🇿🇲 Zambia 🇿🇲

We said our goodbyes to Botswana and made our way for a pit stop in Zambia, en route to Malawi. Of course, the travel there formed one of the more interesting parts of our trip. Kelsey had a clear step-by-step plan of how to cross the Botswana / Zambia border. On arrival, after a few exit stamps in the passport, we arrived at the river crossing. Nothing was happening. After enquiring with a knowledgeable looking man in a Manchester United jersey – no hi-visibility jackets in sight at this crossing – he informed us that the boat across the river was “broken.” The bridge was also not yet functional. Free of time pressure, we idled away the minutes until we were offered a speedboat across the river, quickly piling on with other locals. Capacity of boat = 20. Number actually in boat = 40. Of course, the minute we set off in the speedboat, the ferry service miraculously recovered!

We eventually made it to Livingstone and stayed in Victoria Falls Backpackers – our most “backpackery” hostel so far and the busiest town we had seen for a little while. We spent some time culturing up, visiting the the local print markets and the Livingstone Museum. We both learnt more about colonial history in our self-guided wander around the museum for an hour than we ever did in school or even university for Tom, strange as a History graduate. We also marvelled at the kooky (yet brilliant) taxidermy of all the animals we had seen on our trip so far.

To finish off our day which happened to be Thanksgiving, we had pasta and tomatoes in the hostel, very different to previous year feasts. Still, pasta proved to be fitting carb-loader for our adrenaline filled following day.

We decided to take the infamous Devil’s Pool tour of Victoria Falls. Devil’s Pool is basically a small pool, right at the summit of Victoria Falls found many years ago (who knows how?) by local fisherman. We took a speedboat ride across the river to Livingstone Island, with the incessant thrash of the Falls audible in the distance. We were accompanied by some fellow thrill seekers and importantly, our guide. This was not a self-guided type of tour. As our guide told us, a move towards the wrong current in the river would be, “a free ticket to the Indian Ocean, without a visa.”

We swam out to the pool, little fish nibbling our toes, listening so attentively to our guide. We “relaxed” in one of the pools, water pumping it’s way up, down and around us until it was our turn to proceed to the edge of the Falls. The experience didn’t disappoint and was pretty incredible. We attempted our best poses with one of the guides holding onto our feet.

After all the exhilaration, we needed a stiff drink and luckily we had some G and Ts with a tasty lunch on Livingstone Island…followed by some 🍷 at The Livingstone Hotel to watch the sunset over the Falls. We had a dip in their pool which was a little more relaxing than our water based activity from earlier in the day. Kelsey regained top spot in the swimming race competition given the much larger pool.

The following day, we craved something on dry land and so we took a wander into Zimbabwe for a few hours to Victoria Falls National Park. We waved at those in Devil’s Pool who we could see at the other side, with our feet now firmly planted on the ground.

In the afternoon, we joined a bike tour, led by Wezzy, of Local Cowboy Cycle Tours. This turned out to be a real highlight as we experienced village life in Zambia, meeting lots of local children and families, learning about the land and its industry outside of tourism. We learnt about the other side of life in and around Victoria Falls, away from the glitzy lodges and hotels. This was a real eye opening experience for us both.

On our cycle through the village, we were joined by Heather and Patrick, a really fun couple at the start of their Zambia / Botswana holiday. We had a great dinner at Cafe Zambezi with them later in the evening, sharing travel tips. In exchange for our Botswana highlights, Heather and Patrick persuaded us to think about heading to Burma with a “flex week” we have towards the end of our trip. We’re quickly learning that having a beer and chatting to others about our future plans is far superior to any other type of travel planning. 🗺