For my last weekend in Zambia, I went to Livingstone. I'd been there 8 years ago with my university orchestra, but besides seeing the falls, I tried a bunch of new activities: walked through Mosi-Oa-Tunya National Park on the Zimbabwe side, where you can see the length of Victoria Falls, bungee jumped off the Victoria Falls Bridge on the border of Zambia and Zimbabwe, and did a safari through Chobe National Park in Botswana.
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| View of Victoria Falls from the Zambia side |
Everyone recommended seeing the falls from the Zimbabwe side, and it was well worth it. I had thought about skipping out on Victoria Falls because I'd been there before, but when we reached the first viewing point, the falls were as impressive as I'd seen them the first time. Each successive lookout point revealed more of the falls as we went along until the trees broke, and the falls stretched before us. A lot of people wore rain ponchos, because even in August, when the weather has been dry for several months and the water levels are low, you can get drenched from the mist from the waterfall.
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| View of the falls from the Zimbabwe side |
In the morning, we watched people bungee jumping, bridge swinging and ziplining off the bridge between Zambia and Zimbabwe. I'm one of those silly people who want to do something for the sake of saying they have done it, so after lunch, I decided to try bungee jumping. If I'm going to bungee jump anywhere, might as well be over the largest waterfall in the world!
They wrote the numbers for my place in line and my weight on my arm and asked me to wait. I watched more people bungee jump and bridge swing and zipline as I waited, and I got more excited as it got closer to my turn. Finally, they called my name, strapped me in a harness, and, since I didn't think ahead in the morning and wore flip flops, asked me to remove my shoes. They wrapped long towels around each of my legs and then tied them together and hooked them to the bungee. I waddled over until my toes gripped the edge of the platform. I felt an adrenaline rush looking down - afraid to jump, while at the same time half-realizing that that was exactly what I was supposed to do and that this is the one time I could do it (relatively) safely. Then, they told me to look up and out, stretch out my arms like an eagle, and, with a "5, 4, 3, 2, 1, BUNGEE!," jump!
All in all, it felt like being on a roller coaster without the coaster. I was in free fall for four seconds, falling face first towards the river, before the cord jerked me back up. Then I swung back and forth, upside-down, in several large pendulum swings - starting to feel slightly nauseous on the last couple swings - before Mombi pulled me right-side up and onto the bridge. (As we went up, he asked me where I was from, and when I returned the question, he answered, "Proudly Zambian." He explained his name means "another" in the Zambian local language, because he is the second son, so when he was born, his parents named him Mombi for "another" son.)
Even after being upright for a while, I felt bug-eyed from hanging upside down. Walking across the supports underneath the main part of the bridge kept my mind off it; I would recommend wearing proper shoes, because even though you don't need them during the jump, my feet hurt walking back. But I made it!
Next: Chobe National Park
