Day 1 - Livingstone

Those "chirps" from last night weren't a security system--they were fruit bats! And they're loud. 

The noise at 4am was the neighbor's rooster...I guess we got lucky that morning, because sometimes he likes to wake up even earlier.

We were in the guest house that night, across from the LCCA campus and in the walled-in yard of Dave and Dee, two Kingdom Workers who work on campus. 

On Day 1 we had a light breakfast before heading out at 6:30am. These days you have to leave Lusaka early to get out before traffic hits. Mass urbanization in a short period of time, combined with only two major roads through the city, results in lots of congestion. The leading cause of death for expatriates in Zambia is... you guessed it... car accidents.

Jason did a great job on the 7-hour drive south to Livingstone. On our way, we saw...

Dozens of goats in the road

6 vervet monkeys

2 big bulls who made us stop in our tracks

Farmers selling potatoes, tomatoes, bananas, maize

People selling baskets, chairs, charcoal, clothing

Thousands of people biking or walking to the nearest city, often 40 km away from home

We stopped in Choma to eat lunch and visit a cultural museum that focused on the Tonga people of southern Zambia. After stretching our legs for a bit we continued on to  Livingstone. 

Funeral rite materials at the cultural museum in Choma (above) 

We arrived around 2pm and ventured into a craft market where I got some gifts for family and friends, and a chitengi for myself (a chitengi is a 2-yard piece of cloth that can be wrapped around to make a skirt...something I found VERY handy later on the trip). Then we checked into our lodge, the Maramba River Lodge, which is right along the Zambezi River. After getting changed, we went on an incredible sunset boat cruise on the Zambezi.

 At the departure spot for the cruise, they urged us not to feed the vervets, which were jumping in the trees overhead. Apparently they're like Zambia's squirrel, only much bigger!

Please...

The boat, complete with dinner and drinks (and a perfect view)

We saw several pods of hippos on the boat cruise. They would grunt and bellow, but mostly minded their own business. One is yawning in the photo below.

A hippo yawning

Sunset over the Zambezi

Sunset over the Zambezi

The sunset was absolutely beautiful, and immediately after we got to see the moon rising to the east. Back at the dock, we saw vervet monkeys from tree to tree! I never got "used" to seeing such wild things. 

Back at Maramba Dan and Vicky Kunz, Jason Paltzer and I had a few Mosi (a lager made here in Zambia) while ducking the fruit bats and spotting small lizards that were dashing along the cobblestones. Later, we heard a low, loud rumble. 

A lion?

A hippo?

Then, out from the  trees across the shallow bay, we saw a mother and baby elephant walk out and start making their way toward our shore. What a sight! They ate and drank from the water, their tusks gleaming in the light of the full moon. We watched them for about 15 minutes, standing just a quarter mile away from these huge animals, until noise from the lodge restaurant sent them back into the woods. 

After that we all retired for the night to our luxury tents, below. Each one had a lamp and nightstand, and a cozy little bed. I slept more soundly that night knowing what more of the noises were. 

Our luxury tents at Maramba. Roughing it with hippos, baboons, elephants, and fruit bats