December 28, 2012
Still have days and nights a little mixed up. Tried booking the trip to Livingston Island where you can swim in the "Devils Armchair" right at the edge of the falls. It is booked solid through the next few days but finally got a reservation on New Years Day. Great way to start out the year. The Zambezi River is rising so the Island will be closed soon. Nothing cheap here. $75 for the 1.5 hr visit but definitely on my "bucket list".
December 29, 2012
I went to the Livingstone Fall Heritage Site today to get my first view of Victoria Falls from the Zambian side. It was spectacular. Encountered a lot of baboons upon entering the park. I spent about 1.5 hrs viewing and hiking around the falls and then walked to the bridge to Zimbabwae. I walked to the middle of the bridge and watched the bungee jumping. I had my excitement of that when in New Zealand so saved my money. First picture is Picture of a Picture. Wish I had taken this.
January 1, 2013 Happy New Years
Went to Livingstone Island on a tour for breakfast and swim in the Devil's Pool. ($70) I took the FREE hostel shuttle to the hotel and realized when I got there I had forgot my money and camera. Luckily I was the only one in the shuttle and the driver agreed to take me back to the hostel and then again to the hotel. Luckily, I still made it back in time to catch the boat to the very small island at the edge of Victoria Falls. The view of the Falls was spectacular and we were told that this is the perfect time to see and swim since the water level was high but not high enough to completely cover the island as it will in a few more days. We had to SWIM in the rapids to get to the staging point. The current is very strong and only strong swimmers are allowed. They have one guide near the Falls in case some one is not a strong enough swimmer to handle the rapids.
The guide did a back flip first into the pool. I jumped 3rd and quickly was looking for a rock to hold on to. The current is not as strong there but still strong enough to feel it pushing you towards the edge. After a while and some pictures, they threw a rope to us so we could pull ourselves back to safety.
Great breakfast of Eggs Benedict, Scones, Biscuits and Jam and Juice to finish off our day. Defintely one of my top 10 experiences. GREAT DAY !!!
January 2, 2013
Up early at 6 am to get ready for the 7am Ultralight flight over Victoria Falls. I was there today because my Dec. 31st flight had to be rescheduled due to rain. Unfortunately, the price increased by $14 on January 1st. The flight was really amazing and provided some really great views of the Falls. The flight was only 15 minutes but it seemed very long. I never got completely comfortable but it was not too bad. There was only a single belt over my lap which surprised me. I expected to be totally strapped in. The flight was $170 and the pictures were an additional $22. Two splurges in 2 days of the New Year but 2 AMAZING EXPERIENCES.
