Our bags are packed, our final breakfast is finished in the bush, and we load trucks to fly back to civilization and the small town of Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe. We take pictures of our group - 16 fellow adventurous spirits.
Our guide, Go, is still tracking on the way to the airport. We see Maribou stocks in the trees, and he stops to show us the path of a snake probably a boa constrictor last night. By examining prints he can tell how old they are, but he brags on his father who can track in the bush at a steady run!
As we wait for our small plane, Noss gives us one more Learning and Discovery lecture on all the uses of elephant dung. I’ve already mentioned several of these...insect repellent...didn’t try it and women in labor...definitely didn’t try. Evidently, it is also helpful for nosebleeds! You grind up a little and snort it, and Noss had used this herself a couple of days earlier. Drats, didn’t get a chance to try that either!
We’ve had lectures almost every day on multiple topics including the culture and economics of the countries we’ve visited. Zimbabwe, which at one time was the wealthiest nation in Africa, is now one of the poorest. The economy collapsed after the western world imposed sanctions due to policies of then President Mugabe and inflation of 8000%. Unemployment is about 90%, but most people live through subsistence farming and street vending. Banks still have no funds available since the nation’s currency has been changed several times and each time finds the previous money supply worthless. I purchase several billion dollar bills; the only time in my life I’ll be a billionaire, at least in theory!
Zambia has an unemployment rate of about 80% with coal the number one resource and tourism number two. Botswana is currently one of the richest nations in Africa due to its natural mineral resources including diamonds and a vibrant tourism business protecting 50% of its land in national parks and preserves.
Arriving back in Zimbabwe and heading to Victoria Falls, I gear up in poncho and sandals. I learned earlier that shoes get soaked and take days to dry out. We head out with a guide and thoroughly enjoy this natural wonder; although, it’s difficult to see it all at one time. Zimbabwe definitely has the “better” side, and we are blessed to be visiting during the high water season. Rainbows are everywhere today and during full moons, there are moonbows!
Victoria Falls has a vibrant shopping market full of native vendors and another area of artisans. It is also home of the luxury Victoria Falls Hotel built by the British in 1904. Baboons and monkeys are on the streets with people, and the residents have been warned that a lion was spotted in town. I am not in Williamsburg!
We have lunch at a restaurant with local foods including sorghum (no taste), kepente fish, and a big bowl of mopane worms. I don’t feel the need to “enjoy” them again. The afternoon is lazy with shopping and siesta getting ready for a busy morning tomorrow - a helicopter flight over Victoria Falls and an elephant encounter at a local preserve!
Morning has barely broken when Robyn and I head to the elephant sanctuary. This area was established during the African drought of the late 1990’s and elephants were dying in the wild and babies were being orphaned. Their current residents include 12 elephants which sleep in a barn at night, are cared for by veterinarians and caretakers, and provide rides and interaction with guests at scheduled times during the day. Otherwise, they are free to roam the hundreds of acres doing elephant things!
Robyn and I climb aboard a large female named Kariba. It is a surprisingly smooth ride, and I rub her thick rough hide. Elephant hide can be 3-4 cm thick and is wrinkled to help increase surface area for heat dissipation. They don’t have sweat glands and elephants coat themselves with mud which also helps to cool them down.
Amazing fact - elephants’ foot bones are aligned so that they walk on their toes! They are extremely nimble and can move through the bush with amazingly quiet steps. On game drives, we were charged once and mock charged another time, and they can also run fast.
Robyn and I are seated behind the guide, and he points out different foliage on our 45 minute trail ride. Kariba eats along the way pulling up grass and breaking branches. Arriving back at camp, we are invited to feed her food pellets which supplement her diet. As I offer these small round morsels to her, she doesn’t want a couple at a time. Her trunk is like a vacuum, and she sucks in a handful, plops them into her mouth, and comes back for more. Her muscular trunk is a rough texture but curls and moves with a beautiful rhythm. We take pictures of sitting on her leg and feeding her before purchasing a footprint that she painted to bring home as a reminder of our morning!
We say goodbye so we can enjoy a buffet breakfast before heading to our next adventure. I have been quietly apprehensive about our scheduled helicopter flight over the Falls. We are only in the air 15 minutes, but I hate the thought of crashing and accidents do happen. However, I hate even more being afraid and missing out on living so be still my gut!
Seeing Victoria Falls from the air is amazing! The falls are difficult to see in their entirety from the ground during the flood stage at this time of year. There is so much water that the white water rafting trips at the base of the falls are cancelled due to too much turbulence. The helicopter pilot flies in figure eight patterns so that we can each see the majesty of the falls from our window seats. Unlike Niagara Falls, no human has ever gone over the falls and survived.
We have a final lecture by a local historian on David Livingstone. We had visited a museum earlier dedicated to Livingstone and his extraordinary adventures in Africa. Born to a poor Scottish family, at 10 years old, he spent his youth working in cotton mills 14-16 hrs/day 6 days/ week. On Sunday, he attended church where he received his education - Sunday School. Described as not especially bright but very determined, Livingstone taught himself Latin from a book propped up on his loom at the mill during the week. At 19, he entered university and trained as both a physician and a missionary.
In 1841, Livingstone landed at Cape Town and took off on foot 500 miles. During a time when the life expectancy of explorers was six months, he spent thirty years walking thousands of miles, endured 22 bouts of malaria, and mapped the land and documented the horrors of the African slave trade which he helped to end with constant pressure on the English parliament and people. Described as the Neil Armstrong of his generation, he was the first white man to gaze into the abyss of an enormous falls and named them after his queen, Victoria.
Livingstone died on a final journey from typhoid, malaria, and black water fever. His servants carried his embalmed body for months to the coast so it could be returned to England, but his heart was buried in Africa.
Tonight is our final group dinner as we cruise along the Zimbezi river watching hippos popping their heads up and a beautiful sunset send-off. Part of our group will depart for home tomorrow, but seven of us will continue on a 5-day post-trip to South Africa and Cape Town. I am already missing the bush and the animals, but I don’t know if I will ever have the chance to see Africa again so I need to take advantage of this opportunity to explore as much as possible.
As our van heads back to the hotel, two different groups of elephants block the road! One young male flares his ears and mock charges us. A mother and baby are nearby, and we are thrilled that one of our favorite animals has blessed us with a final visit. We feel they are personally telling us good-bye!
Another day in Africa!
