Zambia Summary

We added on the Victoria Falls trip at the last minute.  Todd had always wanted to see the falls since his parents had gone there years ago.  Still in South Africa, we drove from Kruger Park back to Johannesburg and spent the next day touring the nearby Soweto township.  We visited Nelson Mandela's house, from before he was imprisoned, and also visited a shop that sells supplies for local witch doctors (dried plants, monkey skulls, etc.).  In Johannesburg we also got caught up on email and paperwork.  The flight to Livingstone, Zambia was about an hour and a half and upon arrival we took a taxi, the only one on our trip driven by a woman.  Our hotel, the Zambezi Sun, was about 500 feet from the falls, we could see the mist and hear the roar.  We changed to shorts and walked to the falls, where we proceeded to get drenched in the mist and spray coming up the cliff from this immense flow of water.  We read that 9 million liters of water go over the falls every second!  That is about 2.4 million gallons of water.  It was a gorgeous place.  The next morning we each took an ultra light flight over the falls and later that afternoon we took a river cruise where we saw crocodiles and hippos.  Zambia is a politically stable country compared with their neighbor Zimbabwe and we found the people to be very friendly.  The country is 90% Catholic and we met people with names like Titus, Patience, and Luke.  There was a waiter at the hotel restaurant with the name Memory, which gave Todd the impression that perhaps there was high-tech industry that we did not know about.  That did not turn out to be the case.  The Zambian infrastructure and economy are not developed and a tribal system is still in place in the towns and villages.  We wished we had more time to explore this fascinating African nation.

Kona Moment:  The Zambezi Sun Hotel felt like an African version of a Hawaiian Resort, but more reasonably priced.  Also, the food and service were terrific. 

Starbucks:  None.

Weird McDonalds Menu Item:  None.

Cultural Moment: Todd took video footage of a baboon going through the backpack of a hotel guest who left it by his pool lounge chair while getting a drink.  The baboons are smart and have been found sacking guest rooms if doors are left open or even unlocked.  They can be dangerous, but will generally run away when approached.