Day 8 - 21 May 2016 Livingstone

Day's trip schedule

Livingstone

Distance & time taken

17 km
20 mins

Accommodation

Zambezi Waterfront Lodge (www.thezambeziwaterfront.com)
between Livingstone town & Vic Falls on the T1

Trip Notes

Campsite #4 at Zambezi Waterfront Lodge

We decided that today, we would head off into Livingstone town for a while to explore the craft market as well as stroll around town.  After we had showered, we made a relaxed breakfast while agreeing the things we wanted to cover.  The intention is to spend the day in Livingstone today & then head up towards Lusaka tomorrow.  After sorting out the camping gear, we packed away the goods we couldn't leave outside & then headed off to Livingstone CBD.  The roads were a lot quieter than Friday afternoon & other than the Shoprite Centre on the way to town, town was relatively quiet.

We headed to the craft market first & spent about an hour wandering through every stall - not that we had much choice, each stall holder almost led us by the arm into their stall.  We were quite intrigued by the pricing of the various crafts - a lot less expensive than what we had expected.  I bought 3 medium sized drums for ZMW130.  The challenge now was where to pack them that they wouldn't get damaged over the rest of the trip.

Livingstone craft market on the main road in the CBD

Once we had finished browsing, we strolled around town before heading to Standard Bank at the Shoprite Mall to exchange currency.  The rate we got was only slightly better than that from the informal currency traders at Kazungula (ZMW10,13 : $1).  It did take almost an hour to execute the exchange as there were a number of traders banking their weekly takings.  We were going to go through to the Falls & walk across the bridge to Vic Falls but decided first to secure our booking for the river cruise.  

There are a number of operators running these at similar prices - the only real variant in price is what you get on the trip - drinks, meal, snacks, etc.  After looking at a number of options, we decided to go for the smaller speed boat offered by Victoria Falls River Safaris which, although slightly more expensive at $85pp, allows one to get up close to the wildlife on the islands & in the water.  They also stop at one of the islands for sundowner drinks & snacks before heading down to Royal Livingstone Hotel & then back up to the jetty as dusk settles in.  we were looking at something slightly different to the trip we had done 2 years previously on the African Queen (http://www.seasonsinafrica.com/adventure-activities-zambia/victoria-falls-activities/livingstones-adventure/zambezi-river-safaris/).

After doing the necessary to secure a seat on the boat, we headed back to camp for lunch.  As we were running out of time to get down to the falls & then back for the cruise, we decided to spend Sunday in Livingstone as well.  We walked across to the Zambezi Boat Club (situated next door to our accommodation), paid our dues & waited for the other guests to arrive.  All in, there were 7 of us on the cruise - all American & staying at the Royal Livingstone.

White-Fronted Bee-Eaters

This cruise proved to be thoroughly enjoyable as we could get right up close to elephant & birds on the islands - at some points beaching on the island to get the best photo opportunities.  We started by going up-stream & then when we hit the main stream, we took the centre channel (there are 3 split by islands), & meandered downstream until the point where all 3 channels converge again into the main water body.  It was at this point that we came upon a pod (or raft or bloat or pool or herd - take your pick) of hippos that had settled into a area at the apex of an island where the current wasn't very strong.  The guide took us right up to them where we parked up against a bush for a while watching the family unit in action.  It was quite encouraging having the foreigners on the boat as they appreciated each & every animal they saw - especially the elephant & hippo.

Ang chilling with a G&T on the Zambezi -
pod of hippos keeping an eye on things

Water Thick-knee

Elephant on an island in the middle of the Zambezi - wonder if he had his passport

We then headed off to one of the larger islands where we stopped at a quiet beach to have sundowners & snacks.  Everyone took a bush nature break except for the American ladies - they couldn't get there heads around it & had to suffer the consequences in silence as it was quite a bumpy trip back to the Royal that the guide took at speed.  After we had dropped the other 5 off at the hotel, the guide beat a hasty path back to the boat club throwing up large sprays of white water as he took the bends or went over the rapids.  

View of Vic Falls - river cruise

We were back at the lodge just after 6 & rather than head back to the campsite, we had a few drinks at the bar overlooking the river.  The pub / restaurant was significantly quieter tonight as there was no happy hour.  The FA Cup Final between Manchester United & Chrystal Palace was being shown on the TV's in the background but by the time we had called it a day, the game was still 0 - 0.  Apparently, Man U won the cup as we could hear the appreciation of the result by the local fans from our tent bed in the campsite some distance away.


Costs for the day

Accommodation	Zambezi Waterfront Lodge	US$24,00
Park fees	Mosi ‘O Tunya NP	US$10,00
Cruise	Victoria Falls River Safaris	US$170,00

Sunset over Zambezi - view from river cruise