October 16 – 22
Victoria Falls (6.5/10)
For obvious reasons we went to Africa during dry season, but that did have one big drawback. Victoria Falls was just a shell of its potential self. Hundreds of yards of rock cliffs remained just that, when from January through August they would be covered with crashing water. However, the part of Victoria Falls that we did view was incredible, especially from the Devil’s Pool.
Booze Cruise at Safpar Waterfront in Livingstone (rating: 5.5/10)
Neither of us are big boozers, so this was simply a sunset cruise on the Zambezi for us. We went to spend another night with our tour group, and from that perspective it was a fun night. But the food wasn’t anything to write home about and you can really only drink so many Cokes and waters.
Gorge Swing with Abseil Zambia (rating: 8.5/10)
Talk about leaving our comfort zones. There are much bigger gorge swings in the world, but you couldn’t have made us believe that as we peered over the ledge we were about to fall backwards over. When you combine this with the abseil and flying fox that we did through our package, it made for a great morning of adventure sports. Beware though, after you do the gorge swing a thirty minute walk out of the ravine awaits.
Devil’s Pool (rating: 9.5/10)
We’re pretty sure nowhere else would they allow you to sit on the edge of one of the world’s biggest waterfalls and peer down to the water crashing below. It may not sound very safe, but if you follow the lead of your guides it is. From jumping into the perilous pool to getting bitten by the fish that swim in it while you stare in awe at your surroundings, it’s definitely an experience unlike any other. If we had to name one thing you can’t miss in Zambia (and perhaps the entire continent), it would be this.
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Useful Tips
We can’t stress enough how happy we were with the Acacia tour we did. We bumped into many independent travelers along the way, and there’s no way we would have been able to kick off our world trip navigating Africa on our own. Sign up for the longest Acacia tour you can afford then don’t worry about anything except showing up with the right stuff – you won’t regret it.
Also, one thing many Africans like to say is “poli poli,” loosely translated as “there’s no rush” or “take your time.” We think they like to say this because they like to take their own time. This was never more evident than in Livingstone, so just make sure you’re prepared to wait upwards of a couple hours for things such as your lunch or dinner.
