On 11th May we waved farewell to Tanzania and set off on our 45 hour long train journey to Zambia. The Tazara train described as being slower than a snail, chugged its way through the rugged Tanzanian countryside. We decided to treat ourselves to our own compartment, which had four beds, a table and not much else, but meant we didn’t have to deal with the grunts and snores from people at night. We did however have four traditionally built (big mamas) Zambian ladies in the compartment next to us, who chatted to each other in a volume matching their waistline! This was a good time for us to reflect on the parts of the journey we had been through and what was still to come.
The first part of the journey took us through the Selous national park, where we were told we may catch a glimpse of zebra, giraffe and elephants. Due to the fact we were passing through at night we weren’t fortunate enough to see any game. We did however see some baboons and ververt monkeys sitting in the trees watching the train go by. The train journey was a pleasant alternative to some of the long, bumpy and cramped bus rides we’ve taken. Our first stop in Zambia was the bustling capital Lusaka. The city had a really good feel and reminded us of being back in Malawi. This part of our trip we were supposed to be spending 2 weeks staying with a friend’s parents who run a lodge in Kafue national park. Due to their very busy schedule and being in South Africa we decided to venture on down to Livingstone early.
The town of Livingstone is synonymous with the seventh natural wonder of the world – Victoria Falls or Mosi-oa-Tunya, which means ‘the smoke that thunders’. Named after the famous explorer, David Livingstone who was the first European to set eyes on the falls. We stayed in a backpackers called Fawlty Towers for the first few nights, and for those of you who have seen the comedy series, we were glad it wasn’t run by someone like Basil! On our first day we ventured to the national park to view the mighty Vic Falls. We were free to roam around the park to gain a number of different views of the falls, along with many baboons that came hurtling down the paths towards us (and we quickly jumped out of their way)! The sheer scale of the falls left us awe-struck and speechless (something that doesn’t happen very often to Nat). Due to the high water levels of the falls after the rainy season, the rising thunderous mist and spray completely drenched us to the bone.
There was a bridge we walked across to get a good view of the falls, which felt like walking through a tropical thunderstorm and wearing a raincoat was pretty much useless. After speaking to some fellow travellers we were advised that one of the most exhilarating activities would be to get a microlight flight over the falls. So with this in mind we set off the following morning to experience the falls from a totally different perspective. For those of you who don’t know a microlight is pretty much a go-kart with a propeller at the back, attached to a hanglider. So with our jumpsuits on – attempting to look like someone from Top Gun, we headed off individually with our own pilots. Reaching a height of 1500 feet we flew right over the falls and were amazed at its sheer scale and magnitude.
A circular rainbow floated over the falls and we really felt privileged to get a view of the falls that Livingstone could have only dreamed of. Even though the flight was only 15 minutes it felt like a life time and we were lucky enough to view a herd of elephants, buffalo, hippos and even a crocodile lazing in the sun. As we landed the huge smiles on our faces said everything and we both agreed its one of the best experiences we’ve ever had.Another item on the must do list in Livingstone is to visit the Royal Livingstone Hotel, which sits on the mighty Zambezi river close to the lip of Vic falls. Along with our American friend Steve we'd met at our backpackers we went to the Royal Livingstone to have sundowners. On the grounds of the hotel we passed a group of zebra, which looked as natural as cows grazing in the field.
After feeling lucky enough to get so close to the Zebra, our luck continued when we spotted a giraffe with its baby grazing no more than 30 metres away from us. 
Whilst sipping our G&T's on the deck overlooking the falls we saw another beautiful African sunset melt in to the river. After a very civilised evening, on our journey back to Livingstone our taxi had to stop for a herd of elephant that were crossing the road in front of us. This topped of our day. We decided as our final treat here in Livingstone we would return to the Royal Livingstone Hotel for a spot of high tea. The hotel transports you to a bygone era of British colonialism, with piano music being softly played in the background, zebra skin rugs and large oil painting of David Livingstone. The afternoon tea spread of mouth-watering cakes and scones was indulgent to say the least. Afterwards we joined a group of English friends we had made to go and view the highly recommended lunar rainbow over the falls.
The lunar rainbow only occurs when there's a full moon and a large amount of mist and spray coming off of the falls. The light from the full moon illuminated the rainbow over the falls which was magical to see as this is usually the type of natural phenomenon you only get to see in the day. Due to the vastness of Botswana and Namibia (the next countries on our itinerary) we decided to book an overland trip, which would take in a lot of the sights we wanted to see. As the truck only leaves Livingstone on June 2nd, we've spent a lot more time here than we originally planned but have kept ourselves busy as you can tell from all the things we've written about above.
We’re not sure when we’ll next get to update our adventures so we hope your all keeping well and getting ready for the World Cup. Cmon England!....and South Africa.
Love Nat and Kim xxx
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