After tapping our adrenaline resources for life, we made our way back through the lingering cloud of mist by the boarder patrol and back to the rest camp. We returned to the rest camp where Alex met Jenny, collected their cameras and waited in the car park for the shuttle that would take them to the helicopter pad. Meanwhile, I was rushing to collect my things, including a warm change of clothes so that Kailos could drive me to the Zimbabwean border patrol where my microlight guides were supposed to meet me.So we made our way back to the familiar building that we had just left shortly before and waited near the beginning of the bridge. Time was slowly ticking by and Kailos and I were passing time with conversations about home. Nearly 45 minutes after I was supposed to meet my guide, Kailos and I went back to Simba and the waiting van where we went straight to the office where we had booked our activities to find out what was going on. Turns out there was a serious miscommunication. We were supposed to meet on te Zambian side of the border, not the Zimbabwean side, and as a result, I had missed my scheduled 30 minute flight in a microlight aircraft.
Desperate to get up in the air, we schedule me for the last 15 minute helicopter ride of the day which was going to land and have me back at the rest camp, just in time to change clothes for our dinner cruise. So shortly after changing plans, the shuttle arrived at the office and carted me away to a helicopter pad.
Ideally, I wanted to do a 30 minutes ride which would allow me to investigate the gorge, but there was not enough time or people to go for a 30 minute ride, so I settled for a 15 minute ride with strangers.
Waiting from the comfort of a patio, we watched as our 6 person helicopter landed and unloaded the previous group of people. Myself, and 5 old people made our way to the helicopter, which was colourful and reminiscent of the Lion King. Settling into our comfy leather seats, we went up, up and away!
We took off, and cruised from the helicopter pad several minutes outside of town and up the Zambezi river, back towards the falls.
It was beautiful. The sun was hazy from the mist off the falls, and there wasn't even the whisper of a breeze to disturb the mist. And the falls were ENORMOUS. They are the largest falls, over a kilometer long and over 100 meters high. The Zambezi river feeds the falls, and is also a sight to behold. The river splits and spill over several areas of the cliff, divided by outcroppings of rocks filled with trees. We then flew over the bridge, the platform and cables visible from the air. We circled around for several minutes, giving each person in the helicopter the chance to view the falls from multiple angles.
It seemed that the flight had just started and yet, we were already returning to the helicopter pad (although the amount of pictures I took does not accurately reflect the time I spent in the air.... definitely took several hundred photos. Good thing for continuous shot!)
We settled gracefully on the ground, and for the third time in one day, I was happy to have my feet back in the ground.
Being the typical bustling tourist, I skipped watching the video that had been taken of our flight, and went straight back to the shuttle where I was rushed back to the rest camp to get ready for the dinner cruise. Alex was waiting, and I quickly changed and rushed to the car park where there was another shuttle waiting to bring us to the Safari Lodge where Celine, and the other guests on the dinner cruise were staying.
We arrived a little early, to find Celine waiting so we opted to so and have a drink in the bar.
Little side note- The Safari Lodge is beautiful. It is the most extravagant hotel in Victoria Falls, which boasts beautiful rooms with all the rooms facing a waterhole that is visited my wildlife everyday, several times a day. So no one had to tell me twice to go enjoy myself at the bar, which was facing the waterhole.
So Celine guided us to an open bar facing the waterhole, where we order ourselves pina coladas. We sat at the edge overlooking the pool and the watering hole and watched as some lone impalas came for a visit and entertained the guests.
After our drink we rushed back to the shuttle which was waiting for us, as everyone had arrived in our absence and we met our group. We made our way up the Zambezi river where our boat was waiting. It was a like a booze cruise boat that was set with white linens and candles for our small group (9 people total for a cruise that could have fit nearly 50). Of the guests, 5 were together, Celine, Alex and myself were together and then a lone man. Celine, being the wonderful lady that she is, invited this South African man to sit with us.
We started our trip up the Zambezi, passing territorial hippos and elephants swimming with only their trunks out of the water. We watched a lone elephant come out of the water and start showering himself with dirt. Meanwhile, we enjoyed our delish appetizers while our new guest gently prodded for our reasons of being in Vic Falls. Not wanting to be rude, we turned the conversation in his direction and that was all the invitation he needed. We spent the rest of our evening learning about the back 4 years of his life, learned of his snacks and failure in life, and about his children, current and ex-wife. We watched the sun slowly set, as the sky turned pink and purple and changed the colour of the clouds . We enjoyed a delicious meal and slowly started our way back to where we started as the air got colder.
We left the cold air and cruise behind, and were shuttled back to the rest camp where we were met our group for another night at Shoestrings and dirty hooker shots.
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