Lusaka, Zambia - The One Where We Went On the Edge of The Biggest Waterfall in the World

The flight to Zimbabwe was short (<1.5 hrs), the weather a scorching 103 degrees when we arrived (40 for our Celsius friends).  We stayed a brief two days near the famed Victoria Falls, the world’s largest waterfall.  And even though we saw it during dry season (its lowest water level), it inspired an awe that few things in this world could.  The falls were spectacular – a giant gorge with a sheet of water falling for 1.7 km (1.1 miles for our American audience *wink*).  The weather was unbearable, even for the locals, so no one walked on the street – it felt eerily silent after the bustle of Johannesburg.  The small town was a classic tourist trap with lots of touts trying to sell us stuff; we decided to cross to the Zambian side of the falls.  

At this particular land border crossing we had to walk across a bridge connecting Zimbabwe to Zambia – which doesn’t seem like a big deal (just walk across a bridge?), but it was 103 and we spent two hours carrying our full backpacks between border crossing posts.  We stood in long, hot, crowded queues of people eager to cross the border, just hoping we wouldn’t pass out.  Our clothes were completely drenched with sweat and we had signs of heat stroke.

We ended up at the best backpacker lodge (packed with international kayakers) and spent the afternoon in the hotel pool trying to recover from the bridge crossing, staying cool drinking way too many Fantas and beers.  Ken met up with a crew of professional kayakers who informed us that the Zambezi River was a world’s Top 5 river rafting site.  He couldn’t refuse the adventure – the boat flipped twice, a fellow rafter tried drowning him whilst trying to stayafloat, he saved a different fellow rafter from drowning, and the hike out the gorge (1,000 vertical feet straight up) nearly broke him, but he loved every minute!

We moved to a second hotel in Livingstone because the backpacker lodge was full (and honestly, we wanted AC).  Ken and Everett ventured on a clandestine mission (I’m sworn to secrecy here) to visit Devil’s Pool, a swimming hole at the top of the waterfall.  I thought it a death trap to get a pic for the blog; they assured me, yes, it was, but they would still go.  It was the highlight of the trip thus far – can you imagine a local guide (at the TOP of the WORLD’S LARGEST WATERFALL) telling you to jump into the water, far enough to get over the rocks but not too far to be swept over the ledge… and then he held you by your ankles and told you to lean over the edge?!?!?  Nothing could compare to that adrenaline high!

We said goodbye to the mighty Zambezi and boarded a 10-hour bus ride to Lusaka, the capital city.  We feared the worst (we’ve been on many an African bus), but it was shockingly comfortable – AC, comfy seats and an on-time departure – basically a luxury Greyhound.  Our arrival at the bus station in Lusaka, on the other hand, was a classic chaotic and overwhelming scene - a mob of touts trying to grab at our luggage, yelling to get us a taxi, and stalking us through the confusing labyrinth of wooden vendor stalls.  

 

We got out as quickly as possible and landed at a lovely AirBnB apartment near the University of Zambia.  We downloaded Zambia’s version of Uber and made our way to a nearby mall.  Sidenote: the stores were promoting Black Friday deals, but there was no Thanksgiving… so… American-influenced-worldwide-consumerism at its finest?  No sooner had we made it back to our AirBnB then a storm blew through (a humid-Hawaiian-tropical-downpour) and now we are sitting in the dark with no power plotting next week’s adventures.  

 

Zambia, you are totally underrated and proving to be an unforeseen treasure!  

Johannesburg, South Africa

Our final week in South Africa.  Another few days were spent in the northern Drakensberg Mountains – the Royal Natal National Park.  This time, we stayed even farther into the mountains spending 3 nights in the park near it’s famous landmark “Amphitheatre.”  Gorgeous – maybe a mix of Yosemite + Switzerland?  We hiked up a trail called “The Gorge” to Tugela Falls.  Ken ventured even farther, encountering an out of commission “ladder” but he decided it worked well enough to venture on.  Then he hit a problematic “crevasse” and continued his solo mission to crystal clear waters and views.  We had a lot of rain and fog, but we enjoyed all that we encountered – well, except the tick that bit Ken when we were an hour from civilization and he had to go on a “doxycycline mission.”  

After multiple days of solitude and nature we were off to Johannesburg, the most populous city in the country.  We spent an awesome afternoon at Gold Reef City, a rollercoaster-trampoline-gold mining theme park.  In search of new sandals (thanks Mom!) we inadvertently found ourselves at the fanciest of fancy malls – never have we seen so many Ferraris, Range Rovers, and BMWs!

We are very sad to leave this exceptional country.  Honestly, we all agree we could easily stay for another month, a year, forever.  The food, the prices, the English, the sincerely friendly locals at every encounter, the landscapes, ok the list is endless.  (We are secretly planning an escape – “if it gets too tough, let’s just go back to Cape Town.”).  

 

We are enjoying the lounge at the airport (OR Tambo), heading to our gate now… Zimbabwe!

 

P.S. Due to popular demand: Everett’s opinion (Thanks for the nudge CK).  Apparently, this blog is too optimistic and I’m not telling you all the bad stuff.  Like arguing, online school sucks, he misses his friends, the WIFI sucks, and he doesn’t like all these nature hikes...  But he likes there are so many black people, he is eating so many steak dinners, he gets to play Roblox, and he agrees he loves South Africa

Drakensberg, South Africa

If you ever feel the need to escape to the secluded picturesque seaside, we recommend the Xhosa village in Bulungula.  We mostly relaxed and took part in some easy activities – kayaking, playing on the private beach (more sand burials), and taking drumming lessons.  On the evening before our departure a rainstorm arrived and turned our already-questionable road into a muddy disaster.  We only got seriously stuck once – a steep embankment of pure mud that thankfully Ken managed to maneuver our poor vehicle through.  The look of relief on our faces when we made it to the paved road was pure joy.  That was until later in the day, when the rainstorm turned into thick fog and we encountered endless giant potholes and herds of sheep randomly crossing without warning.  We realized a paved road could be just as brutal to the nerves.   

 

We stayed a few nights in Underberg at the southern end of the Drakensberg Mountains, drank so many cappuccinos (“the best in The Berg”), and made our way partially up the Sani Pass (near Lesotho border – unfortunately, we didn’t have a 4x4 or our passports).  Shout out to our other son, Makalo. 

 

We are continually surprised how good the food is here – even an average bakery/diner makes a fantastic meal.  Everett has found a new love of steak dinners.  Of course, that’s balanced with our long drives where we “rip” a piece of bread and enjoy whatever “dip” we happen to have (Nutella, peanut butter, honey).  Everett: “What’s for lunch?”  Us: “Rip and dip”.  Cue groan and eye roll from the backseat.

For the last few evenings, we’ve been staying at a farm B&B at the base of the stunning escarpment of the central Drakensberg Mountains -- one of the most spectacular sights we’ve seen in South Africa.  We hiked up a steep trail “the Sphinx” and Ken also made it to a hidden grotto.  

You might be wondering why we’re still in South Africa?  Let’s just say we’re on the slow travel vibe.  We’re trying to make genuine connections with local people, cultures, food, and well…  South Africa is marketed as “the world in one country” and we are starting to understand why. 

Bulungula, South Africa

I fall asleep smiling.  It’s too cliché so I’m pained to say, we are in a round hut made with mud and cow dung after a terrifying, white-knuckle, three-hour drive on a dirt road.  But let me back up.  

 

We departed Plett and had our first encounter with an impassible dirt road (more of these to come we would discover).  The river crossing the road was two feet deep and there was no way our poor Nissan sedan could cross.  It was a long day of driving and we felt defeated as we backtracked.  

 

Our luck shifted as we arrived at Addo Elephant National Park, a self-drive safari.  Elephants came so close to our car, if we were brave enough, we could have reached out an arm to touch them.  Instead, we held our breath, making no sudden moves as the family passed around our rental car.  I’ll let the pictures do the talking on this one.  We completed the night at a private game reserve drinking wine and beer around the evening fireside boma (cue: Chris Smutny look of surprise that Ken would be drinking beer).  For Ken it was a trip highlight – “now we’re really traveling.”

We drove up a 10km dirt road to a Xhosa village in the hills above Hogsback.  We were surprised to realize that for no apparent reason we became obsessed with this place.  It’s the cheap South African wine, the mountain view (which we barely made it up), the lack of WIFI, the fresh bread, the firewood carried on our heads, and the chaos of local boys speaking Xhosa of which we understood nothing.  Even speaking different languages Everett and the boys bonded over dancing, soccer, and taking funny videos on his phone.  Leaving the village, Ken drove us off the road into the ditch.  We had to push the car among the profanities.  His aggressive Los Angeles driving techniques make him well suited for the cities, but Hillary will be doing the off-roading in the future (The cliff!! The cliff!!).  Everett bouncing around in the backseat like a rag doll named the rental car “Simba.”

Beware of Ditch.  Depth is deeper than it appears...

Back into the city of Mthatha we headed straight for the hot showers at our hotel.  Ken found us a fancy restaurant (Carryn-approved) and a huge mall with our favorite store “Game,” which is basically a Wal-Mart but with nostalgic significance.  

 

For three hours and 80km we followed a hand-written map to our next Xhosa village.  Directions: drive through a small stream, at the blue school turn right at the fork in the road, then left, left, right, left.  At the peach houses and yellow fence post take a right on the new-ish road (sidenote: it is NOT new-ish).  Drive down the steepest road you have ever seen and pray.  Arrive at the parking lot as thunder rolls and lightning begins to strike.  Walk 500m uphill through the woods and you will find the ocean-front village just as the rain begins to fall.