Best Road Trip Ever: chapter 1
8 days + 4,300 KM + 1/3 of Africa + Donkey + 6 friends + new
experiences = best road trip ever
1/2/2011-
Departed Senga Bay, Malawi at 10 am.
We said our bittersweet goodbyes to Johan, Marie, Johan Jr., Dr. Drik, Zenika
and Erasmus in Senga Bay, Malawi. December 2010 was one of the best months of
my life. I learned so much about this life and how to live it out properly. We
stayed on a resort and built a coffee shop. We celebrated Christmas for the
true meaning of Christ, yet still threw in gifts and had an amazing meal. The New
Year was brought in with a bonfire on the beach with s’mores, fireworks and
dipping (skinny in nature) into the lake at the stroke of midnight. The entire
stay was immaculate. Nonetheless, good things
come to an end, only for other good things to begin. Like taking a road trip
across Africa in an old Toyota Hilux named Donkey.
Arrived in Chipata, Zambia at 4 pm.
In Chipata we stayed at Mama Rulas, a renowned campsite/
hostel in Zambia. It is so popular,
apparently the President of Zambia stays there often. While in Senga Bay we
befriended a Zambian family, who happened to own Mama Rulas. We were in good
company that night while we enjoyed fantastic lasagna on the house.
1/3/2011-
Departed Chipata, Zambia at 5 am.
We had an early morning and drove most all of the day.
Zambia provided gorgeous views the entire way.
Arrived in Lusaka, Zambia, the capital,
at 3 pm.
Upon arriving in Lusaka, we met up with Jeremy and Stacy
(from another team) at a backpackers hostel. It was such a blessing to have
friends to meet up with in the middle of Africa.
1/4/2011-
Departed Lusaka, Zambia at 4 am.
We shoved off early again so that we could spend the whole day in Livingstone,
home of Victoria Falls. We checked in at Jolly Boys Backpacker, a very well-run
hostel, and dropped our bags off. The hostel even repped the legendary Mabuya Camp
in Malawi. (The hostel I recovered in after the accident) Shout out to the man,
myth, legend Brian.
Arrived in
Livingstone, Zambia at 11 am.
The afternoon was spent exploring the Falls. The initial sight of the falls
almost brought me to my knees. The greatness and splendor of our Creator
literally brought tears to my eyes. We joked about how we were still in Africa
because there were no real rules prohibiting how close you could get to the
edge. Slowly but surely everyone made their way to the edge to peak over. I
ended up sitting on a rock on the edge of the cliff on the opposite side maybe
100 meters across from the falls, gazing at the water crashing down. This was
without a doubt the most euphoric experience of my entire life.
My feet precariously dangled above the river below. I gazed
down and witnessed layers of beauty. The background was the water crashing off
of the cliff walls, cascading into the river below. The mid-ground was the most
vibrant double rainbow I have ever seen, the immediate foreground consisted of
beads of water flying upward. See, the falls crash down and there is such a
powerful force that the water is actually propelled up the opposite cliff face,
so where I was sitting, and it was almost like rain coming from the wrong
direction. I was getting soaked in the massive spray of the water. Beads of
water were literally suspended in midair before my eyes. I could reach out and
could touch them as they hung in limbo before me. I pulled some grass off of
the cliff side and threw it into the upwards current of water. The grass would
suspend in the air for several moments and then slowly escalate into the sky.
As if that wasn’t amazing enough, we saw people on the
opposite side of the canyon, walking on the edge of the falls where the water
was coming off. We ran over and began to journey out right on the edge. We were
warned by ‘tour guides’ that people have fallen off very recently and that we
should hire them. To save a buck we decided to venture out on our own. We would
wade in the river and mostly stay on rocks if we could so we wouldn’t get swept
off the cliff by a current. There were stunning small waterfalls and pools of
water on top of the bigger falls.
We spent the entire day exploring Vic Falls and soaked
everything in. It might just have been the best day of my life up to that
point. However the very next day gave it a run for its money for that title of
the best day ever.
Continue reading-
Best Road Trip Ever: chapter 2
