
Africa, such a simple word for such a complex continent and culture.
Part One - Zambia, Africa
It was at this point that I excitedly turned to my jet-lagged, sleep-deprived
After landing in JNB, we were picked up by our transport that had thankfully all been arranged prior. We decided that with Africa, an unknown and unexplored continent, we would enlist the aid of a qualified Travel Agent, (who was recommended to us by another nestie, thank you once again!), we were so thankful we did. Rikke, from go2africa.com, exceeded our expectations making this trip even more incredible by facilitating and eliminating all the little inconveniences usually associated with traveling, but I digress.
Albeit our flight was thankfully uneventful, smooth, the flight attendants incredibly professional and pleasant, the food quite decent (by airplane standards) - it is almost impossible to get a good night's rest on ain airplane. Kev attributes this to the uncomfortable design of the seats in Coach, and I must reluctantly agree. We had leg-room, but if you wanted to crouch into that comfy fetal position to nod off with, and you actually have a bootie like both my hubby and I have been blessed with, ::insert grin here:: you’re going to be quite akwardly seated if you try to sleep. Consequently, we were in dire need of some zzz's. The first couple of hours upon arrival to JNB almost seem like a blur.

All I remember is that we were escorted to a safari-esque type lodge with a nice, comfy bed and hot shower and after a self-served (open bar, as in your the bar tender, serve at your own risk:) beverage to sleep for at least 6 hours straight. When we arrived it was early AM, when we awoke, the sun was setting. After room service and our first glance at African TV we turned in again for an early night, the next morning we were to return to the airport for our flight to Livingstone, Zambia.
Thankfully, the next day we awoke fully bright-eyed and bushy-tailed and after a delicious, hot breakfast we embarked on our 2 hour flight from South Africa to the neighboring country of Zambia, and a city aptly named Livingstone.
We arrived at the Zambezi Sun, a fabulous resort complex located ideally close to the Victoria Falls National Park. This resort wasn't your run-of-the-mill all inclusive. After all, do you know of many places where you’re warned not to feed the wild animals and zebras and giraffes roam freely outside your window. I don't. The "watch out for Crocodiles" sign really had me giddy - Not!

The beautifully decorated hotel was perfect for lounging and relaxing by the pool while being serenaded by interesting percussion instruments played by a local band. The food was spectacular and different. We tried everything from Kudu, a type of antelope, to crocodile skewers, Andrew Zimmern eat your heart out! We also learned the local villagers are much, much more adventurous eaters than we will ever be. Hippo, Elephant and Baboon are all part of their monthly dining options. They don't let anything go to waste. Unfortunately, many of these animals get caught up in strong currents on the Zambezi river, only to end up at the bottom of the powerful waterfalls. The rangers take the tusks and leave the meat for anyone willing and wanting to take a piece home. Nothing goes to waste.
However, the true highlight of Zambia were the magnificent excursions!!!
From catching our first glance of the majestic, earth-shatteringly beautiful Victoria Falls, and jumping into Devil's Pool (yes people, we really did do this, click to see this youtube video) - to our first glimpse of a wild African elephant off the banks of the Zambezi river on a safari cruise - Zambia had our heart going pitter-patter. We couldn’t get enough of this amazing land. We wanted more, needed more....and more we got!
Here are a few of our favorite shots from this incredible place:




































Stay tuned for Part Two - Cape Town, South Africa coming soon...
4 comments:
Amazing.
Missed you!
WOW. Those are some amazing photos!! It sounds like you had a great time. Can't wait to see the rest!!
Holyshit @ the devil's pool!
These are amazing!
Nice photography.
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