Sunday, May 22, 2016

Zambia Trip



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!

1 comment:

  1. 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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