A Natural Wonder

After visiting Victoria Falls from both the Zambia and Zimbabwe sides, I completely understand why it is one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World.

I loved the panoramic views the Zimbabwe side offered, along with the beautiful flowers and vegetation that lined the hiking trails. We even spotted an elephant drinking from the pools at the top of the falls!

Victoria Falls is breathtakingly beautiful, and the view at the edge of this cliff was one of my favorites from my entire trip in Africa. 

From Africa, with love.

Here is a little video with some of the highlights from my travels through Africa...

(All video shot on my Canon Powershot camera. Music by The Temper Trap)

A little travel advice if you are heading to Chipata...

A view of Chipata from Dean's Hill View Lodge.

After our safari in South Luangwa National Park, we started to make our way down Zambia to Livingstone. We took a seven hour bus ride from Chipata to Lusaka, and then another seven hour bus ride from Lusaka to Livingstone. We knew it was going to be an adventure, but it was even more comical and memorable than we could have expected.

So, without further ado, here are my travel tips if you ever find yourself in Chipata, Zambia in transit to another Zambian destination...

Joanna and Janice enjoying some corn at the bus station. 

1. When you arrive at the bus station and the employee inside the kiosk tells you that there are no more buses to Lusaka for the day, believe him. Do not believe the people sitting outside the station with their bags packed and ready to go. 

We waited for over four hours on a bench hopeful that our bus was coming, and it never did. We took turns going to the bathrooms across the street and sprinted back at the sound of any approaching bus. We probably looked so ridiculous. We paced ourselves with activities in order to pass the time; a bag of chips here, a page of an US Weekly magazine there. After hours of waiting, we finally gave into the fact that no more buses were coming. We bought our tickets for the 5 am bus and headed to our lodge.

2. If you need to stay the night in Chipata, Dean's Hill View Lodge is the place to go. Although it feels a little strange when you walk through the large, metal driveway gates and see a barn-like structure and chickens roaming about, it is honestly a perfect place to crash for a night. We had two rooms that were a short distance to the communal bathrooms. The food in the main lodge area was good, and we were able to walk into town for water, ATMs, and snacks from the lodge. 

3. Wear the appropriate footwear, because Chipata is dusty. 

Janice's feet were definitely the dirtiest of the bunch, and we all spent some time that night scrubbing our feet in the bathroom sinks.

4. If you walk into town, pick up some Stoney Ginger Brew and a sampling of potato chips. One of our favorite flavors was Thai Sweet Basil. These snacks will come in handy when you play cards for hours in the main lodge as you wait for the dinner hour to roll around. 

5. Take a bike taxi at some point during your stay. 

For a small amount of Kwacha, you can ride on the back of a bike down the main stretch of road alongside the car traffic. I held on for dear life and loved every second of my ride.

6. When you ask a cab driver to pick you up at 4 am at your lodge to go to the bus station, trust that he will arrive. Do not doubt how reliable he is. You will make it to the bus on time. 

At 3:45 am, we were waiting by the gate with our backpacks strapped to our backs ready to go. We were not taking any chances missing that 5 am bus. When our cab driver did not arrive promptly at 4 am, we decided our only option was to walk down the big dirt hill to the Texaco station in search of a ride. We slowly made our way down the dusty road, flashlights in hand, in pitch black darkness. Dogs were barking, our feet were slipping, and we had no idea what we were doing. We were relieved when headlights approached us halfway down and our cab driver came to our rescue. And laughed at us for attempting to walk in the dark.

If you follow these tips, you will have a wonderful time in transit through Chipata!

Into the great wide open.

My safari in South Luangwa National Park was truly an experience of a lifetime. Joanna, Janice, Debbie, and I arrived at Croc Valley, situated in a forest along the banks of the Luangwa River, a couple days after we finished our build in Malawi. I instantly fell in love with our surroundings the second we arrived. Hammocks lined the property, our luxury tents were amazing, and the bar had beautiful views of the wildlife in and around the river. Hippos could be heard snorting and screaming to one another throughout the day, and often graced us with their presence at night in the camp. It was surreal to be within feet of African wildlife throughout our safari. I was fortunate enough to spend three days in the park and go on four game drives during my stay at Croc Valley.

Our view of the hippos from the main bar at Croc Valley.  I later learned that Africa's largest hippo population is in the Luangwa Valley! 

Hippo tracks along the river. 

Every morning we woke up before sunrise and sleepily walked to the main dining area from tents 5 and 6 for toast, coffee, and tea. We loaded up into the open trucks, cameras ready around our wrists and necks, and entered the park as the sun rose over the river.

For hours each day we slowly drove around the park admiring the beautiful nature and wildlife around us. It was so incredible to see zebras, impalas, baboons, elephants, and lions roaming about in their natural habitat. I had to continuously remind myself that I was in the middle of Africa and not a zoo as I observed the animals. Everything was just so beautiful.

Morning tea with the zebras. 

After the morning drives, we headed back to camp for brunch and a bit of downtime. I loved writing in my travel journal as I sat at the bar every afternoon enjoying the scenery and an ice cold Mosi. By 4 pm each day, we were back in the trucks ready for our evening drives. We explored long after the sun went down, driving cautiously with a large flashlight illuminating the nighttime activity in the park. Dinner was enjoyed in the camp after we returned from our drives, and conversations continued by the bar as hippos wandered near by.

There were so many amazing moments throughout my safari experience and I am so grateful I captured most of them with my camera, forever frozen in time. Sometimes a picture is truly worth a thousand words.

A lion exhausted and full after an evening kill. 

Wine and popcorn at sunset. 

Lions as sunrise. 

A leopard cub lazily sleeping in a tree, with his mom below keeping watch. 

The Thornicroft giraffe, which only live in Zambia in the Luangwa Valley. 

If you ever have a chance to experience an African safari, I highly recommend traveling to South Luangwa National Park. Its beauty is indescribable.

I booked all of my safari accommodations through Malawian Style. Mike was incredibly helpful throughout the booking process and provided us with an amazing experience. 

My top five beverages in Africa.

While I was in Africa, I quickly developed a liking for several beverages that could be found throughout the region. Joanna, Janice, and I loved perusing the aisles at various People's and Shoprites in different cities in search of our favorite sodas, juices, and wines. We also made a point to sample the beers at each of our lodges over games of Spades and long conversations. And by the end of my journey, my top five beverages were established...

5. Any type of guava juice. Guava juice is basically candy in a jar. Every time I saw it in a market, I purchased and consumed it immediately. It was always a refreshing treat as we walked around town.

4. Carlsberg Green- Probably the best beer in the world. Carlsbergs are best when enjoyed with friends under thatched roofs with views of Lake Malawi. I am not sure if it is the best beer in the world, but I will say it is probably the best beer in Malawi.

3. Stoney Ginger Beer. I rarely drink soda in the states, but I couldn't get enough of Stoney Ginger Beer in Zambia.

2. Savanna Dry. Savanna Dry manages to taste like apple juice and have a 6% alcohol content. This cute little bottle packs a sneaky little punch...

1. Mosi Lager. Mosi Lager tops my list not because of its taste (although it was quite delicious), but because of all of the amazing memories made while drinking it. When I think of Mosi, I will remember sipping it at the bar in Croc Valley as hippos snorted and swam in the river a stone's throw away. I will remember drinking it as we cheered on the women's gymnastics team in Livingstone. And I will remember the friends that made my journey through Africa all the more meaningful. Only good memories of Mosi Lager.

A glimpse into my Africa playlist...

Before I left for Africa, I thought long and hard about my playlists. I knew that I had several long flights and bus rides ahead of me and that my music would be essential while traveling. I scanned thousands upon thousands of songs in my iTunes library, searching for my favorite tracks that I could listen to again and again.

Little did I know that I would listen to my iPod so much during my travels that I would develop blisters in my ears from my ear buds. I popped in my headphones every night before bed while I recorded my thoughts and memories from the day in my travel journal. I listened to slower tracks when I woke up in the middle of the night and needed a distraction to fall back asleep. And music streamed through my headphones during my 40 hours of bus rides through Malawi and Zambia. These songs will forever remind me of my travels throughout Africa- the dusty roads, the small roadside villages, the breathtaking sunrises and sunsets, and the smell of smoke in the air.

Here is a small sampling from my Africa playlist. Enjoy!