Jolly Old Saturday in Livingston!

Melanie and I were completely spent after a full day in Livingston on Saturday. 

The emotional and physical toll of the day’s excitement left us ready for bed around 7:30pm.  But just to give you slightest feel of why we were so tired here is a run through of our day - pictures added to help the viewer capture a WEE bit of the experience we had.

8:30am… Hop on the bus with several other enthusiastic backpackers, anticipating a day filled with fear, nerves, and excitement for what lies ahead.

Approximately 9:30am… Melanie and I find ourselves with our heels hanging over the edge of the gorge below, holding on to one another for dear life, and a man telling us to bend our knees, stick out our bums, tuck our chins and count “THREE, TWO, ONE!”   With no time to think or even catch a big enough breath, Melanie and I found ourselves free-falling for about 200 feet before realizing that the big sturdy rope the man strapped to us actually WAS going to catch before we became tomorrow’s pancake breakfast.  The fall was so long that neither one of us could scream the entire way down!  Thankfully we had enough time to catch our breaths, realize we were alive and still be swinging in the middle of an absolutely beautiful scene!

10:30am… Catch our breath in just enough time to find ourselves repelling down the side of a 200ft rock wall.  Melanie and I both agree that abseiling was by far not as scary as the gorge swing.  Both Mel and I did come across a problem though as we were repelling down --the rope was so hot that we could barely stand it and we thought that the rope was going to catch on fire.  Edward our friend who was at the bottom to catch us just giggled and said in a slightly shocked tone, “Oh, yes that hot!”   As we walked back up to the top, Mel and I both agreed that we would rather not do that again…

11:30am… For all of you who are a little apprehensive about doing these activities, this next one is for you.  The flying fox was next on the list… Picture this as going on a zip line superman style.  This was great for taking a moment to enjoy the beautiful scene around us.  Great for all ages and did not require us to hike all the way back up the cliff --winning!

12:10pm… Selfies with the locals.  As we walked back with our guide there were several gentlemen about our age standing by a souvenir shop waiting for us.  One of the men kindly asked if we would take a picture with us.  Next thing we knew we were being yanked left and right to be in many other pictures.  Mel and I were just laughing the whole time because we felt like celebrities!  I guess getting pictures with “pretty mzungus” was high on their bucket list.  So glad we could make their day. :D

12:15pm… Johnny, one of our guides, asked us if we would like to try rap sailing next.  He described it as reverse abseiling where we would be facing the ground as we repelled down the rock wall.  Mel and I gave each other a stare of terror as we did not want to catch our hands on fire again.  But… Johnny was very good at being “encouraging” and assured us it would be fun.  As we walked back to the location, Mel was brave enough to ask, “So… is it supposed to feel like the rope is going to catch on fire as we go down?”  (Thanks for asking Mel, I was just going to try to be a tough nut and not say anything)  Johnny chuckled and said, “You need not hold on so tight!”  We had to laugh… You know you would be holding on for dear life if you were dropping 200+ feet too!!   

Wowzas… it is much scary as you look down and do it!

1:00pm… We have finally emotionally and physically recovered enough to attempt the gorge swing again!  This time going solo… Mel and I each have a video proving we did it now!!  As soon as internet is strong enough we will have to share!  The screams are so priceless…

1:30pm… Lunch was provided in our day so we sat down enjoyed some chicken, “chips” aka fries, and salad.  After lunch Melanie was super brave and did the gorge swing jumping off facing out, which is so crazy!!  Don’t worry I captured it all on video as well!  

2:30pm… We had one last opportunity to do the flying fox and then it was time for us to hitch a ride back to the hostile.

3:30pm… Purchase bus tickets to head back to Lusaka in the early AM.  

4:00pm… Depart for the sunset cruise near Victoria Falls.   The cruise was absolutely beautiful and Melanie and I had many opportunities to talk to the people on the cruise with us.  We enjoyed appetizers and supper on the ship.  The highlight of the cruise for me, other the phenomenal view of the sunset, was seeing HIPPOS!  I got a few snapshots of their beady little eyes sticking out of the water.  There were a few moments when the hippos were sticking their heads out of the water with their mouths open wide…  What an amazing sight to see. 

7:30pm… Return back to the hostile, chat with a few people there, and turn in pretty early.  We were not excited for the 8 hour bus ride that awaited us in the morning but we definitely were grateful for our experience in Livingston!   

This blog post doesn’t nearly capture the entire experience, nor does it even begin to describe the experience in full details.  We are so completely blessed!

Sending hugs,

Kelsi and Melanie