Spontaneous Bonus Trip

My week of Safari ended with a bang. I crossed the border to Zimbabwe.

Shortly after getting off of the boat in Chobe, two of my friends (Rachel and Jele) and I decided to ditch the last three days of the trip and head to Victoria Falls. As our professor and fellow classmates drove off to their next camping destination, we stayed behind. With only one working cell phone, no money on hand, and the clothes in our backpacks, we set off to find a way to cross the border, only to find out that the bus station and travel agencies were closed and the nearest gas station was under construction. As we walked around aimlessly around Kasane talking to strangers, the message that has been instilled in my brain since childhood was growing louder, “Don’t talk to strangers, stranger danger!!” But as every twenty year old has practiced, I ignored the teachings from my childhood and proceeded to ask strangers for a ride. After a few rounds of rejection, we found a man with a van, but fear not he had candy so we wouldn’t starve! Sadly, I am not entirely kidding. As we arrived at the border, only minutes before closing, we bought a Visa and were on our way to find a hostel willing to take three last minute wandering travelers. Luckily, we found a place called Shoestrings (link to website: http://www.shoestringsvicfalls.com/) that happily housed us for the night. We celebrated with a warm meal at In-Da-Belly and ate Crocodile, Warthog, and Impala. Yummy-in-my-tummy.

The following day we set off to explore the town and make our way to one of the 7 natural wonders of the world! A sales man approached us with great deals on all sorts of fun adventurous activities to do at the Falls. He hooked us with white water river rafting, which had started 15 minutes ago. Thankfully, we only missed the safety speech. No big deal.

The hike down to the Zambezi river was one of the most beautiful hikes I have ever had the privilege to go on. With our helmets secure and life jackets tight, we were ready to take on the wildest river to raft down in the world. The ride did not start off slow, we went head first into our first major rapid. Whirl pools were forming as our guide paddled around the large rocks. Every name of the upcoming rapid was funnier than the last. My personal favorites were ‘the devils toilet bowl’ and ‘terminator two’. Terminator two was a grade five rapid and almost wiped us out several times. As we came around a sharp rock you could see the power of the next wave sucking in the water underneath our raft just in time to crash down on top of us. This proceeded to happen for the next eight hours with small breaks in between each rapid. Our guide was kind enough to let us swim around and hang out in the warm water as long as we looked out for crocodiles.

Unfortunately, we were more focused on the beauty of the canyon and ended up staying outside of the raft as we passed through the one of the rapids. Hanging on to the side of the raft for dear life, I couldn’t help but to love the push and pull of the water. Once the water calmed down, our guide pulled us into the raft. I looked back at the other rafts that had flipped over and saw people scrambling for their lives. The guides were kneeling on top of flipped over rafts and were yelling out commands to the stragglers who had made their way into the nearest raft. A group of twenty piled into one boat suited to fit eight people comfortably. People were falling off like Jenga pieces.

Our trip down the Zambezi River came to an end and we started our trek back up the canyon. What feels like a lifetime later, I made it to the top where there was food awaiting. After scarfing down my first meal of the day, I decided to exercise my manners and make friends with my fellow rafters. Turns out they were from all over Europe, Australia, and the U.S.! We spent the rest of the day together and I must admit that they really inspired me to make sure that this trip abroad would not be my last and that the people you meet along the way may be some of your closest friends down the road.

We ended our trip at the heart of Victoria Falls. In my opinion, this is one of the most beautiful, majestic, and inspiring places in the world. Before seeing the falls, you can hear the tumbling of the heavy water fall into the Zambezi river. Upon seeing the falls, you sink into a trance of pure bliss. I couldn’t help but to whisper ‘wow’ as I stepped closer to the edge. Rainbows blanket the water and sky. The surrounding vegetation is similar to that of a rain forest. My friends and I ran from one view point to another, splashing in the puddles from the pouring water along the way.

Inspired to take as many photos as possible, my friend Rachel took a picture of me doing bow pose on top of a cement block on the edge of the falls. Shortly after Rachel snapped the photo, I slipped. I held onto a thorny vine and survived with a few scratches. No I do not have a death wish. Although, I am convinced that this is the gateway to heaven.

Once reality kicked in, we realized we had an hour to get back to the border before it closed. Scrambling to our hostel, people pestered us to buy trinkets and continued to ask for our belongings. Once again, we made it to the border just in time, only this time we did not have a taxi available on the other side. As a result, a Botswana immigration officer kindly gave us a ride to a hostel in Kasane. The hostel was located in a touristy town and was way over our budget. We bargained and scored a luxurious room on the river for $30 U.S.! Rachel summed up our shower and sleeping experience perfectly when she said “I feel like a new woman!”

But our stay was short since we had a flight to catch. We woke up at four a.m. and had to break out of the hostel since the gate was locked. Avoiding the spikes at the top of the wall we leaped over the wall and raced to catch our bus, forgetting that we were in an area where the animals we had been seeing throughout the week also lived here. Minutes before the bus was scheduled to leave, we arrived at the station. Our adventure across the border to Victoria Falls was officially over. 

I recommend traveling to Victoria Falls in your lifetime if you ever have the chance. Definitely a highlight to my already glowing trip abroad.