So here I was sitting in the only place in the world where four countries meet. Why sitting? Because I was on the mighty Zambezi in a small boat dodging its way between other small craft and the crowded ferries moving non-stop between the banks.
Behind me was Zambia, to my left, Zimbabwe, to my right Namibia, and straight ahead Botswana. I’d just crossed the Kazangulu border post in Zambia and was heading for Kasane and the Chobe river.
This was my second visit to Zambia since January. This friendly welcoming country, once the poor relation of its neighbours, has become the belle of the ball since Zimbabwe started its downward slide.
“We’re probably the only country in the world to love Mugabe!” laughed my Livingstone guide. “Because of him, our tourist industry has flourished.”
Most visitors go to Livingstone to see the Victoria Falls or Mosi-oa-Tunya – the smoke that thunders (both names are recognised on the World Heritage list) – or to feed their adrenalin habit. This charming little town, once Zambia’s colonial capital, has now become one of the major global adventure destinations for adrenalin junkies.
Try your hand at helicopter or microlight flights over the largest sheet of falling water in the world (1 708m wide and 108m high), go kayaking, whitewater rafting (some of the best and most dangerous in the world), tiger fishing, elephant-back riding, quad riding, jet boating, abseiling, swinging… and of course, bungee jumping. The recent plight of the Australian girl whose rope snapped seems to have deterred no one and the queues of wannabe jumpers were long, if a bit jittery.
But take time to explore Livingstone’s history.
The small but imposing Livingstone Museum has a unique collection of the doctor’s memorabilia, including his peaked cap, his medical bag and lots of his letters. Kenneth Kaunda’s iconic motorbike is parked nearby. Outside is the Chipmunk aircraft used by the RAF to train the Zambian air force in 1951.
Bright blue taxis lurch their way past the old Capital Theatre, built in 1931, which still shows movies. The first supermarket dates from 1912, the Marimba market still pulses with life, and the headstones in the Jewish cemetery pay tribute to the once thriving Jewish population. If you’re a railway buff, head for the Railway Museum. The old train that used to cross the bridge between Zambia and Zimbabwe has also recently started running again, but only for tourists. You can now once again take afternoon high tea in the middle of the bridge.
My first night reinforced Livingstone’s colonial past. The elegant River Club is identified by rolling green lawns, croquet, cucumber sandwiches in the Summer House, and chalets that hang over the rushing waters of the Zambezi named after the soldiers and adventurers who played a significant part in Zambia’s history. It was all rather like staying in a favourite uncle’s home. I was in the Cornwallis Harris room, named after a famous mid-Victorian explorer who was the first to record the sable antelope and ship one back to England.
Toko Leya, further upstream, couldn’t be more different. It’s a secluded wilderness camp of tents and wooden decks overlooking the flowing river where hippos snort and chuckle all night. My friend and colleague, Lesley Simpson, spent much time on the river (hey, we’re from Joburg and don’t get much chance to see water!).
Birding scored us an African Finfoot and loads of other waterbirds, and after the obligatory sunset G&Ts, the sun began to dip behind the horizon and Vic Falls prepared for night.
A Pel’s Fishing Owl screeched, a baboon barked, a robin winded down its evening song, stars pierced the sky, guinea fowls softly clattered. The moon rose. The smoke that thunders thundered on.
The next morning I planted a waterberry tree and did my bit for Zambian conservation.
Royal Chundu Lodge lies 80km upstream from the falls, also on the Zambian side, book-ended by rapids. This is where you’ll choose to go when you win the lottery. River Lodge has 10 suites, but I stayed in one of only four suites at Island Lodge upstream on a private island. This was luxury supreme, including a candlelit, perfumed bubble bath waiting on your deck when you return from the day’s activities.
Here I got more active. Tiger fishing at dawn (lots of bites and a snapped lure), whitewater canoeing (but to be honest, I wasn’t doing the paddling), mokoro rides (the mokoro or dugout canoe is still the main form of transport for the local fishermen and villagers), a visit to Maluka village (a working village, not a tourist trap), birding, back to the island, and then to the boma at the main River Lodge to watch the Makishi dancers – the Zambian national dancers – perform ancient songs and ritual dances. Werner Nieuwoudt, who helped to build the lodge and now superbly manages it with wife Lizette and Zambian colleague Hessah, a proud black Jew, reminded me that you can only see traditional mask-dancing north of the Zambezi.
Late that night on the boat back to the island, I marvelled at the stars blazing in the sky and on their glittering reflections shimmering and trembling on the river’s surface.
Then we moved on – from Zambia and where four countries meet – to the Zambezi Queen, a stately houseboat moored in Namibian waters across from Botswana on the Chobe river.
I first saw this houseboat being built in Katimo Mulilo more than two decades ago. Everybody thought that the feisty Alta Visagie, whose vision it was, was mad.
Today her dream has become a reality – the Zambezi Queen is now a top destination for international visitors.
Sharing the experience with me were a party of French tourists, an American couple, a South African father and daughter, Hildegard, the wife of a very famous Cape winemaker, and her 80-something friend, who confessed that although she was Dutch, she hated cheese.
From the outside the boat looked rather drab and unglamorous. But when you step inside, the understated beauty revealed itself. The top deck, with 360º views, shelters armchairs and sofas in creams and browns, Nguni cattle rugs, a friendly bar, an elegant dining area, a sun deck and pool. You feel cocooned in unpretentious comfort. The stunning artwork is outside – the wide Chobe River in all its colours and moods. From the floor-to-ceiling windows of your spacious cabin you can watch the rosy dawn give way to bright midday, then, as egrets fly to roost, and the hippos begin to wake up, the first star of the evening glows in the western sky.
If it’s Chobe, then it’s elephants. The houseboat, skilfully managed and run by Wayne Badenhorst, a former yacht skipper from Cape Town, and his right-hand man, Vincent, from Namibia’s Impalilo Island, is moored opposite Chobe Game Reserve, which is on the Botswana side. Accounts vary, but between 70 000 and 100 000 elephants are said to roam there. We certainly saw hundreds.
One evening, we embarked a two-tiered boat for a sunset cruise. In the middle of the river, deep in the channel, a small herd of a dozen elephants were feasting on the long soft river grass. Only their backs and the tops of their heads were visible. It was a privilege to see.
On the banks of the reserve, elephants come and go – big ones, teenagers, mothers and babies, lone bulls – an endless procession of drinking, dunking, paddling, trumpeting, bathing pachyderms.
Marabou Storks staked themselves out in random clumps, waterbirds of every description foraged, waded and hunted, water lilies had begun to close up for the night, massive crocs plopped into the water from their sandy daytime banks and fish eagles dotted the tall riverine trees. The water slapped against the side of the boat in a rhythmic lullaby.
You just can’t beat an African river.
Finally, from the Zambezi Queen, through another three border posts, my travelling companion, Coral, and I, entered the bustling little town of Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe.
Coral hadn’t been here for 15 years, but decided that little has changed. The town, although a bit shabby, was buzzing with tourists, the adventure activity offices were thronged, and visitors still walked safely up and down the main street to the falls as they have always done. However, the Zim dollar has gone, replaced by the rand and US dollar. Interestingly enough, prices in the local Spar were on a par with South Africa. A decent bottle of sparkling wine set us back R80.
Our destination was the sumptuous Stanley and Livingstone Hotel set in the Victoria Falls Private Game Reserve, about a 20-minute drive from the falls. Its lush, manicured gardens, which overlook the reserve, slope gently down to pristine bush and a busy watering hole. Built by an Arab, it is the epitome of late Victorian splendour – gold taps, scores of paintings and pictures covering high walls, tartan carpeting (Queen Victoria loved tartan), brass stair rails, dramatic busts of Stanley and Livingstone, leaded window panes, heavy drapes held back with robust gilded cherubs, suites much bigger than my cluster home – even the gloomiest of the Tennysons would have felt at home.
And the falls? Well, there’s no gainsaying it. The view from the Zimbabwe side was unparalleled. The giant statue of the world’s most famous explorer still stood sentinel at the entrance to the narrow stone walkways that wind between the rainforest and the cliff edges. Flimsy branch fences lined the 100m drop to the rushing gorge below and the spray drenched you no matter what rainwear you were wearing. Nothing has changed here for decades. And that is part of its great beauty and charm. The Devil’s Cataract continues to hurtle over the edge, rainbows still dance at Rainbow Gorge, and the spray came down in sheets at the slippery edge of Danger Point.
At the end of the kilometre-long walkway we watched the bungee jumpers hurling themselves into space from the iconic bridge.
Dr David Livingstone, missionary and explorer, the first European to sight the falls, who travelled thousands of miles on foot with a handful of servants and porters, who bartered for supplies along the way, with only a couple of guns for protection, might just have felt a little sceptical. - Sunday Independent
Listen to Kate’s podcast of the trip on www.702.co.za Heard on Air April 29
Kate Turkington was hosted by:
1time airline www.1time.co.za flies into Livingstone from Joburg regularly
The River Club
www.theriverclubafrica.com
Toko Leya
www.wilderness-safaris.com/ Zambia
Royal Chundu Luxury River Lodges www.royalchundu.com
Zambezi Queen
www.zambeziqueen.com
Stanley and Livingstone Hotel
www.stanleyandlivingstone.com