Livingstone, Zambia (By the kids)

On the 14th we were going to take a bus from Lusaka to Livingstone it was a long drive but the results were going to be great, Livingstone is where Victoria falls is. Victoria falls is actually the border to four countries, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Namibia and Botswana, there is a town called Victoria falls, that’s the place you go if you want to see it. In Livingstone you can only see %25 percent, but in Victoria falls you can see %75. The falls is the biggest fall in the world at 1,708 meters wide and 108 meters high, the local name for it is Mosi-oa-Tunya, it means the smoke that thunders. The reason for the name is because when the water hits the bottom it makes lots of mist that goes up very high, up to 400 meters, very high. I’ve explained the smoke bit but the thunders bit comes from the noise it makes, it is also a place where you can see a moonbow, it’s like a rainbow but it happens at night. The way it happens is that a full moon will reflect on the mist and cause it to happen, the special bit about it is that the colours are in reverse order. Victoria falls is one of the seven natural wonders of the world, these are the other, six Mount Everest, Harbour of Rio de Janeiro, Great Barrier Reef, Paricutin Volcano, Grand Canyon, Aurora Borealis. My plan is to try to see them all in my lifetime, it would be cool. There is so much spray from the falls that it creates its own rain forest, if you visit it without a rain coat you will get soaking wet (we made that mistake). The place is perfect for me because not only is it beautiful It also has rides like bungee jumping, flying foxes, canoeing, white-water rafting, zip-lining, and gorge swings over the Zambezi River. I’m doing zip-lining, the flying fox and the gorge swing. There are lots of animals around it like elephants, hippos and crocodiles (it’s a river). Okay, now all my facts are done (until I find more on the internet) so when we got to the bus station we hopped on our bus and started reading. When we were pretty close to Livingstone the bus just stopped, we were wondering what was happening. We just thought we were stopping for passengers but we waited there for a long time so we asked what was happening, bad news, we broke down. They tried to fix it but they couldn’t, it was getting late, then they told us that another bus was sent to help us. When that bus arrived it was 11pm, we were happy, and then we realised that they didn’t send another bus, there was already a bus going to Livingstone that we had to get in but it was a tight squeeze because there were already people on it. When we arrived there it was 12pm, we were all tired and wanted to go to sleep. Luckily, the hotel we are staying at sent a taxi over to take us there. When we got in the taxi it drove us there. we set up and went to sleep.
On the 15th we are going to go to the falls, remember we are only seeing %25 of it, when we were driving there, we saw the river and then at a certain point it dropped away and there was mist rising. Our first view of the falls, we couldn’t see much at that moment but soon that was going to change, when we arrived we went straight to the ticket office and then into the place where it is. When we went to a platform where we could see the falls and it was beautiful, it was very noisy and there was mist going up everywhere, but that’s one of the things that make it interesting. We kept walking, and we walked past a place where you rent raincoats, the mist was falling down on us and sometimes it’s soft then sometimes it feels like you’re in a thunderstorm. We kept going but then the rain it got too much, so dad went back to get some raincoats while the rest of us stayed somewhere dry(-ish). When we put the coats on we watched the waterfall, mum said they could stay there all day watching it, I could to. After that we went to a trail called the boiling pot, when we got to the end of the trail we figured out why it was called the boiling pot. It was a turn in the river, but the water was so fast that it smashed together and looked like a boiling pot. From where we were we could see a bridge that you go across if you’re going to Zimbabwe, it’s also where you jump if you’re doing the gorge swing or the bungee jumping, when we were there we saw them bungee jumping. “How do they think that’s fun” said Emma, then I though “how dose Emma not think that’s fun?” maybe because Emma’s smart and knows here boundaries, properly right, why do I think that’s fun? Maybe because I’m smart and don’t know my boundaries, right again. When we finished looking at stuff we went back up the trail then went out of the place and back to the hotel to (watch some TV) sleep.
On the 16th we went on a safari tour to see the white rhino, fact time: there are two species of rhino in Africa, guess what its name is, black rhino. The main difference between them is that the white rhino has flat and broad lips, they use it to help them eat the grass, the black rhinos on the other hand eat a diet of ticks and leaves have a pointed lip with a sharp hook. Another difference is that the black rhino is more territorial than the white one. There habitat is different too, the black rhino is found in thickets and dense brush while the white rhino is found in grasslands and fields. There was also a difference in their weight, White Rhinos weigh around 2300 Kg, and black ones weigh around 1700kg, white rhinos are the biggest ones in the world, and black rhinos are the third. Fact times over now. When we hopped in the vehicle we drove over to the national park and only about five minutes in we saw a whole herd of rhinos, fun fact: a group of rhinos is called a crash. We got a walking tour so (with a park ranger) we were allowed to walk over close to them but not to close because there still wild animals. The ranger asked if we want to have a picture taken (from a distance) and we said yes, we turned around to face the ranger (mum wasn’t that comfortable turning their back to the rhinos). When they took our picture we took our phone back and had a bit more of a look at them, then went back to the car and went off to look at other animals. When we kept going we saw a group of zebra, fun fact 2: a group of zebras are called a dazzle, the reason is because their stripes dazzle the predator. The guide told us that the way to tell a female to a male is the females have thick stripes on their butt then the males. After that we went to go to a place in the park near the river there was a bench where we could sit down. The guide brought some chips and soft drinks, mum and Emma don’t like soft drinks that just means more for me and dad. We ate all the chips and drank some of the soft drinks (not all though but I would have If I were allowed). When we finished we started driving back and then we saw a bunch of giraffe, fun fact: a herd standing of giraffes is called a tower and a group of running giraffes is called a journey . We had a look at them and then we went to the city centre because we wanted to go to the museum, it was called the Livingstone Museum, it was about the history of Livingstone (obvious). We had a look at it and then went to the hotel and slept.
On the 17th we were going to go to Zimbabwe, we didn’t have to fly there, we just had to get a ten minute taxi to the border and then walk across the bridge then show our visa, then you’re in. We didn’t go to the border strait away we went to a festival that we heard about yesterday. It was a bunch of tribes coming together and showing off their type of dancing. When the dancing started it was really cool there were also instruments too, some of them I didn’t even know what they were, at one point one of the dancers got Emma up on stage and got Emma into the dance Emma said “I was pretty scared but it was cool” when Emma came back we watched a bit more then hopped in another taxi. The taxi took us to the border, and then we hopped of and went to the passport check, then went to the baggage check then we were in Zimbabwe. When we got a taxi we went to our hotel and slept.
Andrew, the greatest thing in the milky way (the galaxy), Andrew, lover of milky ways (the bar), Andrew, best or worst bragger ever, Andrew… come on people, help me think, ok, ok, I’ll do it…
The end
Andrew (10 years old)

On the 14th we took a bus from Lusaka to Livingstone. We were meant to take one bus, but that bus broke down, so we took two buses. We had to wait on the side of the road for four hours. We arrived at midnight, so we were very tired. The person who owned the flat that we booked picked us up at MIDNIGHT. It was very nice of them to do that.
On the 15th we visited Victoria falls. We got drenched. It felt like the thunderstorm in Townsville. Sound: It sounded like a very big thunderstorm. The water droplets made very big sound waves. Feel: It felt freezing cold. We went through a bit, and then we got too cold that dad went back and got raincoats. See: the view was amazing. We could see the fall and the mist it was making. The water was making mist by slamming down so hard. After that we went down to the boiling pot. The boiling pot is where people go down and watch the water. From the boiling pot we saw people bungy jump off the bridge. “They are crazy!” I said, “I want to do that,” said Andrew. “How could you possibly want to do that” I said “because I’m crazy” said Andrew “that I can’t argue with” I said. Victoria falls is one of the 7 natural wonders of the world.
On the 16th we went on a safari tour. WE SAW WHITE RHINOS. We have wanted to see a rhino and we did. We got close to them. There were five rhinos and one of them was a baby. Info: the white rhino has a square mouth, and the black rhino has a longer mouth. The reason the white rhinos have a square mouth is to eat grass, and the reason the black rhinos have a longer mouth is to get leaves off trees. We also saw giraffes, monkeys, buffalos and a big trail of ants. After that we went into town and saw an awesome dance show. We got me a new jumper and had lunch. We got Nshima. My favourite bit of the Nshima was a red sauce. It is a savory sauce that has onions in it. It was so good that I could live on that only. I loved it so much. Then we went to a museum, and the museum was about the history of Zambia. Then we went to a pub with live music.
On the 17th we went to a cultural music and dance festival. We saw drums, a xylophone, a trumpet and a baritone. We saw lots of colours. There were people that had big masks and people with tails and makeup. There was some guy that was dressed up as a rhino. I got picked to dance with some of the dancers. I was scared, shocked and happy. I was scared that I would mess up. I was shocked that I got chosen out of all the other people and I was happy that I was chosen because you had to be very lucky to. (Plus, it was fun.) after that we crossed the bridge from Zambia to Zimbabwe. Then we settled in our new flat and did blog.
Bye-bye people.
Emma (8 and a half years old)Read more