Today was the most incredible day of my life. Words cannot describe everything I experienced today, but I will do my very best.
We were picked up around 8:30 to be taken over to the gorge for our fun half day of adventures. We were driving around in one of those game trucks with the open air seating on top. The driver stopped at other hostels along the way, but the only other two people he picked up were two Canadian sisters, ages 23 and 21. They are in the middle of spending five months in Africa. They’ve backpacked from one of the northern countries (can’t remember which one right now) and are planning on spending a month in Vietnam when they are done with exploring Africa. They looked like they were twelve and had these little tiny girl voices, so it’s amazing to me that they are able to go all over the place doing this (Melanie, let’s do it!!). They were really fun to meet and had some interesting stories.
I was so excited all morning for this and wasn’t nervous at all, but when I saw the gorge my stomach dropped. The anticipation of what we were planning to do gave me a feeling I’ve never had before; I can only say it’s similar to how I felt before our championship game against Concordia. I was dry-heaving in the bathroom before that game, so that gives you an idea of how I was feeling. We watched the sisters go on the gorge swing which added to that feeling, and then met with the many nice men who worked there. The sisters just did their one jump and left, so it was just Rachel and I enjoying the entire place to ourselves. The first activity we did was abseiling, which is just scaling down the side of the cliff. I wasn’t too great at it; my dad wouldn’t have been impressed. I kept thinking about the time we went to a rock-climbing wall and he was explaining to me how you really have to push off with your legs in order to do it well. I never pushed off the face of the rock as hard as I should have, so at one point I ended up kind of dangling instead of moving down with nice fluid movements like I was supposed to. The abseiling calmed my nerves a lot and was once again incredibly excited for what was coming.
Once we did the abseiling, we hiked out of the gorge, which was quite the walk, and then went up to the do the zip-lining. We could do the zip-lining twice and had two options for that; sitting or flying fox. Flying fox means you run and jump off the ledge face forward like you’re superman. Sitting is a little less scary because you don’t go head first. I opted to do the flying fox right away. Sprinting toward the edge of a cliff is terrifying, but the moment I was in the air, it was the most amazing feeling. I swung across the ravine (not quite to the other side; I didn’t push off hard enough for that) and they pulled me back in. I did my second jump right away, and just marveled at the scenery. We could see the Zambezi River but not quite the falls just yet. We were close enough to hear them, though.
The zip-lining was fun, but not exactly the thrill I thought it would be. I was feeling pretty confident heading over to the gorge swing. We got harnessed up and while the man was showing us how we were going to scoot our heels over to the edge and then lean backwards, I lost my confident feeling. Rachel and I wanted to jump tandem because you go faster, and it was nice to have the moral support. This was the most ridiculously scary thing ever. No roller coaster ride has ever come close to this adrenaline rush. We were standing on the platform, completely harnessed, and then told to put our backs to the gorge. We had to inch our heels over the ledge, squat down, and on the count of three, lift our toes off the edge. Words cannot describe the seconds that followed. I didn’t scream; it was impossible. I think I let out some sort of noise, but I’m not sure. On the first jump, I can’t even remember the first few seconds except for seeing my feet above my head. After we fell, we swung around for a while, which was incredibly fun. Then we were lowered down to the platform and began our hike back up the gorge. The entire hike, my body was trembling from the adrenaline, and Rachel and I continuously giggled and said, “That was amazing. That was just so amazing.” The second jump was so much better than the first. We were about a hundred times more scared because we knew what was coming, so the adrenaline rush was even better. I can remember every moment of this fall, too. My goodness…it was just amazing. I can’t say anything else about it. The words so far are completely inadequate anyway. I want to do something more, though. I think bungee jumping and sky diving are in my near future.
We spent some time with the workers there, who were all really fun and very nice. We bought some crafts, mostly just as a way to say thank you, and then were driven into town so we could pay with our credit cards instead of cash. The system wasn’t working, so the man just told us to come back later in the week and pay then. That certainly would never happen in America! They then dropped us over at Victoria Falls. We ate lunch at a restaurant outside the hotel. It was very healthy and extremely African (just kidding): a milkshake, French fries, and a hamburger. Nice and healthy for our four hours of hiking around the falls!
Victoria Falls is the most amazing thing I have ever seen in my entire life. Again, I have no words to describe it. I don’t know how anyone could see what I saw and doubt in the existence of God. Heaven will have waterfalls, I’m sure of it. The power, beauty, and splendor of the falls are overwhelming.
First, we walked over to the big bridge that connects Zambia with Zimbabwe. Because it’s rainy season, the water is at its highest, which means the mist coming off the falls makes it difficult to see everything. We got a few good shots, but still couldn’t quite see too much of the falls. While we were walking, every single person we passed (except for a pair of American guys) stopped to ask our names and where we were from. When they heard we were from America, we always got a response something along the lines of, “Oh, Obama land!” Then they asked us if we liked him and would vote for him in November. It’s funny how interested they were in American politics. We headed back from the bridge to a different part of the park. Finally we were able to get a really good look at the falls. We were taking pictures on a rock that juts into the river right by the falls when some Indian men spotted us and asked if they could take our pictures. The few minutes that followed were rather uncomfortable, especially when Rachel somehow snuck out of the picture and it was just four men taking pictures of me on their cell phones. We then met an awesome person, Calvin. Calvin works for the Zimbabwe side as a guide. In dry season, he takes people out to swim on the falls – if you Google pictures you might see what I mean. It gets low enough that people can swim right up to the edge without going over. Calvin then showed us around the rest of the day, which was the best thing that could have happened to us. Without him, we wouldn’t have done half the things we did. We hiked down the Boiling Pot and got right up to the water line, which I wouldn’t have done without him guiding us. The Boiling pot is a spot past the falls where the current spins around in a huge whirlpool. It’s right below the infamous bridge where the bungee jumping happens and the Australian woman’s rope snapped. Here, some more men spotted us and asked for pictures with us. We climbed over these huge boulders and got right up to the water. Calvin took tons of pictures for us and showed us the safe places we could go. We hiked back up, which we were told was going to be quite the climb. It’s a very steep 600 meters down, but it really wasn’t too bad. Climbing out of the gorge was much harder. Then we walked over the little bridge where we could get the best view of the falls. Because of the spray off the falls, pictures were impossible except for one spot. We got completely drenched. It was like standing under a shower head. The view from this spot will be forever cemented in my memory. There would be moments when the mist would clear up and we could get a glimpse of the magnitude and magnificence of what was hiding behind. I can’t imagine a more beautiful sight.
Calvin then encouraged us to go swim since we were already soaked anyway. We hiked back up to the top of the falls and climbed on into the Zambezi River. We stayed close so the current couldn’t take us over the edge. I wasn’t worried either way because Calvin obviously knew what he was talking about. Then we dried off while watching the sun set over the falls. Amazing.
Before Calvin took us out to help us get a cab back, we stopped in the markets. These vendors are aggressive! We didn’t buy anything despite their best efforts and, after thanking Calvin profusely and giving him a fraction of the tip we could have given him, piled into a very nice cab. This was a strange ride home; the driver was listening to some very strange children’s music for one thing, and he took us on these very rough back roads. I will never complain about roads in America again. These roads were comically bad.
One random note from the day: people think I’m the most hilarious person ever when I say, “I’m Erika from America.” Seriously, that joke kills here.
Divine Savior got a lot of press today. I was wearing one of the T-shirts I got when student teaching there, and I took pictures with so many people from so many different countries that I’m pretty sure every continent has now seen pictures of that logo.
I can’t imagine a more amazing day. Re-reading what I just wrote makes me a little crabby because I just can’t describe it. You just have to be here to really understand it.
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