Victoria Falls, Zambia

Following a few days to settle and debrief with the SIM leadership in Lusaka, we had the privilege of having a little holiday in Livingstone (the tourist capital of Zambia). Initially we weren't planning on adding this leg to our return trip - due largely to the great "fun" that is traveling with toddlers. However after discussing things with other missos, it really did seem a waste to be so close and not see one of the natural wonders of the world. Hence after a short and uneventful flight from Lusaka, we arrived in Livingstone - on the doorstep of the great Victoria Falls.

Victoria Falls - dry season

Victoria Falls - wet season

The man himself - David Livingstone

We had a great time in Livingstone - catching up with one of our fellow missos, doing a safari into one of the local national parks and of course, taking in the Falls themselves. A great treat for me was a microlight flight down the Zambezi and over the Falls - which stand 1.7 km long and over 100m tall.

To describe the immensity and grandeur of the falls is impossible, however David Livingstone himself had a good go at it, saying - "...no one can imagine the beauty of the view from any thing witnessed in England. It had never been seen before by European eyes; but scenes so lovely must have been gazed upon by angels in their flight."

The flight over the falls

Antelope and giraffes on the safari tour

Pumbaa the warthog and his friends

Another highlight was seeing the only rhinos in Zambia on our safari. Sadly rhino numbers are rapidly on the decline due to poaching, so the Zambian government actually have armed guards who follow the wild rhinos in the park to protect them. Our tour guide was disappointed that we hadn't been able to see any elephants or rhinos (even though we'd seen giraffe, zebra, monkeys, hippo, antelope, buffalo, wart hog, etc), so contacted the park ranger to get the location of the rhinos and guards. After a short drive out of the park and over a highway, we made our way through the bush for a couple of hundred metres, before being met by three armed men in camouflage gear. Their only instructions were to not make any noise and walk in single file (no mean feat with kids!) They kindly walked us through the bush, where we were able to see these giant beasts in the flesh (about 50m away - no fences out there!) It was a great experience, and really capped off our few days in this wonderful place full of God's incredible creation. - d