Home » Zimbabwe » October 4 - Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe

In Victoria Falls at the moment, for the second time in my life. Came yesterday to check my email and I swear, there wasn't a phone line connecting me to the internet, but behind the wall, a wooden turnstile being pulled by old, sick donkeys who keep the connection going. It was that slow. I read four emails in an hour.
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October 4 - Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe

Lasulo
2006-01-06 17:44:39

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sense of safety which really isn't safe at all. Then again, it is more protection than we have in everyday life which is much less of a stone wall and much more of an illusion.

The animals rocking up just added to the mystical, romantic quality of the night. A low, stone wall separated us from the many black rhinos, the gemsbok, the herds of impala, the awkward, yet weirdly graceful giraffes, the hyenas, the ubiquituous jackals, the herd of elephants with babies who chased away the rhinos who moments before were locking horns in a fight for territory, and finally at 1AM, a lone male lion, who rocked up after bellowing his call and almost heralding his arrival as King of the Jungle. Seeing that lion stoll nonchalantly up to the waterhole is something I will never forget. They are so camouflaged that he was only ten feet from the hole before we spotted him. Anne, who is from Zimbabwe and therefore appropriately afraid of seeing lion close up, said she just went cold when she saw the lion and thought, "What the hell are we doing here?" A half hour after the lion stalked off with many bellows, grunts, and gut-churning roars, we decided to call it a night. Tom had fallen asleep again, and waking him was difficult. I have never met anyone who can fall asleep faster than he can, and into a deep sleep. He mumbled something about, "Leave me alone. I want to have a lie in." (a late sleep). "Hmm. Yeah," I told him, "A li-on eating your face if you don't get up right now and come back to the campsite." We all went to sleep around 2AM but were awakened at 4 to a much closer lion giving his guttural concert which kept me awake for the rest of the night. At 6 we were back up and at the waterhole to see the larger herds of beasts descending for a much safer drink in the light of day: zebra, impala, wildebeest, and gemsbok all drank and splashed about in the waterhole.

We were all sad to leave this absolutely amazing place, and Kate and I both said if we were on our own we would have stayed for three or four days. Not to mention that the campsite also had a gorgeous, refreshing swimming pool. But on a tour, it's get up and go every day. Most days we were up between 4:30 and 6 to pack up camp and hit the road. Tiring and dirty, I loved every single second of it.

So, tomorrow, I am doing some adrenalin activities over the gorge with Tom. Today, Kate and a group of the others went white water rafting from which I politely declined going after my last time here when I nearly drowned in the Zambezi. Then Kate and I will head to Zambia and up to Malawi. Getting psyched to meet up with Loren in November in Tanzania!!!!!!!