Zambia: A different kind of Africa…

CAIRO -11- August 2017:- One of the hardest difficulties during a trip is to say goodbye. You make so many friends around the world but soon the time comes when you have to leave them behind, without even knowing if you will see them again…

Lubumbashi in the Democratic Republic of the Congo definitely became a special part of my trip. Leaving from there, on one hand I was sad because I was saying goodbye to some good friends I had made. On the other hand, it was clear that my wanderlust had grown bigger… I had missed traveling for a while!


Zambians are definitely more kind and discreet than what I had been used at in the Democratic Republic of the Congo! By Madnomad

It is known that once you cross the border into Zambia, you feel like going from Africa to Europe! Entering in Southern Africa means the end of the hardest part of “mad about Africa”. Traveling in Southern and East Africa is not at all as difficult as traveling in West Africa.


Sunset above the famous Zambezi River… by Madnomad

I visited Lusaka, Zambia’s capital, just to get my Namibian visa. However, I had the chance to look for Dimitris, a Greek who lives there the last years and we happen to have some common friends, despite we had never talked to each other.

When he showed me that he got the “27 full-moons in the East” and even with an inscription from our common friends, I was moved… I never expected to find that book in Zambia! This may be the most well-travelled copy of my book!

We had a great time with Dimitris. Along with some other friends of him, we visited the Lower Zambezi National Park. We explored the banks of Zambezi River on a boat. They were full of animals, which were coming to the river to cool off.

This was my first safari in the famous parks of Southern Africa, which are full of wild animals. We saw hundreds of hippos, plenty of elephants, crocodiles, different kinds of antelopes, warthogs, baboons and many tropical, colourful birds.


We were bored of meeting hippos! by Madnomad

The exciting thing is not that these animals are rare. It’s watching them all together, free , in their own environment. I could see them living all together in harmony and I could only admire the glory of nature!

Elephants were drinking water next to the hippos, while exotic birds were resting on their back. Close to them crocodiles were swimming sneakily and at the same time baboons were moving around bushbucks, waterbucks, kudus and impalas.

I was trying to imagine how the landscape would look like when Scotchman Dr. David Livingstone was exploring the region. I guess the nature hasn’t changed much since then and that’s one of the reasons Africa is fascinating…

Sure, the biggest part of this continent is moving towards “development”, like the rest of the world. However, in Africa there are vast areas where the nature is almost undisturbed by humans and it’s functioning as it was centuries ago.

Animals keep living with the same habits, sometimes migrating in huge herds to find food and water.


It’s exciting to see wild animals living all together in harmony, free, in their own environment! by Madnomad

I rode towards the southernmost area of the country, at the point where the famous Victoria Falls are. In the local language they are called “Mosi-oa-Tunya”, which means: “the smoke that thunders”.

The name refers to the cloud that the water spray forms when this huge amount of water hits the surface of the river from a height which reaches 108 meters (354 ft.). This cloud is visible from a distance of 30 to 50 kilometres (19 to 31 miles) away!

However, the record that Victoria Falls hold is for the largest curtain of natural falling waters in the world. The waterfalls are 1,708 meters (5,604 ft.) wide and 108 metres (354 ft.) high.


The Main Falls and the spray which is formed. During the wet season and just after it, this whole place is full of waterfalls by Madnomad

Unfortunately, when I was there, I couldn’t see any of these extraordinary facts, since it was the peak of the dry season. At least, this means I was able to walk on top of the waterfalls and reach the famous Devil’s Pool.

That’s a natural infinity pool right on the edge of the rocks, on top of the Main Falls! Unfortunately, I couldn’t wet my toes there, since they ask 50 USD for that, plus the 20 USD that the foreigners have to pay to enter in the waterfall’s area.

Actually, I was not even allowed to reach Devil’s Pool but I had planned a whole mission to sneak there and have a look at least. When they got me, I went back and I finally enjoyed a swim above another waterfall, which was Rainbow Falls. I was alone there, so I had my own private pool


The famous Devil’s Pool is a natural infinity pool right on the edge of the rocks, on top of the Main Falls! by Madnomad

The border post with Namibia was just 200 kilometres (124 miles) away approximately. I rode towards it in order to finally get in one of the countries I was dreaming about for years. Everybody was telling me the best about Namibia, a country which is considered synonymous to adventure! So, let’s see how it will be like…

Here you can watch the video about my trip in Zambia:

Video:

This article was originally published by Madnomad