I HEART Zambia!
- Jumping into Devils Pool on the edge of The Falls - Part 1, Part 2.
- River boarding and white water rafting the Zambezi River.
- Cliff diving into the raging Zambezi River.
- Falling off a cliff on the Gorge Swing.
Showing posts with label Zambia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Zambia. Show all posts
Victoria Falls Travel Review
Victoria Falls: Gorge Swing
One of the activities I had been really excited to do in Livingstone, Zambia was to swing off of the bridge over the lower Zambezi river that connects Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Don't get me wrong, I was a bit nervous about it, but very gung ho. So one afternoon we made the schlep to the bridge to watch the excitement. First, we watched a guy bungee jump by hanging from his legs. The jumping part didn't seem so bad but watching confirmed that I had absolutely no desire to hang upside down for a couple of minutes over a rushing river waiting for someone to retrieve me. I'm up for adventure and fun, but that just looked painful. Everyone I had talked to who had bungee jumped off the bridge said they didn't really enjoy it as much as they thought they would. On the other hand, swinging off the bridge came highly recommended. Up next was a jumper who was going to swing and it looked a little something like this.
Something happened to me when I watched that jumper fall and keep falling - fear. BIG FEAR. Fear I didn't even know I could have just from watching. It came quite unexpected as I am not afraid of heights. I was beginning to second guess my desire to jump. Luckily, one of our group members was recovering from being sick so we were going to wait a couple of days before making the big leap anyway. On the other hand, this gave me a couple of days to fester in my fear.
This was when I realized that I had a very real problem with fear. Swinging off of that bridge was going to be by far the safest thing we did that week. Even if I passed out during the jump, I would still be safe. No one had ever died from jumping and there was still this part of me that wanted to do it. Honestly, it made me wonder how much opportunity I'd been missing out on because of illogical fears. When it came to cliff jumping that week I had chose the small jump on two different occasions. Just moving to Malawi was 8 years in the making. Was I allowing fear to rule my life more often than not? I questioned a lot of my life choices.
I decided to conquer my unnecessary fear this time and jump. However, jumping off the bridge was a bit pricey and as it turns out there was a gorge swing in the area that was 1/3 of the price but only half as high. I was once again overcoming my fears halfway, but I suppose you have to start somewhere. The night before the jump I had difficulty sleeping. My stomache was in knots and I was popping antacids like candy. This sun did rise, I did get out of bed, and I did hop on the truck to take us to the gorge. I decided to put on a brave face and feign excitement BUT I was terrified. Yet....
Something happened to me when I watched that jumper fall and keep falling - fear. BIG FEAR. Fear I didn't even know I could have just from watching. It came quite unexpected as I am not afraid of heights. I was beginning to second guess my desire to jump. Luckily, one of our group members was recovering from being sick so we were going to wait a couple of days before making the big leap anyway. On the other hand, this gave me a couple of days to fester in my fear.
This was when I realized that I had a very real problem with fear. Swinging off of that bridge was going to be by far the safest thing we did that week. Even if I passed out during the jump, I would still be safe. No one had ever died from jumping and there was still this part of me that wanted to do it. Honestly, it made me wonder how much opportunity I'd been missing out on because of illogical fears. When it came to cliff jumping that week I had chose the small jump on two different occasions. Just moving to Malawi was 8 years in the making. Was I allowing fear to rule my life more often than not? I questioned a lot of my life choices.
I decided to conquer my unnecessary fear this time and jump. However, jumping off the bridge was a bit pricey and as it turns out there was a gorge swing in the area that was 1/3 of the price but only half as high. I was once again overcoming my fears halfway, but I suppose you have to start somewhere. The night before the jump I had difficulty sleeping. My stomache was in knots and I was popping antacids like candy. This sun did rise, I did get out of bed, and I did hop on the truck to take us to the gorge. I decided to put on a brave face and feign excitement BUT I was terrified. Yet....
I put on the harness.
I walked out to the platform.
I shimmied to the edge.
(I didn't dare look down.)
I leaned back.
I fell!
I kept falling!
And, I triumphantly whoohooed, repeatedly.
This swing wasn't about being adventurous, this swing was about not letting unnecessary fear rule my life. I conquered. What have you conquered lately? If you could use a little perspective when it comes to fear Seth Godin's book, Linchpin
, is a book I have been reading that views fear from a different angle.
, is a book I have been reading that views fear from a different angle. Click here to read more about my Victoria Falls trip.
Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
Victoria Falls: Cliff Diving
If everyone jumps off a cliff, would you? The answer to this childhood lesson is yes. However, the dumbest (most dangerous) thing I did on my Victoria Falls trip was to cliff dive (okay, so it was a jump) into the rushing waters of the lower Zambezi river without a life jacket.
So how did I get suckered in? In the national park that surrounds Victoria Falls you can take a trail that leads to the lower Zambezi river. Along this trail we kept seeing spray painted pink arrows. Initially, we thought it was to guide you down the trail to the water, but once we got to the water we realized that the arrows kept going along the waters edge. As curious as we were to find out where the arrows led, we waded in an eddy current in the river first. Cuz, you know, we have to indulge in every immediate and slightly dangerous thrill that comes our way.
After the allure of the wonderfully cool but not cold water wore off, we followed the arrows. We bolder hopped for a bit and then came across a relatively new climbing rope tethered to the rocks that led to no where but the water. After a few puzzled seconds past it dawned on someone that this was the makings of a rope swing. Not so much a swing, but a means to cliff dive/jump into the water AND pull yourself back to the shore.
Truthfully, I was skeptic but everyone attributes such things to my being several years older than the rest of the group. Regardless of my opinion, everyone jumped and it looked something like this.
After watching my fellow jumpers happily survive, I decided to leap, too.
And now for my feature film cliff jump in HD.
So how did I get suckered in? In the national park that surrounds Victoria Falls you can take a trail that leads to the lower Zambezi river. Along this trail we kept seeing spray painted pink arrows. Initially, we thought it was to guide you down the trail to the water, but once we got to the water we realized that the arrows kept going along the waters edge. As curious as we were to find out where the arrows led, we waded in an eddy current in the river first. Cuz, you know, we have to indulge in every immediate and slightly dangerous thrill that comes our way.
After the allure of the wonderfully cool but not cold water wore off, we followed the arrows. We bolder hopped for a bit and then came across a relatively new climbing rope tethered to the rocks that led to no where but the water. After a few puzzled seconds past it dawned on someone that this was the makings of a rope swing. Not so much a swing, but a means to cliff dive/jump into the water AND pull yourself back to the shore.
Truthfully, I was skeptic but everyone attributes such things to my being several years older than the rest of the group. Regardless of my opinion, everyone jumped and it looked something like this.
After watching my fellow jumpers happily survive, I decided to leap, too.
And now for my feature film cliff jump in HD.
You might have noticed that I didn't jump quite as high as the others, but I had a lot of fun doing it.
Click here to read more about my Victoria Falls trip.
Click here to read more about my Victoria Falls trip.
Victoria Falls: Jumping Into a Waterfall
How does one get to jump into a waterfall - at the top AND not fall over the edge?
Visit the beautiful Victoria Falls in Africa between September and December. Personally, I recommend the Zambian side.
So without further a due footage of the craziness that is Devil's Pool.
You may have noticed that I am not in the video. Well, our group opted to have our pictures taken instead, which you can view in this post. But, the above video captures the awesomeness of what we did. We were all a bit surprised the eddy current wasn't more obvious. Which makes you wonder how anyone ever figured it out in the first place. Really, all that is between you and and a 100+ m drop is a couple of feet of rock. Amazing!
Visit the beautiful Victoria Falls in Africa between September and December. Personally, I recommend the Zambian side.
During the dry season the Zambezi River waters are relatively low.
So low that you can actually walk across most of the 1 km wide Upper Zambezi River.
This is where it gets interesting. At the top of the falls an eddy current forms at Devil's pool. The current flows upstream due to the geology of the river and actually appears to lack any current whatsoever. Translation: if you jump into the river at this one spot, you won't be swept over the edge.
So without further a due footage of the craziness that is Devil's Pool.
You may have noticed that I am not in the video. Well, our group opted to have our pictures taken instead, which you can view in this post. But, the above video captures the awesomeness of what we did. We were all a bit surprised the eddy current wasn't more obvious. Which makes you wonder how anyone ever figured it out in the first place. Really, all that is between you and and a 100+ m drop is a couple of feet of rock. Amazing!
Victoria Falls: The Best Facebook Profile Pic Tutorial
Curious as to how one achieves a Facebook profile pic like this?
Step 1: Travel to Livingstone, Zambia or Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe from September to December. Personally, I recommend the Zambian side. I know, this step is probably going to be your greatest obstacle, but Zambia not only has Victoria Falls but also has the best safari park in all of Africa. Really, Zambia NEEDS to make it onto your bucket list.
Step 2: Head out to Livingstone Island through the Royal Livingstone Hotel. Why? Cuz hanging off the edge of Victoria Falls is an organized excursion that you pay for (and can be booked through any lodging).
Step 3: Hop on a boat that ferries you out to Livingstone Island on the upper Zambezi River. Note the spray from the falls and pray your boat engine works and has an anchor. Just kidding (sorta, not really).
Step 4: Enjoy the view.
Step 5: Strike a pose.
The "giddy with excitement" pose.
The "watch Felix, your guide, show you how to gently wade into Devil's Pool" pose.
The "watch your guide NOT jump over the edge" pose.
The "hey - the guide survived and I am soooo doing that" pose.
The "I would NEVER get to do this in the United States" pose.
The "I am not wasting another minute, I am jumping" pose.
The "this is the most awesome thing I've ever done" pose.
The "don't cha wish this was you, sucka" pose.
Step 6: Shimmy to edge of Devil's Pool.Take a peak.
Get a little closer.
Take a few deep breaths.
Over smile for the camera, cuz now there is even a rainbow. Really!!!
Add in a dramatic pose.
Or, two.
This is living for all it's worth!
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