Zambia - Between Tourist Madness and Real Africa

Ebimisami: 21.08.2018

From our last stop in Botswana, the city of Kasane, it was only a 10-minute taxi ride to the border of Zambia. In order to enter Zambia, we had to queue up with truck drivers for a 2-minute ferry ride - Botswana and Zambia have been in dispute for years over who should pay for the construction of a cross-border bridge. Once we arrived on the other side, we had to pay a proud $50 for the visa and then, as always as Mzungu (which actually means traveler, but has become a synonym for "white"), we were besieged by countless men and women trying to sell us bus tickets, taxi rides, food and drink, and countless other things. In the midst of the hustle and bustle, however, we discovered a Dutch family that we had already met on a boat trip and tried our luck and asked for a ride to our first destination, Livingstone (Victoria Falls), with their caravan. To our luck, the parents of the four-headed gang were very happy to have our company, as while we had to hand over countless papers and also USD for an additional insurance for their caravan in Zambia, we could take a look at the children.

Arriving cheaply in Livingstone, it quickly became clear to us that our travel budget here was not enough for the variety of activities offered here in combination with the Victoria Falls. From rafting, swimming on the edge of the waterfall, helicopter flights to bungee jumping from a 110m high bridge into the depths against the backdrop of the Victoria Falls, you can experience it all here. However, you should already have several hundred USD ready for the activities.

We then decided to initially opt for the relatively unspectacular visit to the Victoria Falls. Before that, we used our double visa for Zambia and Zimbabwe and set off on foot to Victoria Falls, the first city after the border with Zambia.

Before that, we admired the bungee jumpers with trembling knees...

...as well as the workers on the Victoria Falls Bridge, which forms the border between the two countries.

After a little souvenir shopping, we went back to the park in Zambia.

Although the river does not have the highest water level because we are in the middle of the dry season, the amount of water and the noise of this natural spectacle are truly impressive.

We even got a free shower.

We then used the next day to relax by the pool in our hostel and visit the Livingstone Museum, which is the largest and oldest museum in Zambia and exhibits historical artifacts of geography, culture, flora and fauna as well as the Scottish explorer and missionary David Livingstone.

The next day, we took part in one of the most impressive tours on our trip so far. Wezi, a guide from the "Local Cowboy Cycle Tours," took us on a bike tour through the neighboring villages in Livingstone and showed us the "real" Africa away from the luxury hotels and lodges, the activities around the waterfalls, and the other tourist hustle and bustle.

We met people who spend the whole day manually processing stones for cement processing in a quarry, children who cannot enjoy an education, and women who toil in the sun until old age.

Despite the many hardships of these people, we were warmly welcomed, greeted, and shook hands.

The proceeds from this great work are used to build and maintain a school in a nearby village. Here, over 200 students can learn and since this year, they also receive a warm meal per day.

At the end of the tour, we visited a local market with some local delicacies :D

We are very happy about all these impressions and in the hours and days afterwards, we thought a lot about our luck of growing up in a country where we lack nothing, can enjoy education as well as medical care at any time, and about the birth lottery.

Our last stop in Zambia was then the capital, Lusaka, which, apart from a very chaotic market/bus station and a mall, did not have much to offer for us.