This all being fine and dandy but our actual vacation started with a 5hr bus ride north from the capitol to Francestown. Being that we were only half way, we overnighted at a PCV’s place and prepared for the 6 and a half hour bus ride north to Kasane for the next day. Taking the bus isn’t all that bad, if you don’t mind sweaty people, uncomfortable seats, not drinking much liquid to prevent having to pee, or the occasional stalled vehicle.
Kasane is beautiful, right on the boarder of Zimbabwe and Zambia. Katie and I lost track of the number of elephants we saw on the bus ride up. We spotted herds of 15 grey beasts to the solo outcast bull, too old to regain his thrown. It was quite a site to see them in the wild. We spent the night with yet another PCV who lives in that village. That’s one of the best things, no matter where you travel, there’s a good chance you can find free lodging with another Peace Corps Volunteer.
We caught a 6am taxi to the Zambian boarder where we hopped on the ferry and crossed the Zambezi River. A new stamp for our past ports makes me feel like a world traveller. We were bombarded by money changers just outside customs who promised us the best rates. I’m glad I did some research before we traded; we only lost about $2 US in the exchange. The money is Kwatcha and its K4,600 to $1 US, so we paid K50,000 for our taxi ride to our meeting spot. That just sounds like a lot.
By 8am we were in a 4x4 to Bovu Island to a lodge/resort called Jungle Junction. This island is right on the Zambezi River, one of the most hippo-, crocodile-, and tiger fish- infested rivers in the world. (we saw all 3 by the way!) A guide paddled us to the island in a traditional dugout canoe called a Makoro, it was a little tippy but our guide had absolute confidence which assured us we were in good hands.
We were the first to arrive from our group of 10 so we were given first choice of the open air bamboo fisherman hut we would be sleeping in. Brett, the owner gave us the one with the most beautiful view of the Zambezi and because we were first he gave us a drink on the house and a personal tour of the island. With no electricity on the island and the water not safe to drink unless boiled, we really were in a remote area. Before the rest of our crew arrived, we explore the island more, settled in and had a home cooked lunch.
Talk about a laid-back business. The bar was the first thing we were introduced to and it was all on the honour system: if you took a beer or a soda you just made a tally by your name and that was that. No money on the island, all valuables including money was locked up in a safe and your bill was settled when you checked out. New years was a riot like it always is and with a full moon on a remote island on that Zambezi River, what more could we ask for? Brett was an interesting chap to say the least. Once the sun went down, he was quite a character. A white Zambian whose father was one of the first to discover diamonds in the area, he was well off and not making a lot of money from his lodge. He had a hippie persona about him and had a friendly inn keeper personality.
Day two, after some recuperation sleep, was spent at the swimming hole: a swift water area that was thigh deep at the deepest but too turbulent for crocks to hide. I kept telling myself, “I can’t believe we’re swimming in the Zambezi.” Reality checks are nice to do. We brought all our own food so the entire trip was about $20 US to eat. Lots of R & R and we even learned how to paddle the Makoros. A sunset Mokoro cruise and some late- night fishing brought our day to a close. With our proper bate we rigged up some chicken on hooks and did some cat fishing. I hooked the first catfish but way too small to keep. Not long after, our friend Matt hooked the first Tiger Fish. These are nasty looking fish, members of the piranha family. He finely landed it but the hook was so deep the fish couldn’t be set fee without sever damage. So in our bush man mentality, we made a fire on the beach, gutted, scaled, cooked and eat it right there on the beach. Some of the best fish I’ve had, and it was caught on a piece of chicken.
The guys watched the sun come up on day 3 as we readied our gear for a morning of fishing. The girls slept in and went to the swimming hole. We had a lot of bites but only a few Tiger fish were caught. That’s life and a day on the water is fun enough. Katie and I went for a guided birding walk where I saw many of new birds. Lots more R&R and some Mokoro excursions wrapped up that day.
Most of the group was headed home early early on the fourth day while Katie and I slept in a little and had breakfast with the last couple from our group who decided to spend an extra night. Brett had stayed up all night, figuring it would be easier to just stay up than to sleep a little and get back up. He was a little dishevelled when we checked out and loaded the 4x4. Victoria Falls was our next stop. A gigantic water fall, one of the largest in the world, just an hour from Jungle Junction. I had planned to bungee jump from the bridge but money was tight and we chose to do a Top of the Falls walk. This was unreal. A guided walk just yards from where the water spilled over 208m down. We had to hold hands as we walked through the shallow but very fast moving water. We stopped at a place called Angles Arm Chair where we could swim and jump off rocks into an 8m deep pool. In one spot you could swim up to a shallow area and literally look over the falls. Breathe taking. The day was a little rushed but we enjoyed every bit of it. On the way out we got some souvenirs, got scammed to pay a ferry fee (the scammer was thrown of the ferry and our money returned) and left the Zambia with almost K200,000 roughly $45 US that Botswana wouldn’t exchange.
The next morning on our way to get my hair dread locked, the wheel of our short but FELL OFF, good thing we had duel wheels on back, and we weren’t going the speed limit. There are deaths all the time from public transport accidents. Lucky us. Dread lock story to come. Happy New Year
