An entry in the TFS Travel Journal
Milton’s day: Got to the Ilala by 6:45 for the Zambezi rafting pickup, which of course showed up a bit late, then we drove around and waited at another hotel for a long while, though no one ever joined us. Finally got going, went through the usual border-crossing nonsense and got our usual pre-rafting lecture. It was about a 30 minute drive in a huge old army truck, then a harrowing walk down a 750-foot gorge along some “ladders”, which were irregularly-spaced and made of rounded tree limbs. We finally started rafting, myself, two young Australian guys traveling together for the next year, and three locals from the outfitter. The river was at pretty high water, so the rapids were fun, but were mostly class 3 with maybe a few 4s, as opposed to the Zambezi of lore which is mostly 5s in low water season (August-December). Still, it was great fun, as the volume of water over these rapids was something I just wasn’t used to from my rafting back in the U.S. The scenery was, as usual, wonderful - towering stark reddish-brownish cliffs with much greenery, including trees which grow out of the rocks and whose stringy roots hang down more than 30 feet. Particularly fun was the last few rapids, when we jumped out of the boat (this was probably the warmest river I’ve ever paddled) and swam through them.
Once we finished, however, we then had to walk back up the steep gorge, carrying our paddles. It was brutal, given the heat, the “trail”, and the fact that we were a bit drained after hours of rafting in the hot sun. All part of the experience, though. We lunched on their adequate picnic then rode the 1 1/2 hours back in the aforementioned 7-ton truck, all the while chatting with Dave, the Sobek guide, who’s from northern England, but has lived in Livingstone, Zambia for the past 7 years. We covered much of the region’s politics, flora, fauna and some great safari stories. We passed through several “villages”, which were collections of round huts made of poles and mud, with conical thatch roofs. Evidently, much of the country lives like that, eeking out subsistence through farming, while the government officials live like Bill Gates.
Wendy’s day: After finally getting back to sleep after all of Milton’s harried preparations, I signed up for the 3 1/2 hour Victoria Falls Locomotive Express Royal Tea Run. Had a quick breakfast at the hotel, chatted briefly with the doctor who invented the liver transplant and is from Chicago and is speaking here and in S. Africa, then taxied over to the train station, where 10 of us waited for the ridiculously detailed paperwork to be completed. Then we boarded the 1934 Victorian-style dining car, and as the train headed into Zambia we enjoyed tea and finger sandwiches on monagrammed china with linen tablecloths, served by locals in all white uniforms with pith helmets. Along the way, we saw the lush African bush countryside and waived to all the people walking along the road (including many women with all different sorts of bundles atop their heads). After about an hour, we reached the Locomotive Steam Engine Museum, which was actually a bit sad, but the tour was given by a very nice young guide who was so happy to see us!
Upon reboarding the train, we saw a dozen or so young school-age children who seemed to want anything we could offer (including our attention), and who were being constantly shooed away by the train operators. We stopped on the famed Vic Falls bridge, taking some great pictures of the Falls and being besieged by more locals trying to sell us anything, decorative or edible! We arrived back at the station where I said goodbye to my travelling companions - 5 Brits, a couple from Australia who run a B & B and two women from Germany. As it was about 95 degrees, I walked over to the old Victoria Falls Hotel and got some mineral water, marvelling at the stately colonial style decor, definitely from a bygone era. Then taxied back to the Lodge, where I was joined by Milton about 45 minutes later.
The two of us relaxed in the room a while, (visited by a baboon walking across our terrace) then went to the Buffalo Bar, where we dined al fresco on a vegetable puff pastry, a burger, and a chicken club sandwich, while looking out over the vast African plains, with the local watering hole in the foreground. Midway through our meal, a small herd of elephants trundled up to the water and partook. We saw many guinea fowls and baboons, also. We stopped by the hotel’s gift shop to pick up a Tex Bar and a Milo Bar, two of Nestles’ finer chocolate offerings, for dessert. We watched a luminous and colorful sunset over the trees, from our terrace, as several more elephants stopped by the water below. We then closed the shutters to keep the mosquitoes away and enjoyed a quiet, air conditioned evening.