Safari Day
Today we had to wake up bright and early; Naiveen woke me up at 6:55 and was like “Tessa we have to eat by 7:30 and it is 6:55 so you might want to wake up.” So I rushed around getting ready quickly and making sure I had everything. I went down to get breakfast because it is amazing; I absolutely love the bacon here. Breakfast is the highlight of this hotel. All right, that might not be completely true because the hotel is really nice and pretty but it is nice to start the day with a good breakfast. Our bus came to pick us up at 7:30 and we were off to pick up the other passengers, which included two of the girls from ACU who is also staying in Namwianga along with two Japanese ladies. Now the Japanese ladies were characters. One of them had two puppets she held in every picture she took and decided that Mark and Tyler needed to join in on this fun. So they held the creepy bunny puppet and Paddington bear; this was the entertainment we were provided on our ride to Botswana for the safari. Upon arrival at the border, we presented our passports and all of us except for the Japanese ladies piled onto this tiny boat to cross the Zambezi River into Botswana. Whenever we were in the middle of the river we were apparently at the crossroads of 4 different countries, so go me. When we arrived to Botswana we got into three-truck vehicle like things, sort of like a huge jeep. We went through customs and had all of our passports stamped and were on our way to the safari. Our first adventure was on a boat safari. We ended up seeing many birds, elephants, hippos, some creepy lizard thing, and crocodiles. It was amazing to see all of those animals in the wild without any fences. After our boat safari we then went on a land safari. In between the two trips we were able to eat a lunch at some nice resort. In the meal I tried some goat, which was interesting. In addition, Shanna was stung in the mouth by a bee. Never a dull moment here. We piled into the jeep like vehicles and were off. On this adventure we saw more elephants, hippos, baboons, giraffes, and deer like animals. At one point we had an elephant trying to have us back off by facing us and flapping its wings; on a few occasions I thought he might really start charging us. Unfortunately we did not see any cats or zebras but it was still amazing to see all of those animals.
Upon arrival back to the hotel a large group of us decided to go to this Italian place called Ulgas that some of the group went to on Wednesday before I arrived. It was a little walk away but of course with our group we were easily able to make the trip entertaining. When we arrived it was really busy so we had to spit up in groups, I ended up sitting with Jill and Shanna. Although it took entirely too long for everyone to get their food, it was really good. I had a wonderful brick oven pizza that hit the spot after a weird lunch at the safari. After finally paying our ticket we walked back to the hotel where I knew I was going to be interviewed for the documentary about HIZ-Path being made. I was a little nervous but knew it would be good. Upon arrival to said interview, by Mark and Tyler, I was greeted with a conglomeration of awkwardness. They were trying to make me feel awkward, thus giving in to my game. Unfortunately for them, it takes a lot to make me feel awkward so staring at me creepily and making me walk around them in close spaces did not do the trick. The final act of awkward was making me wear Mark’s shirt over my clothing but that did not the trick; I appreciated the effort. After some goofiness it was time for serious interview, which was awesome thanks to both of them. They are very talented at what they do and I cannot wait until the documentary is completed. We ended the night with a group hang out in the hotel just laughing and enjoying the time we have had together.
Extreme Day
I did not sleep very well last night, I am not sure why but it started the day off interestingly. I received Mac back from the guys for the last time and they graced my screen with a wonderful picture of their lovely faces in photo booth. Liz, Lauren, and I ate breakfast with them before they left to head back home. This is when Ben informed me that we were going to do our extreme day today so that he could do both that and other stuff tomorrow. Well I had not mentally psyched myself up for this so I started freaking out a little bit but I decided it would be fine. We were picked up from the hotel by a pick up truck with a big 3 seats metal thing in the back and taken out to the middle of nowhere to do a half-day package of repelling, flying fox, and gorge swing. Upon arrival I automatically thought there is no way I can do any of this stuff other than repelling, only because I had done that before. Luckily that is what we started out with so I signed my life away to this company and was ready to at least repel. Of course, I made Ben go down first. The good news was, this was not a huge side to repel; the bad news was a lot of it was a free fall. So I warned the guys working there that they were going to have to talk to me the entire way down because I was nervous. They were amazing at their job and helping people down. I got really nervous for the first few steps but then got into a groove and enjoyed going down the rock wall. I wish I would have actually stopped to look at the view but I was too nervous. When I made it to the bottom all of the guys working told me I was a professional. We then had to hike back to the top for our next activity. This was a legitimate hike but it was so beautiful down there; I wish I had had my camera with me in that moment just so I could take a few scenery shots.
The flying fox is like a zip line straight across the gorge that you can do on your stomach super man style if you choose. So of course all I could think about was this is the one time I can be like Peter Pan. I was really nervous though because doing it super man style means you have absolutely nothing to hold on to. Pretty much this is how it goes down. You are harnessed in, you start running on a platform and then you jump off he platform and glide through the air. Yes ladies and gentlemen, I did this super man style, or in my life Peter Pan style. It was not scary at all; in fact I really enjoyed it. I also took a video while I was flying; it is hilarious.
The last task of the day is called the gorge swing. Upon seeing this I adamantly told Ben over and over again that I was not going to do it. Well after successfully doing the repelling and the flying fox I was feeling a little braver. Not to mention, the guys working there are very convincing and helpful, they make you feel like you can do it. So we went over to get harnessed. Since I was so nervous they suggested we do it tandem that way we can do the swing together; I knew this was the only way I could force myself off of a platform to a free fall until the rope pulls. So we walked over to the platform after we had a few practices of falling backwards. For this trip I had to have my feet tied together which sort of freaked me out. The guy told us we would have to be right at the edge and then lean back on three. Well when we first go to the edge I was hyperventilating and freaking out, I even started to cry a little so he pulled us towards him and the most amazing thing happened. He took my face in his hands and said “Tessa we are not going to make you do something you do not want to do. All you have to do is tell us you do not want to do it and you can go do the flying fox again. But I see a thumbs up in your eyes and I think you want to do it.” That is all I needed and I knew he was right. In that moment, I loved that Zambian man. The greatest part was, he had no idea about our obsession with thumbs up Thursday, even though it is Friday. So we backed up to the ledge again, ducked our heads, bent our knees, and then on the count of 3 leaned back. We had the free fall for I have no idea how many meters and then swung back and forth across the gorge until it stopped. Unfortunately I closed my eyes for the free fall and did not open them for about 5 seconds after we had begun but I still did it. Do not worry everyone that knows me, we have this feat on video. I could not believe it. We really wanted to have a chance to do it again so we could go by ourselves but because of our afternoon activities with the group we could not do it again. So sad. But still, I backed off of a cliff. Go me!
When we got back to the hotel we were shuttled to Victoria Falls for our day adventure seeing how beautiful it was. Yet again, it was absolutely breathtaking. I could not believe what I was seeing, and I got completely soaked again. The entire group walked around the edge of the falls together and took many photos. It was amazing. Then Ashley, Anna, and I walked down to the boiling pot where the water swirls around under the bridge used for bungee jumping. It was a long hike down but completely worth it. I then went to the market and bought a few things but they stressed me out. I am not the best at bartering with pushy people. We then had to leave to prepare for our sunset cruise. Pretty much it was just a relaxing time on a huge boat. We just sat back and relaxed because almost everyone had a very intense morning with his or her different activities. It was a really nice time and we had a lot of fun. When we arrived back to the hotel everyone was exhausted but it was only 6:30 so we made ourselves stay awake by yet again hanging out at the hotel. Such an exciting live we lead. Anyway it was awesome and I am sad to be leaving Livingstone tomorrow but I am so ready to return back to those beautiful babies! Until next time.
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