Victoria Falls

12:00 am: Toilet and immodium.

3:00 am: Toilet and immodium.

6:00 am: Toilet and immodium.

8:00 am: Toilet and immodium straight after breakfast.

It wasn't just my stomach that was waking me up. The camp site is opposite Blue Zulu, the local club in Victoria Falls. They pumped out the usual hits (including Rihanna's song about being beaten by Chris Brown, which was subsequently stuck in my head the whole day) and pumped out the usual ruffians, fighting not 30 metres from where we sleeping (or not) in their inebriated reenactment of fight club.

Everyone went off early to do white water rafting on the Zambezi river which Victoria Falls is a part of. Luke, Robin, Mark, Christina and myself having held back, spent a lovely relaxed day seeing the Zimbabwe side of the falls. One of the seven natural wonders of the world, it has an amazing 1088 cubic metres of water flowing over it every second and you can feel its power. The spray lifts up into the air like the rain that's going the wrong ( I couldn't help think of Forrest Gump when he describes all the different rains in Vietnam "and rain that comes up straight up at ya!").  We spent four hours walking and taking photos. I got  a few "money shots' the falls pumping with a rainbow below.

It's amazing to think that the crevice the falls flow changes periodically, as there are layers of volcanic rock underneath the river that give way. This causes the falls to move back along the river, and the crevice formed by the old falls to become part of the lower end of the river. An aerial shot reveals that falls is on its ninth cliff, all the others zigzag in front of it allowing the river to eventually flow out (this is where people go white water rafting).

That night we had planned a leaving dinner as technically it was the last night for all those leaving at Vic falls. We had all given $5 dollars on the truck to buy food, hopefully a pig for a spit roast, unavailable we settled for goat. Though knackered from our walk, but having held lunch in, I offered to help for dinner - selfishly I hoped that my sickness would be my get out jail free card, but fearless of my stomach bug, they needed the help.

It ended up only being three of us to prepare all the potatoes, pumpkin, beans, corn and garlic bread. Catherine, the older Australian woman (whose common sense I can't say I trust after she took her malaria tablet on an empty stomach, despite numerous warnings, and is now in hospital after petting a lion this morning, despite being told not to - the lion jumped up and hugged her ripping her shirt and scratching her stomach - she's fine and laughing) was leading us. Shawna, one of the Canadian girls who since resting in Zanzibar has redeemed herself (as has the other Canadian) and I were sous-chefs. We were there for a good few hours while others happily walked by - I couldn't believe it. Did they want to eat?

The boys arrived with the meat and got it on the bbq. Somehow we pulled off the meal. I collapsed in my tent out of exhaustion and only managed to get down a bit of a meat and a potato. The others appreciated our work and so did all the washing up. In the end, it was quite a tasty meal.

I finally got a full night's sleep that night.