Victoria Falls
Livingstone, Zambia
Tonga Bezi Lodge
Victoria
Falls
After
an 11-hour flight from London to Johannesburg we had two hours to make our
connection to Livingstone, Zambia (Victoria Falls). We ran like gazelles through the airport and
would not have made it without the help of an airport worker who was able to
take us to the front of all the immigration and check-in lines.
After
a 90 minute flight we checked into our
lodge called the Tonga Bezi, which is directly on the shores of the Zambezi
River. The native people in this area
are called the Tonga Tribe. We have a
personal valet from the Tonga Tribe named Dadu who arranges everything we need.
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| Our tented camp |
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| Sitting on our deck we see locals in a dug out canoe |
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| Scott standing in the shower |
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| Our Bedroom |
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| Sunset on the Zambezi River |
What
a beautiful lodge!
A
boat ride on the river at sunset is very peaceful except for the possibility of
attacks by hippopotamus that lurk below the surface of the water. They are very territorial and grunt loudly
when they are annoyed by their rival companions or by our small boat when we
motor slowly past.
How
do you like the safari vehicle we will be driving for the next 18 days from
Victoria Falls to Windhoek? It is built
for people that are 5’- 5” or shorter.
But we had a big stoke of good luck.
The husband (Ferdi) of the Safari Drive employee (Kate) in Victoria
Falls is an engineer and has a machine shop.
He was able to fabricate rails that extended the driver seat back
another 6 inches. He did this all in one
afternoon. Now the Land Rover Defender
is comfortable! It’s a miracle! Ferdi is a genius!
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| Our Vehicle's name is Chuma |
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| Scott without the extension. He couldn't move his foot from the gas to the brake! Yikes! |
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| Ferdi added a metal extension that gave him 6 more inches! Way to go Ferdi! |
The
kids are going to be angry when they find out we swam up to the edge of
Victoria Falls and looked over the edge.
Our guides were even crazier because they took pictures of us while
standing very close to the edge of the falls.
We checked it out. It was
safe. This is a new activity that is
controlled and owned by the owners of the Tonga Bezi Lodge where we are
staying. It was a great way to see the
falls.
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| Walking to the falls from Livingston Island. (Zambia side of the falls) |
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| Lookout |
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| Getting into the river before it topples over the edge |
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| In Devils pool, holding onto the edge of the falls. This can only be done in the dry season when there is less flow of water. |
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| Having a blast. |
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| Yahoo!!!!!! |
In
1998 we were here with the kids. Jason,
Brittany and I ran the class five rapids on the Zambezi River. Our raft flipped in the 2nd
rapid. Jason got stuck under the raft
but we had reviewed the procedure before hand and Jason took a big breath and
swam out from under the boat sideways.
It scared the #!@t out of us but all was well. We saw crocodiles in the slow water on the
edge of the river not far from the 2nd rapid and we were glad to be
high and dry in our raft. Rapid 9 was so
big and scary that we pulled our raft out of the water and carried it around
that rapid. While we were on our river
trip BarBar and KT were on a multi-day canoe trip on the upper Zambezi River. KT was too young and they would not allow her
to run the rapids with us. As it turned
out I think their canoe trip was a lot more dangerous. Hippos are the most dangerous animals in
Africa and there were plenty of hippos.
At night when BarBar and KT pitched their tent their guides pointed to
the crocodiles lined upon the banks of the river and told Barb and KT not to go
out of the tent to go to the bathroom!!
We
took a 15-minute helicopter ride over the falls. BarBar got to sit in the front seat. A beautiful sunset, massages, and a gourmet
meal end the day.
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| A beautiful ride |
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| Devils pool from the air |
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| Barb in the front seat |
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| Sunset on our deck |
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| Victoria Falls |
Today
we saw hippos, gazelle, zebra, monkeys, baboons and giraffes.
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| Scenery while driving down the road |
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| At sunset |
Tomorrow
morning we set off on our Self Drive Safari expected to be 2500 kilometers in
total, plus or minus. We are excited.
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| Selfie time |
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| Scott at the falls |
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| Barb won't let go of my arm. She was a little nervous. |
Hi Barbara! It's Heather - your long lost workout partner :) Your trip popped up on my blogs I watch - it looks amazing! We were in Uganda this summer and had the best time, heading to Botswana next year. Looks like you and Scott are doing great. I'm living in NYC now so let me know if you're ever in town. Love to you, Heather
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