', where we hopped in and saw a lot of sand and plants, a handful of starfish, and a few rather small and colourless fish. We soon ditched the flippers and leaky masks in favour of jumping off the boat into the beautiful Indian ocean. When our group felt they had seen all the ocean had to offer, we headed back to town. Pleasant surprise - freshly cut mango awaited us, 90% of which was consumed by the three of us. Yum! We spent the rest of the day shopping around town, and dinner was spent in the market (see above). We once again searched for nightlife - we got closer this time, finding a soothing jazz bar on the beach. However we decided to forego this option in favour of more desserts and proximity to working toilets. We definitely have our priorities straight!
On Sunday, we signed up for another day trip - a local spice and fruit tour (one of the most popular excursions in Stone town). We hopped on a bus and were taken to a nearby spice farm, where a guide took us around and showed us where a number of spices and fruits are grown. His trusty assistant was always nearby to knock fruit out of the trees for us to try, and gather spices for us to smell/taste/crush/rub on ourselves. Some highlights of the tour include munching on grapefruit, starfruit and cinnamon bark, as well as seeing nutmeg, cloves, cocoa, coffee, vanilla beans, peppercorns, ginger and turmeric in their natural forms. After the tour we were treated to a traditional lunch of pilau rice, curry potatoes, veggies and chapati, all prepared with spices we had just seen. Finally, no day in Zanzibar is complete without some time on the beach, so we soaked up some rays before making our way back to town.
After doing a little more shopping, we headed to Africa House - a hotel with a rooftop bar that Achmed (reference: post 1) had highly recommended for sunset drinks and viewing. Once again, Achmed was right. The patio was beautiful, our drinks came served in coconut shells, and the sunset over the ocean did not disappoint (unlike the pitiful serving size of guacamole). We then headed to a cafe downtown and grabbed burgers and fries, after which the dessert menu caught our eye (shocker). We decided to try a sticky date cake with caramel sauce that was EASILY the best dessert we've had since the infamous chocolate pot (reference: post 1). Not yet stuffed completely to the brim, we hit the market for sugarcane juice, fresh mango and Zanzibar pizza. We rolled back to our hostel to pack (which is getting increasingly difficult due to our accumulation of numerous, heavy and oddly shaped souvenirs) and digest (also getting increasingly difficult). No search for nightlife. Too full.
This morning we did our LAST bit of shopping (though sunglasses are still calling Nicole's name...), and are headed to meet up with some Ottawa classmates for lunch before heading to the airport for flights to Dar es Salem (20 minutes, no big deal), and Lusaka (Zambia!!). Tomorrow we'll board a 7 hour bus to take us from Lusaka to Livingstone, where we'll spend the last leg of our African adventure (tear). We'll update you from there!! Stay cool rafikis!!
As soon as we reached the gardens, we realized this was the place to eat as it was teeming with locals and tourists alike. There were numerous food stands set up in the middle of the park, selling a vast array of local fare. The main attractions were the fish stands, offering everything from shark to baracuda along with flatbreads (coconut, garlic, naan and local favourite chapati), salad and fries. Then there were the sugarcane juice stations, where it was being freshly squeezed to order, that unfortunately we didn't try until our last night. The fruit stations offered whole mangoes, watermelons and pineapple - delish! Finally, the Zanzibar pizza station which served both meal and dessert versions of a stuffed chapati crepe. Our favourite was obviously one filled with nutella and GIANT banana slices, fried and drizzled with chocolate sauce. DROOL. This market was our dinner home for two of the three nights we spent in Stone town (until we all craved a burger and fries - a little taste of home on our last night).
Now that we've covered the culinary/most important chapter of our time in Stone town, we'll move on to our daytime adventures! On Saturday we signed up for a snorkeling trip to Prison Island, which had been recommended to us earlier in the trip. The day started with a (choppy) sail in a traditional wooden dhow to the island. We were expecting a day of beach, boats and snorkeling until we unloaded at the island and were lead to a sanctuary of giant tortoises. Have no fear, pictures to follow. They were HUGE, and lucky us! We got there at feeding time! After frolicking and taking way too many pictures, we hit the beach for a bit of pre-snorkel sun. We headed back out on the dhow and were taken to a 'reef', where we hopped in and saw a lot of sand and plants, a handful of starfish, and a few rather small and colourless fish. We soon ditched the flippers and leaky masks in favour of jumping off the boat into the beautiful Indian ocean. When our group felt they had seen all the ocean had to offer, we headed back to town. Pleasant surprise - freshly cut mango awaited us, 90% of which was consumed by the three of us. Yum! We spent the rest of the day shopping around town, and dinner was spent in the market (see above). We once again searched for nightlife - we got closer this time, finding a soothing jazz bar on the beach. However we decided to forego this option in favour of more desserts and proximity to working toilets. We definitely have our priorities straight!
On Sunday, we signed up for another day trip - a local spice and fruit tour (one of the most popular excursions in Stone town). We hopped on a bus and were taken to a nearby spice farm, where a guide took us around and showed us where a number of spices and fruits are grown. His trusty assistant was always nearby to knock fruit out of the trees for us to try, and gather spices for us to smell/taste/crush/rub on ourselves. Some highlights of the tour include munching on grapefruit, starfruit and cinnamon bark, as well as seeing nutmeg, cloves, cocoa, coffee, vanilla beans, peppercorns, ginger and turmeric in their natural forms. After the tour we were treated to a traditional lunch of pilau rice, curry potatoes, veggies and chapati, all prepared with spices we had just seen. Finally, no day in Zanzibar is complete without some time on the beach, so we soaked up some rays before making our way back to town.
After doing a little more shopping, we headed to Africa House - a hotel with a rooftop bar that Achmed (reference: post 1) had highly recommended for sunset drinks and viewing. Once again, Achmed was right. The patio was beautiful, our drinks came served in coconut shells, and the sunset over the ocean did not disappoint (unlike the pitiful serving size of guacamole). We then headed to a cafe downtown and grabbed burgers and fries, after which the dessert menu caught our eye (shocker). We decided to try a sticky date cake with caramel sauce that was EASILY the best dessert we've had since the infamous chocolate pot (reference: post 1). Not yet stuffed completely to the brim, we hit the market for sugarcane juice, fresh mango and Zanzibar pizza. We rolled back to our hostel to pack (which is getting increasingly difficult due to our accumulation of numerous, heavy and oddly shaped souvenirs) and digest (also getting increasingly difficult). No search for nightlife. Too full.
This morning we did our LAST bit of shopping (though sunglasses are still calling Nicole's name...), and are headed to meet up with some Ottawa classmates for lunch before heading to the airport for flights to Dar es Salem (20 minutes, no big deal), and Lusaka (Zambia!!). Tomorrow we'll board a 7 hour bus to take us from Lusaka to Livingstone, where we'll spend the last leg of our African adventure (tear). We'll update you from there!! Stay cool rafikis!!
Saturday, 9 July 2011
Beach Bumming in Nungwi!
Jambo! Mambo vipi rafikis?? (translation: hey! what's up friends?? we're basically fluent in Swahili at this point, and commonly get mistaken for locals). Since we last blogged, we've spent a GLORIOUS week in the sun in Zanzibar! We flew from Arusha to Stonetown (the main town on Zanzibar island), and spent the night. The next morning we hopped on a bus and headed for Nungwi - a beach town at the most northern tip of the island. We heard this was the perfect mix of beach and "nightlife", so we were pumped! We stayed at a little beach bungalow at the end of the main strip (translation: little beach bungalow = cheapest and sketchiest place on the island). Nevertheless, we had PRIME beach location, and luckily all the other lovely hotels on the strip let us eat at their restaurants.
We were mildly concerned when our first two days in Nungwi were punctuated with torrential rains for the majority of the afternoon. We managed to get some sun between the hours of 4 and 6pm, but decided that this simply would not cut it for the "beach" part of our vaycay. Luckily this trend stopped by day three, and we enjoyed 5 days of clear, uninterrupted sun. We may have been over zealous sun seekers at this point (likely still feeling the cold from summit day), as after our first big day of sun we were all looking a tad toasty (quote Nicole, post shower: "I am a tomato.").
Most of our days went a little something like this. Wake up to the sounds of birds/bungalow staff/random noises through our non-existant windows circa 6am. Toss and turn until 9am, breakfast and beach prep until 10. Hit the beach HARD until 2pm, with a diet coke break somewhere in the middle. Walk our crispy selves to lunch (avocado & mango salads, fruit medleys and smoothies were among our faves), and return to the beach to swim and watch the sun set. Back to the room and get ready for dinner (translation: which of your two shirts will you wear with capris tonight?), eat (more deets to come), search for nightlife (fail to find nightlife), return to room, cuddle up with chocolate snacks and a season of Lipstick Jungle. Bed by 10pm - 11 if we're feeling crazy, and ready to repeat cycle. Not a bad week in our books!!
There were however a few standout places, people and things that made this week unforgettable. In no particular order:
1. The water! Only pictures can really describe this, but the ocean was INCREDIBLE - the beach was white sand, and the water was a million shades of blue. It was easily the most beautiful beach that any of us had ever seen.
2. The beach vendors! Selling everything from henna tattoos, massages, manicures, pedicures, sunglasses, Masai beads, banana leaves, salad tongs, name plates that say 'Simba', wooden boats with wooden people in them (rare), CDs (of themselves singing local Tanzanian songs) and scarves. These people were pushy and relentless until about day 4 when they realized that those 3 Canadian girls were NOT buying a thing from them. They did provide us with much amusement though, through their unique marketing tactics. For example, many would recite any common Swahili words that tourists might know (ie. Jambo mambo vipi poa pole pole asante sana karibu sana hakuna matata rafiki - translation: hello how are you cool slowly slowly thank you very much you're very welcome no problem friends). They often tried to make friends with us by guessing our nationalities. At the beginning of the week we got American a lot; we knew the tans were kicking into high gear when we started to get Brazilian, Spanish, Italian and Isreali. Yahoo!
3. LANGI LANGI and the rasta chef. Luckily we stumbled upon the restaurant at Langi Langi hotel early in the week, and we promptly stopped going to any other restaurants for dinner. The tables were on a deck that sat over the water at high tide, the menu was vast, cheap and delicious (who knew they could make great tomato sauce in Africa?!), and a free appetizer of soup was included with every meal. Jackpot! Could this get any better? Yes, turns out it could! On an innocent afternoon stroll down the strip, we popped our heads into Langi Langi to scope out the dessert selection for the night (note: chocolate is HARD to come by in Zanzibar). Spotted - a chocolate loaf. Score! As we drooled and started talking about how we couldn't wait to come back for dinner and have some, a rastafarian angel appeared. Lonely Planet told us this was likely the famous rasta chef - so we asked him. "Are you the chef here?" His response: "I am everything". We started chatting with him, and he simply looked at us and said 'you always eat here! have complementary cake!'. We looked at each other. Could this be true?! Are we really getting free chocolate cake from the most delicious place on the strip?! Yes, we were. AND he was instructing his staff to give us two pieces each, topped with the ice cream flavour of our choice, drizzled with chocolate sauce. DROOL. Best afternoon EVER! And the free food just kept on coming. When Nicole felt sick, the rasta chef appeared bearing gifts of mint tea and suggesting some crazy Russian shot (which thankfully he never actually brought). On our last night, he brought us marble loaf with ice cream and chocolate sauce (perhaps he could tell how much we enjoyed the last one) as a parting gift. His generosity, friendliness and overall Zen-ness made nights at Langi Langi a definite trip highlight.
We're now back in Stonetown for the next few days, and will be updating the blog soon with the adventures we're having here before we head to ZAMBIA on Monday! Stay tuned rafikis!
We were mildly concerned when our first two days in Nungwi were punctuated with torrential rains for the majority of the afternoon. We managed to get some sun between the hours of 4 and 6pm, but decided that this simply would not cut it for the "beach" part of our vaycay. Luckily this trend stopped by day three, and we enjoyed 5 days of clear, uninterrupted sun. We may have been over zealous sun seekers at this point (likely still feeling the cold from summit day), as after our first big day of sun we were all looking a tad toasty (quote Nicole, post shower: "I am a tomato.").
Most of our days went a little something like this. Wake up to the sounds of birds/bungalow staff/random noises through our non-existant windows circa 6am. Toss and turn until 9am, breakfast and beach prep until 10. Hit the beach HARD until 2pm, with a diet coke break somewhere in the middle. Walk our crispy selves to lunch (avocado & mango salads, fruit medleys and smoothies were among our faves), and return to the beach to swim and watch the sun set. Back to the room and get ready for dinner (translation: which of your two shirts will you wear with capris tonight?), eat (more deets to come), search for nightlife (fail to find nightlife), return to room, cuddle up with chocolate snacks and a season of Lipstick Jungle. Bed by 10pm - 11 if we're feeling crazy, and ready to repeat cycle. Not a bad week in our books!!
There were however a few standout places, people and things that made this week unforgettable. In no particular order:
1. The water! Only pictures can really describe this, but the ocean was INCREDIBLE - the beach was white sand, and the water was a million shades of blue. It was easily the most beautiful beach that any of us had ever seen.
2. The beach vendors! Selling everything from henna tattoos, massages, manicures, pedicures, sunglasses, Masai beads, banana leaves, salad tongs, name plates that say 'Simba', wooden boats with wooden people in them (rare), CDs (of themselves singing local Tanzanian songs) and scarves. These people were pushy and relentless until about day 4 when they realized that those 3 Canadian girls were NOT buying a thing from them. They did provide us with much amusement though, through their unique marketing tactics. For example, many would recite any common Swahili words that tourists might know (ie. Jambo mambo vipi poa pole pole asante sana karibu sana hakuna matata rafiki - translation: hello how are you cool slowly slowly thank you very much you're very welcome no problem friends). They often tried to make friends with us by guessing our nationalities. At the beginning of the week we got American a lot; we knew the tans were kicking into high gear when we started to get Brazilian, Spanish, Italian and Isreali. Yahoo!
3. LANGI LANGI and the rasta chef. Luckily we stumbled upon the restaurant at Langi Langi hotel early in the week, and we promptly stopped going to any other restaurants for dinner. The tables were on a deck that sat over the water at high tide, the menu was vast, cheap and delicious (who knew they could make great tomato sauce in Africa?!), and a free appetizer of soup was included with every meal. Jackpot! Could this get any better? Yes, turns out it could! On an innocent afternoon stroll down the strip, we popped our heads into Langi Langi to scope out the dessert selection for the night (note: chocolate is HARD to come by in Zanzibar). Spotted - a chocolate loaf. Score! As we drooled and started talking about how we couldn't wait to come back for dinner and have some, a rastafarian angel appeared. Lonely Planet told us this was likely the famous rasta chef - so we asked him. "Are you the chef here?" His response: "I am everything". We started chatting with him, and he simply looked at us and said 'you always eat here! have complementary cake!'. We looked at each other. Could this be true?! Are we really getting free chocolate cake from the most delicious place on the strip?! Yes, we were. AND he was instructing his staff to give us two pieces each, topped with the ice cream flavour of our choice, drizzled with chocolate sauce. DROOL. Best afternoon EVER! And the free food just kept on coming. When Nicole felt sick, the rasta chef appeared bearing gifts of mint tea and suggesting some crazy Russian shot (which thankfully he never actually brought). On our last night, he brought us marble loaf with ice cream and chocolate sauce (perhaps he could tell how much we enjoyed the last one) as a parting gift. His generosity, friendliness and overall Zen-ness made nights at Langi Langi a definite trip highlight.
We're now back in Stonetown for the next few days, and will be updating the blog soon with the adventures we're having here before we head to ZAMBIA on Monday! Stay tuned rafikis!
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