Okay, I’m back in Madison! And as I struggle with jet lag (must be an old age thing…), it’s time to (finally!) finish up the trip with the Entries from my southern Africa adventure. Let’s do this!

Monday, March 31 – transit from London to Nairobi, Kenya

My flight on Kenya Airways departs at 6:30 tonight out of Heathrow Terminal 4. That makes it a little inconvenient to take the SL9 bus, but I’m stubborn (and cheap!). So, my path to Terminal 4 was as follows:

• SL9 bus to Heathrow Central Bus Station
• Piccadilly Line train back towards Central London,
• Exit at the Hatton Cross station in order to transfer to the Piccadilly train that will take me back to Terminal 4 (train rides are free when transferring between Heathrow terminals)

Ninety minutes after leaving Byron House I arrived at Terminal 4. Not the most efficient (I had the time), but inexpensive!

While waiting for my flight, I was lucky to witness this massive BA A380 on takeoff. Always amazed to see these massive beasts defy gravity!

Kenya Airways boards their flights by row number, starting from the back of the plane. Brilliant!

The 8 hour flight aboard the 787 (Dreamliner) was full. I had a window seat and was able to sleep a little. I sat next to a man from Johannesburg who is studying Computer Science at the University of Pennsylvania. Impressive! However, he is currently enjoying a semester abroad at the University of Edinburgh. Doubly impressive! He was taking advantage of a break in the term to make a return visit to Johannesburg.

Tuesday, April 1 – transit from Nairobi to Livingstone, Zambia

We arrived in Nairobi around 5am, and the layover for my Livingstone connection was 2 1/2 hours. That flight was on a full 737 and lasted 3 hours. The plane continued on to Cape Town, and it surprised me that probably 80% of the passengers stayed onboard. I assumed that Livingstone was a more popular destination. The cost of my one-way flight from London was £498 ($621); purchased at the end of January. (most likely could have saved money if I had my act together and purchased it further in advance!)

On the tarmac in Livingstone.

I must say that the Zambian immigration and customs officers were very friendly. Kind of a rare occurrence!

The taxi ride from the airport to my hotel took about 20 minutes and cost 550 Zambian Kwacha – ZMW ($20).

I’m beat! This was a long travel day(s). I left Byron House around 2pm (Livingstone time) yesterday, and arrived at the hotel around noon.

Travel Note: The African continent is HUGE! I incurred 11 hours of flying time, heading due south from London to Livingstone, and there is still another 3 hours of flying to reach the southern tip in Cape Town. I’m not sure the size of Africa is fully understood. This is likely due to the fact that the world map most of us are familiar with is the Mercator projection, which depicts the Earth’s surface onto a flat plane, preserving angles and shapes. However, it distorts the size of landmasses, especially as you move away from the equator.

As an alternate, there is the Peters Projection map that accurately represents the relative sizes of countries while distorting their shapes.

Kind of blows your mind, right? It did me!

For those of you interested in geography/cartography, I encourage you to watch an entertaining 4 minute clip from The West Wing that covers this topic. The link is here.

The Victoria Falls Waterfront Hotel. It is located on the northern bank of the Zambezi River, within the Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park. Because the hotel is located inside the park, there was no walking allowed outside of the compound’s walls, as it was deemed too dangerous (animal attacks). I took this picture just outside the gate, and there was a guard standing by while I was doing so (probably overkill, but I wasn’t complaining!).

Hotel Reception

Noted!

My room is on the left.

$104/night (including breakfast).

Nice pool area.

Dining/Bar area.

There’s a little pool in the dining area.

After roaming around the property and relaxing in my room, I was ready for some dinner…

I led off with a Caipirinha (Mainstay, Sugar & Lemon). 60 ZMW ($2).

Dinner was a Whole Zambezi Bream with onion rings and vegetables. 330 ZMW ($12). It was very good. The waitress said that typically the entire fish is eaten, including the head and tail, but I just stuck to the midsection!

Finished the meal with a Mojito. 140 ZMW ($5).

A beautiful end to the day!

Sidenote: Livingstone is named after famed Scottish explorer David Livingstone, the first European to view Victoria Falls. (“Dr. Livingstone, I presume?”)

Travel Note: As I was researching this trip last fall, I reviewed the recommendations on the CDC website for the various countries I anticipated visiting. Noted for Zambia, Zimbabwe and Botswana was an outbreak of polio. I therefore chose to get a booster dose of the polio vaccine. I originally checked with my private health insurance provider in December to see whether or not the shot was covered. It wasn’t, and the cost would be $100. However, since I would be transitioning to Medicare on January 1st, I decided to wait and see if they would cover it. Success! Fully covered. One (of the few) advantage(s) of getting old!

Wednesday, April 2 – Livingstone

I slept great last night – 10 hours of solid sleep! That’s good, because I have a busy day planned: a visit to Victoria Falls and the Livingstone City Center.

A view from the hotel dining area at breakfast. Those aren’t smoke plumes, it is mist from Victoria Falls!

It’s a 15 minute drive to the Falls from the hotel. The cost of the taxi was 150 ZMW ($5). You know I typically prefer to avoid taxis, but in this case there was no option (no walking outside of the hotel grounds). I ended up using the same driver throughout the day (hotel to falls, falls to city center, city center to hotel). That was the recommendation by the hotel staff, as sometimes taxis are difficult to find. And it worked out well, the driver was nice and dependable. The only part I didn’t like was having to set a schedule with the driver. I gave myself plenty of time at each location though, so no issues.

Victoria Falls are a mile wide, spanning the Zambezi River between Zambia and Zimbabwe and dropping 360 feet, roughly twice the height of Niagara. David Livingstone named the falls in 1855 in honor of Queen Victoria. The view of the falls from Zimbabwe is generally considered better than that from Zambia. I’ll be checking it out from both sides over the next few days, and will let you know if I concur!

The entry fee to the Falls is 540 ZMW ($19).

Dr. Livingstone, I presume?

My first activity was a hike down to the Boiling Pot, a whirlpool located in the gorge beneath the falls.

It was a moderately steep trail, through a lush tropical forest.

This view made the hike worth it!

Although it got a little misty at times!

A bungee jumper from Victoria Falls Bridge. No thanks!

I’ll be crossing that bridge tomorrow as I make my way to Zimbabwe (the Zambezi River serves as the border between the two countries).

Making my way back up the trail…

Spotted along the path!

It got pretty steep at times. It actually wore me out a bit. That surprised me, considering all of the walking I’ve been doing. Maybe it’s jet lag? Yeah, definitely jet lag!

I was planning on taking a break on this bench on the way back up, but it was sadly occupied. And didn’t think attempting to share would be a good idea!

A view of the falls from the rim of the gorge. In the foreground is Knife Edge Bridge (more about that later).

Another view from the gorge rim. Boiling Point can be seen in the lower right. Knife Edge Bridge is on the right, and the Zimbabwean portion of the falls in the center left.

I was once again wearing my UW baseball cap today, and as I walked along the rim I encountered a couple from Minnesota who recognized the motion W logo. Fun!

The Victoria Falls Bridge.

I’ve now made my way closer to Knife Edge Bridge and other viewing points.

More moisture! This probably isn’t the best time of year to be visiting the falls. The region is just coming out of their rainy season, so the falls are at full force, generating a significant mist (basically a light rain). I had a poncho and umbrella with me; I used the latter, but not the former.

These two hearty souls are making their way across Knife Edge Bridge. I passed. I know, I’m a wimp! I just didn’t think getting soaked would be all that much fun.

Some views of the Zambezi River feeding the falls…

This was fun! Very impressed by Victoria Falls. Will the Zimbabwe side be better? We’ll find out in a couple days…

My driver was waiting for me as I exited the park. Time to check out the city of Livingstone. The ride to the city center took 15 minutes and cost 150 ZMW ($5).

The Livingstone Museum. I didn’t go in.

Dr. Livingstone, I presume?

Cathedral of St. Theresa

I like this mural!

So, there is a museum in Livingstone that intrigued me. It is a combination Railway Museum and…

…Jewish Museum. Really?

Well, as I approached I could see that it was pretty run down. And the entry fee is $15. Seriously? To see the falls was only $19; no way I’m paying $15 for this.

As I made my way back to town I came across this outdoor art gallery. I spoke to one of the artists, and the prices were reasonable. Something to think about…

The styles seemed unique, until…

…I stopped by this curio market and saw many of the same types of artwork here. Oh well!

I did a fair amount of walking around in Livingstone, but there really wasn’t much to see. I’m happy I checked it out though.

Fuel Price Check: 34.98 ZMW/liter = 4.75 USD/gallon.

Once again, my driver was waiting for me at the appointed time and place. Thank you! The ride back to the hotel took another 15 minutes, and once again cost 150 ZMW.

Travel Note: Like in the Caribbean, the taxis here are used mini vans imported from Japan. Both countries drive on the left with RHD vehicles. I can tell the vans are from the Japan by the script on their display panels. Kind of interesting where these vehicles end up.

Dinner tonight was once again at the hotel, overlooking the Zambezi River…

I started with the Sunset Cocktail (Malibu, Strawberry Liqueur, Fresh Orange Juice). Had to, right? 160 ZMW ($6).

I chose the Bream again for dinner, but went with the fillet tonight instead of the whole fish. Probably the better call. 390 ZMW ($14). Tasty! The glass of wine was 70 ZMW ($2.50).

This was a good day in Zambia!

Travel Note: I forgot to take a picture of my Zambian money! Here’s a photo I downloaded…