Some days we just have to challenge ourselves. As we enjoyed our delicious breakfast at #Pioneers Lodge today, before we went to Victoria Falls, we decided this was the day. We should walk the 1,5 km path along Victoria Falls and then we wanted to try out the zipline crossing the Zambezi River.

During the walk we got to know a young couple from Italy who spent their honeymoon in Africa and the local guide who told us stories about the Vic Falls and David Livingstone.

Livingstone and Stanley. Two names inextricably linked. The missionary and the journalist. The Scotsman and the Welshman. The man who loved Africa and had disappeared in the heart of this big continent where he searched for the source of the Nile and the man who was sent by the New York Herald to find him. Stanley found Livingstone near LakeTanganyika in 1871. That is when he claimed to have said these famous words:

– Dr. Livingstone, I presume? 

According to Stanley`s reports the two men developed an almost father-son relationship. Nevertheless, it is known that they had a very different view of the Africans, and Stanley`s later expensive and risky expeditions showed clearly how he despised these savages, as he called them.

As we walked in Livingstone`s footsteps and took some photos from every viewpoint, the one more fantastic than the other, we began to dread for the ziplining. None of us had done something like this before in such a height and over such distance. – Once in a lifetime, we thought. We just had to try.

But first we had to do some photo shots. We wanted to show our beautiful black dresses from Ioanna in various situations by the waterfalls. We hurried to change from our hiking clothes when we found a place where no one could see us, and we made some good shots. It was extremely hot, but we had a good time and enjoyed being models for a short while.

And then it was time for our real challenge. Now it was no turning back.

The feeling we had there, standing on the launch pad on the steep cliff over the river, was kind of insane. We were safely strapped up, given good advice, thumbs up and encouraging smiles and then we took some deep breaths and off we went. It was a bit scary at first, when we rushed down towards the water down under, but very soon we just enjoyed it. What a fantastic view, and what a feeling! We did it! We did it! We even enjoyed it and almost wanted it to never end. For more than ten minutes we dangled over the river and now we were totally relaxed. It was amazing. These were moments we will never forget. 

After that breathtaking experience we decided we deserved a Gin & Tonic. Our young Italian friends joined us, and we had a delicious crocodile kebab too. That was a perfect choice after ziplining over the river between Zimbabwe and Zambia.

And now it was time to meet some elephants. The wery polite and skilled Amos took us for a ride on a humpy road into a camp where they took care of rescued elephants. In this camp there were 17 elephants. He guided us to a group of elephants so that we could learn to know them and touch them. Before we left, we learned how to feed these big animals. It was a bit scary, but a fantastic experience.

So, what a day!

#Ioanna #Serena Norway#Destination Africa#Travelmate