Today had a later start, but I was still woken up as the sun rose, mostly due to the ultra-light planes overhead. They are such noise pollution, they really get my goat! Grr!!
We had a leisurely breakfast and spent time at the riverbank watching for animals who were too shy to show up. There have been a lot of 'scare away' gunshots overnight in this area. Next week the United Nations World Tourism Orgsnization is having its 20th annual conference and it is amazing seeing how much work is going into making this African town 'world' ready. So much fresh paint and concrete work... Sadly I don't think they'll be ready in time, especially with the slow pace people seem to work at in the heat, but the locals seem to be both excited and very proud that the are hosting, so I'm pleased for them.
Anyway. Our tour took us through the heart of Livingstone where we saw very first mums old school, whixh was cool to see! then we saw the civic centre, Rhodes Livingstone museum, railroad museum, the post office where my grandfather worked, down some side streets to see some markets for the locals, past the cinema house where mum saw her first movie ever, and just around and all over to get a sense of the place. You get the feelin that it was built in the 1950s and has been keep in various states of disrepair ever since. But it seems a happy town.
We then visited the Rhodes Livingstone Museum. What a lovely museum! Certainly and older feel to it, nothing flashy, but extremely well done with content, maps, dioramas, etc. Well worth the visit, I could have spent a lot more time there, and we did take our time! Mum and I chatted a bit with a local who was visiting the displays himself, and as small world fun happens, he's in the mining industry and has visited Vancouver for mining conferences!
We elected to not have an 'on foot' visit to the local markets as, per the guide, we'd just be looking at stalls of dried fish in the midday sun. Maybe we will regret the omission one day, but right now in cool with it. Right now we are chilling at the lodge, keeping cool. Shortly we will start the latest suitcase pack up, trying to reduce weight due to hefty charges on the small flights ahead...This evening we go on a sunset cruise along the Zambezi River, so Ill leave this unfinished for now!
---------
Sunset Cruise report:
Hello booze cruise!! Unlimited drinks and they were serving doubles!! We had a couple, but were far more interested in the scenery. I mean, you can drink vodka 7s every day, but how often are you cruising on the Zambezi at sunset?!
Animal sightings were at a low, but I didn't expect many. We saw 6 hippos, 1 croc, a bush buck and a few egrets. But it was lovely cruising on the river. A remarkable thing, however, was how the sun set (at a high dust level) and the harvest moon rose at exactly 180 degrees opposite! I don't think I've ever experienced that. Photos won't capture, but I tried to get them.
Now we are back and have to do some final packing. The last 4 days have been amazing. The week ahead provides bothered excitement with the many game drives, but also some long overdue R&R. I believe wifi is available, but once again, if you don't hear, it's probably because I don't get signal...
Thins truly is an adventure of a lifetime!!
No comments:
Post a Comment