ZAMBIA

June 30.  ZAM TO ZIM VIC FALLS  Our new overland truck was Phumba (Swahili for warthog), a bright yellow truck from the Whichway Adventure Tours that had been acquired by Nomad. A more sturdy model than Stevie it would be necessary for the steeper and more rugged roads in East Africa.   There were fewer seats which allowed for much more leg room.  The baggage went into the back of the truck so we didn't have to worry about it spilling down onto us when we hit bumps.  The only real downside was that the cab and back of the truck weren't connected and the guides could only communicate with us via an intercom system.   

We left Victoria Falls on the Zimbabwe side about midday.  Along with Matt from our first overland trip, we had two new people with us, Anke and Andres from Germany.  We were going to pick up five more people on the Zambia side of Victoria Falls.  The border check was smooth and we found ourselves entering campsite on the opposite side of the Zambezi River in about an hour and a half.   It was a really nice waterfront camp area with a slick bar and TV lounge.  The other five people in our group turned out to be a family of five from Edinburgh, Scotland - parents and three kids.  The youngest kid was their high school aged son and the two older girls were in college.  The demographics of the group was very different from our first trip.  It seemed pretty clear that the group would be divided between us, Matt, Anke, and Andres, and the Scottish family but everyone seemed to get along fine.  We ate lunch at the camp ground restaurant which was a bit of luxury after the camp food from our last trip.   

In the afternoon, I went with Anke, Matt and Adres to see the Zambia side of the falls.  Rob planned to go into town with our guides, Dani (Donny) and Lucinda, to find a bank.  The Zambia side of the falls didn't stretch as far across the river as it did on the Zimbabwe side but the close proximity of the pathway to the water made it more intense.  It didn't take long before we were entirely soaked. The riverbank projected out in front of the falls and connected via a long bridge to an island.  We followed the trail to the very end. We couldn't see much towards the end but we were able to feel the tremendous force of the water coming down the falls.  The noise was thunderous and the water drenched us like we were in a shower.  As the sun got lowered on the horizon a rainbow appeared across the mist.  I had a jacket on but my pants were plastered to my legs. The others were about the same.  Returning to the entrance we took the trail on the far side of the riverbank and were able to watch people bungee jump from the metal bridge that connected Zimbabwe with Zambia across the Zambezi.  It was quite a plunge.  

We had asked our taxi to come back for us in an hour and a half which was more than enough time to see the falls and fortunately gave us some time to drip dry before he arrived.  A curio market was strategically placed right outside the gate and kept us busy while we waited.  Small Vervet monkeys flung themselves through the trees above, hoping to catch a snack from the tourists or vendors.

By the time we got back to the camp ground it was nearly sunset.  I found Rob sitting with Dani and Lucinda in the TV room above the bar.  Startrek was on.  Eventually everyone converged on the TV room and our guides made the standard trip speech on how things would work.  They turned out to be a couple, one originally from Nomad and one from Whichway that had been paired on a tour and were now inseparable.  They were a saucy couple but were just coming off of a three week holiday and had driven the truck all of the way form Cape Town to Vic Falls just for our trip and were still getting their breath.  But with five years of experience behind them this was old hat for them.  

Dinner was also served at the riverside camp restaurant and we were beginning to think this was going to be a more relaxed trip than our last one.  

July 1. VIC FALLS TO LUSAKA  In the morning we were off to an early start.  We had a long haul to make from the campsite through nearby Livingstone and on to the capital of Zambia, Lusaka.  We made a stop to change money in Livingstone before starting the long haul to Lusaka.  Rob hadn't been able to catch up with Dani and Lucinda to go into town the day before so we still needed to change money as well.  It turned into an almost comical event if it hadn't been so frustrating.  Dani advised us that the Forex office in Livingstone would give a decent rate on changing dollar T/C for dollars so we planned to stock up on some cash.  The problem was that the Forex office needed a copy of the receipt from the purchase of the T/Cs, a copy of a passport, and a copy of the T/Cs themselves.  That was all fine except that their copier was broken so we had to go make the copies ourselves and come back.  They would reimburse us for the copies but as we didn't have any local currency we couldn't pay for the copies in the first place!  Finally we borrowed some money from Matt to make the copies and got back in line to change the T/Cs.  It all ended up taking a ridiculous amount of time.  The town itself wasn't very noteworthy, except for its namesake after Dr. Stanley Livingstone, the Scottish missionary/businessman who spent so much of his life in Africa fighting against the institution of slavery while also identifying commercial opportunities for Britain.  The buildings were mostly just concrete structures with signs painted directly on the flat facades. 

We slept much of the way to Lusaka, a good seven hours beyond Livingstone.  The truck didn't even make a lunch stop and we ate some prepackaged sandwiches en route.  In Lusaka we made a shopping stop.  The truck drove through the small city with its handful of old and not very high high-rises. And, we kept driving until we were all of the way on the far side of the city and then pulled into a strip mall parking lot.   This not-very-old strip mall could have been anywhere in the world with its western stocked supermarket, Subway sandwich franchise, foreign language bookstore, and cafe, among many other shops.  The fortified parking area told us this was not for the average Zambian shopper but a more exclusive area for the wealthier people.  There we bought some toiletries and grabbed a couple of sausages and a potato salad to supplement lunch.  With some time left at the end we had coffee with Andres and Anke at the corner cafe.  Zambia was one of the world's poorest countries but this was hardly like being in Africa at all.  

The campsite was just outside Lusaka and we pulled in just after sunset.  There were a couple of other overland trucks and a handful of car campers sharing the privately owned camp ground.  It was pretty nice little place with a large bar that opened to the outdoors, satellite TV, and hot showers.  Just don't trip onto the trampoline that they had dug right down to ground level!  Lucinda demonstrated her cooking talent with a tasty ground beef curry for dinner.