To continue on with the May holiday adventures after Erindi
Game Park my friend and I returned to the Kavango region and stayed in my
village for a bit so that I can show her that village life style. I’m glad she
got to experience it, but there was one MAJOR perk she got to enjoy which NEVER
happens, we had Taco Tuesday!!! As a
birthday gift my family sent my friend Bea with some corn tortillas for me ;) a
few friends were over so to kick off my Namixcan BirthMay celebrations we had
margaritas and tacos!! It was awesome!!
After a few days in the village a group of fellow
volunteers, Bea, and myself decided to jump some boarders and venture off to
Zambia, just east of Namibia. This time we were riding in style and used
Intercape Bus. It wasn’t anything fancy, but it was 3,792,735 times better than
Kumbis. Kumbis really do make me nervous. Also, Intercape offered an overnight
bus which was a nice option so that we could just sleep for the 11 hour ride and
arrive in the morning so the adventures could begin right away. Early in the
morning we saw some wild elephants and giraffes on the side of the road. This
made me kind of giggle to my friend. Back home the animals I saw the most often
were cattle and horses. Now I rarely see horses but giraffes and baboons are
pretty regular thing; when I return to the states it’s going to be funny to see
horses again.
Back to the fun stuff though, Zambia!! Zambia was awesome.
We stayed in a pretty touristy area, Livingston so I didn’t get to see too much
of the country by any means, but what I did see, I loved. We were there about 3
and half days and got to do lots of fun stuff. The first day was a bit more
relaxed and we basically just walked around Livingston which was a cute town.
People seemed friendly and it had a nice safe feel to it. The second day was
action packed. We got to go see one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World,
Victoria Falls. If you are not familiar with it Victoria Falls is the largest
waterfall in the world and it is absolutely beautiful!! It costed $20USD and
was completely worth it. There are many walking trails on top and on the bottom
of the falls. There’s also a bridge about mid level of the falls directly in
front of them where you can walk and get soaked. The mist from the falls is so
strong it creates a rainforest and garden of rainbows, it was surreal to see.
The other exciting point was bungee jumping!! Yes bungee jumping!!!! Ahh it was
so scary yet a blast all at once. A bridge a bit down from the falls offers a
thing called the Big Air package, this included bungee jumping, the bungee
swing (which was similar to bungee jumping with out as much air time and you
fall feet first rather than head first), and zip lining. Check out the
following blog to see the video of the bungee swing and bungee jumping. Man,
that was a rush. I think bungee jumping was even scarier than sky diving!
The next day we purchased a package from the hostel we
stayed at (JollyBoys backpackers) which started our day with a 2 hour canoe
ride where we got to see a few elephants, followed by elephant interaction
where we got to feed and hang out with the elephants. You even get to sit with
them and tell them about how pretty they are. Well you don’t have to tell them
that but theyre beautiful so I wanted to. After the interaction we went on a
small safari drive followed by lunch. After lunch we were able to relax for bit
before going on a sunset cruise where dinner was provided. On the boat we met a
super sweet pair of parents who were in Zambia because their son just completed
his 27 month service with Peace Corps and was now marrying someone he met
during service. Those Peace Corps love
stories get me every time!
Over all the trip (though brief) was one of a life time. I
had great company and an amazing time. Tons of pictures were taken so I decided
to collaborate them all into this fun little video. (Told you I’d make up for
the missed Sunday Funday pictures.) So for your Sunday Funday there are tons of
pictures between then three blog posts!
Hey Jamie! Very insightful blog you have here about your experiences in the Kavango region. But wait, is it the Kavango East or West? I have been a fan of the PCV since I returned from my undergrad studies in the US and I met a few volunteers in Namibia. I am now a grad student in Cape Town! I am here through August and you can surely couch surf with me if you come down here. my email is mlnpan002@myuct.ac.za
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