Zambia World Wide

We walked across the knife edge bridge, and then climbed down to the boiling pot at the bottom of the falls which is a drop of about 100metres. The Zambezi River starts in the north west of Zambia and travels about 1000 miles before cascading over the falls with a great deal of spray and a noise like thunder. Having returned to the top of the falls we went to a small souvenir market and then visited the field museum next to the market. The museum has a collection of artefacts found in the sand and gravel around the falls area in the Zambezi River, dating back to the Stone Age. This gives some idea how long the area has been inhabited. We drove from the falls along the Upper Zambezi where we saw many small islands scattered across the river. We came to a small restaurant and decided to get some lunch, we sat outside so we could look out over the river whilst having lunch. We had hardly started to eat when the monkey’s appeared, by the time Gary had tired of feeding them there was little left for us. As we sat looking out over the river we saw a herd of elephants crossing the river in the distance. It was so pleasant sitting there over-looking the river we just didn’t want to leave.

We had spent so much time around the falls that first day we decided to spend some time in Livingstone and visit the National museum and some of the local shops etc. We went to the museum first and found it fascinating, it was the first time we had been able to study the history of Zambia through the ages. We also gained a lot of local knowledge which was useful in helping us decide where to go and what we would see. Having spent time at the falls we decided to drive out and see the Gorges, the 2^nd and 3^rd Gorges are not accessible so we drove out to the 4^th Gorge along a bush road, hardly more than a track. After spending some at the Gorge we carried on to the 5^th. driving to the edge of the Gorges isn’t possible and so we had quite a lot of walking to do. The track to and round the Gorges is called the Manjalide Drive, from the 5^th. Gorge we took the Arthur Drew Drive to Sangwe Gorge. Although we were hot and covered in dust, the drive was worth it, Sangwe Gorge was the best of those we had seen. Driving back to the falls in a circular route we came across a giant baobab tree with a platform near the top and a ladder going up to the platform. From the platform we had a fantastic view of the falls and surrounding area. In total there are seven gorges we have seen most, the last is Senyatti Gorge, it is 35 miles from the falls. We were told that the road was in a really bad state, almost impassable, however we decided we would still try and get to the Gorge. We loaded drinks and food in the car and set off, we chose to leave early while it was still cool. By the time we finally arrived at the Gorge we were hot and covered in dust but the trip had been worthwhile it was the best Gorge of all. On the way back to the falls we took our time, we stopped for a picnic, climbed the lookout tree and enjoyed the freedom of being in the bush. By now some time has passed and there is still much we want to see and do. We had been so busy that we decided next day would be an idle one, a day in town seemed a good idea, the morning we spent looking round the shops and the afternoon we spent lazing round the pool at the hotel. A day or two earlier we had been talking to a Zambian at the falls who told us the falls were floodlit at 21.00 every night and were worth seeing. Having had a lazy day it seemed like a good idea to see the falls floodlit tonight. I expected the falls to be brightly lit up but the lighting was subdued and subtle, the lights were so positioned that they enhanced the falls and seemed to give the falls an aura that seemed to make them appear eerie and ghostly.