What a way to end!

It would have seemed almost paradoxical to travel all the way to Zambia without doing a little sightseeing, and it was for this reason that we spent our last week seeing the local wonders. Having been working in the community, we were keen to give something back, and so much of what we chose to do was supporting the community either financially or by giving time and resources.

We did a cycle tour around Livingstone, which included cycling through some very rural villages where the children would run after you and high five you as you went by, as well as through the National Park – as much as we wanted to turn the corner and find ourselves face to face with a herd of elephants, this didn’t happen ... probably much to our guide’s relief! We were given many fascinating facts and snippets of information about traditional rural life and the geography of the area, and it was, all in all, a superb tour.

Victoria Falls was definitely a highlight ... and why wouldn’t it be? The smoke that thunders, it is visible from miles away, and is the largest sheet of falling water in the world. Although warned that we would get wet, we weren’t quite prepared to get soaked through and this came as a surprise. The National Park is beautiful, and we enjoyed our visit immensely, and didn’t want to leave! The only thing that drew us away was the prospect of High Tea at the Royal Livingstone Hotel, which was even better than expected. A beautifully tranquil setting, we enjoyed the luxury of cakes, quiches and tea overlooking the Zambezi river. Hippos grunted in the water, and a zebra wandered past, the staff reacting as if this was an everyday occurrence, i.e. ignoring it whilst we’re all snapping away on our cameras. Having seen elephants by the roadside on the way to the hotel, we felt as if we’d already been on safari!

For our ‘real’ safari, we journeyed across to Chobe National Park in Botswana. This was indescribable, and quite simply unimaginable if you haven’t experienced it.  The park has between 40,000 and 60,000 elephants, and it certainly felt like we saw every single one of these – from the youngest calf to the oldest matriarch! The giraffes were also most prevalent, and quite striking with their long, elegant necks. We spent the night in the game reserve, and were treated to traditional songs and dances from our guides, which were hilarious. We were most fortunate on our safari, and altogether saw elephants, giraffes, impala, guinea-fowl, a honey badger, warthogs, Tawny eagles, White-Back vultures, baboons, Fish eagles, buffalo, lions, hippos, waterbucks, a Leopard-Faced vulture, mongeese, Kudu antelope, tree squirrels, Lilac Brested Rollers, Monitor lizards, a Marshal eagle, Sable antelope, Kori Bustards, Saddle-Billed stalks, a Black-Backed jackal, wildebeest, a Grand hornbill, Stenbock antelope, Velvet monkeys, zebra, crocodiles, a wild dog, Hammercops, Red Lechwe antelope and an African Rock python.

A sunset cruise down the river one evening was also magical – the skies in Zambia are mesmerising, and our viewing of them was made even better this one evening, as our crew cooked for us on a barbeque whilst we watched not only the sky, but also the banks of the river for wildlife. Another evening we were taken for a traditional meal, which was ... an experience! However, much to our surprise we actually enjoyed the majority of the food, even if we would never cook it ourselves. It was another chance for us to embrace ourselves in the local culture, and was really interesting. Yet another evening presented the opportunity to take part in a traditional drumming workshop which was highly entertaining. The instruments make such a sound that even those of us with extremely limited musical talent were able to produce a sound that didn’t make our audience of other travellers want to cover their ears! It was amazing!

Being members of WAGGGS (the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts), it would have seemed a wasted opportunity not to have met up with some members from across the globe. The orphanage we had been working at with the Book Bus had their own guide unit, and so we met up for a barbeque (we cooked what we would traditionally eat at such an occasion, and they cooked their own local specialities). Being guides, they were younger than us leaders, but this didn’t stop us having fun sharing games and songs from our own units.

We also spent a night on Bovu Island – a natural island in the middle of the Zambezi, occasionally home to a couple of hippos. This was a great couple of days spent making new friends and exploring the island, sleeping in open-fronted huts under mosquito nets and feeling almost entirely removed from the real world. Many of the people we met there came back year after year to work on a project they had set up in the local village just the other side of the river. They work at a local school, having raised funds to build two classrooms and two toilets so far, but with huge plans to do more, and the ultimate aim of receiving government funding. The work they had done so far was most inspiring, and the Book Bus left them with some resources to continue their good work and make a difference to hundreds of children’s lives.

Although the true aim of the trip was our work with the Book Bus, the sights we saw and activities we participated in drew us closer as a group and taught us about the local culture – meaning we could understand even more the potential for change that we could be involved in triggering. The trip was, however clichéd it sounds, eye-opening and a fabulous experience for us all! For more information, please comment on a post with your questions!