A Natural Wonder

Yesterday, I went on the best field trip of my life! We took a day off to visit the city of Livingstone and to see Victoria Falls! We left around 6am and drove the three hours, mostly on dirt roads, to Livingstone, Zambia!

Vic Falls, as the locals call it, is a few kilometers outside of downtown Livingstone, and is on the southern border of Zambia/northern border of Zimbabwe. The Zambezi River feeds the falls; because we are approaching the end of dry season, the river is very weak. So the falls are not as impressive as they will be during wet season. However, because there isn’t much water, we got to walk out over the falls, and literally stand at the edge where the water flows down! I can’t even describe what an incredible feeling that was! The huge chasm where the land drops off and where water usually flows is itself extremely incredible and makes up for the decreased amount of water. Vic Falls certainly deserves its place among the seven natural wonders of the world!

In addition to viewing the falls from the top, a few of us hiked down to the “boiling point” – what they call the bottom of the falls. We journeyed through jungle-like surroundings, wading through water and climbing over boulders, to the bottom of the chasm. It’s only 700m (not quite half a mile) down, but the “path” is very rocky and extremely steep!

The local “wildlife” consists mostly of baboons! They roam freely and are not at all afraid of humans; in fact, they will come right up to people, wanting food/drink!

After leaving Vic Falls, we spent a few hours in Livingstone. We ate “pizza” at the Funky Munky, visited the David Livingstone museum, and shopped in the market. Obviously, Livingstone is much more westernized than the part of Zambia in which we are staying. The market we went to is much different than the one we visit in Kalomo; rather than selling groceries and common necessities, it is all about tourists! They sell African carvings, paintings, dishes, jewelry, etc. Bargaining with the sellers is not my favorite thing to do, but I did come back with several things!

1/4 of our time here has already passed. It is going by so quickly! Prayers for continued safety and strength would be greatly appreciated!!