Victoria Falls, one of the
Seven Natural Wonders of the World, is 1.7km wide, 108m high with one million
liters of water flowing through per second!
And our destination for our second day, I have been waiting for this day
for over two years when I first saw Cameron’s pictures of this breathtaking
place. Victoria Falls lays right outside the border on Botswana one side
falling claim to Zambia and the other to Zimbabwe. Both offer amazing views,
which are extremely different, and I’m bias when I say that the Zimbabwe side
is a little more beautiful especially during the dry season when the lack of
mist makes appreciating the falls a little easier.
We began our trip around the
falls at the Devil’s Cataract, the flowing water was a rush and I can only
dream of what it’s like during the wet season with the water it 10 time higher!
We slowly made our way around to the 6 other waterfall sites, it was unreal how
greatly the vegetation changed as we made our way around the falls. Areas that
received heavy mist were lush and green like walking into the thick of the
jungle while other areas were dry and rocky. Along with the beauty of the falls
and great landscape there were animals too! After passing the Main Falls and
before our group picture at Horseshoe Falls we spotted a group of warthogs and brave
Mpho bestse Pumba shocking him still and chasing the other two straight towards
me on the other side of the path. Yes for those of you who didn’t get what I
tried to creatively say, Mpho (Jack) added a warthog to his list of animals he
has touched while in Botswana [list includes goats, cows, chicken, snake, and
few others].
Once we reached the Rainbow
Falls I decided I needed to explore a little on my own and think about where I
was and what I had in store for myself very soon. The mist picked up while I
walked on and couldn’t help but think about what it took for me to arrive here
at this moment in my life and how that although I was doubting my choice to
come and my ability to successfully take advantage of my time in Botswana, that
I was exactly where I needed to be. Never in my life had I ever picture myself
traveling to someplace so beautiful and rich in cultural and history and doing
such on my own. I realize that all the homework, extra activities, the time and
effort my parents spent raising me kind of all added up to this point. Giving
the education and opportunity to do things that I never dreamed of. It was time
to stop holding on the expectations and start learning to take in everything I
could from these months and to learn that these things aren’t out of reach and
I deserve to enjoy in their splendor.
Which was the prefect
mindset to have before getting lost at the falls with a small German woman and
then signing up to Bungee Jump. I mean why not jump off Victoria Falls Bridge
with a giant tuber band tied around my ankles? Cameron did it and I had spent
the past year telling everyone besides my mother that I was going to. My
excitement got Rosalie to join me while the boys were put off by the price, but
taking on the 3rd highest jump in the world (111m) for about US$100?
I said happy birthday to me.
Before the Jump though we
had lunch, my boys tried the Kudu stake while I went for some pap and
traditional spicy beef stew. Then we did a little shopping at the local market
where they take, US dollars, South African ran, Botswana pula, sock, shirts,
flashlights, cokes, basically anything you got to trade. I got a few great
gifts for my water bottle and headband, however I was reluctant to part with my
socks or shirt but if I had known I would have brought more with me to trade. There
was some really great traditional crafts and we all know I over packed. The
market place although awesome for trading is very much a place to be watchful
the men are very aggressive at getting you to look at their set-up and are over
eager to make a sell to you. Like in Botswana the idea of personal space does
not exist and they are very direct in there use of English, grabbing you by the
wrist telling you that you must buy one thing or the other holding on to you
demanding that you have more money because you are American. Which is so
conflicting but I wont go into that now. After our shopping trip we went by a
Baobab tree that was more than 1000 years old! Peter and I hopped the fence
around the tree while the others were distracted by men trying to selling them
more crafts and got up close to the HUGE tree. At one point the hollowed out
Baobabs were used as prisons, which is not shocking when you see the size and
strength of the base. After the tree it was straight on to the bridge, which
included crossing over into Zambia, getting weighed, strapped in and leaping
not so gracefully off a bridge! It was wild and a much long experience than I
thought it would be. The bounce back up has to be the best part, the force
bringing you all the way right-side up again before you fall all over again
spinning and swinging in totally unexpected ways.
After the jump we had to
make a mad dash back to the border because as Batsi told us they CLOSE at 6 to
Zim and 7 to Bots. It was 5 our bus was no where to be seen, half our group was
missing and it was more than an hours drive back to the border! However Batsi
was wrong about the time and we made it back to a delicious meal with Marx
A.O.K.
(Busy day in Bots/Zim/Zam)
Day Two Pictures
Where I Jumped
Thats me!
Moneys EVERYWHERE!
JUMP
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