Hello from Zambia: Student-led Livingstone Trip
In June and July, a group of Douglas College students are working with communities in
Zambia through our Zambia Global Leadership Program. Each student will be
sharing their experiences in a couple of posts. Today’s post is from Hailea.
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Every year the students that participate in the Zambia Global Leadership Program plan a trip to Livingstone to see Victoria Falls and go on a safari. This year, that trip happened to fall on my birthday weekend, so I was lucky enough to spend it in both Botswana and Zambia. I spent the day before my birthday in Botswana on a camping safari in Chobe National Park; the park was so beautiful and lively. There were so many animals there and more elephants than I ever dreamed I would see!
Our guide was very knowledgeable about the region, history, and animals in the park. He was so dedicated to us having a great experience. He spent at least 30 minutes driving around the park looking for a pride of lions he heard about on his radio from another tour guide.
The sunset was beautiful and the stars were even more impressive. We camped in the park with fellow volunteers from the U.S. and South Africa.
In the morning, we woke up extra early and were back on the road for another safari before we headed back to the border to re-enter Zambia. On our way out of the park, we saw a hyena, which was apparently very rare. It came up right next to our Jeep.
Once we were back in Zambia, we headed to Victoria Falls. First, we went to the edge of the falls on the Zambian side. It felt like we were at the edge of the world.
After, we walked down to the boiling pot; it’s called that because the water at the bottom of the falls swirls like boiling water.
While we were there, a choir sang songs, which only added to the experience.
After spending some time taking in the sights and sounds, we walked back up a beautiful winding path to the falls themselves. We walked down the path to the bridge to the other side of the falls and around back to where we began. The amount of mist was very surprising. We were soaked before we even got to the bridge!
The falls themselves were breathtaking and mighty. I’ve never been somewhere so beautiful before and will definitely not forget my experience there.
Here’s hoping to have more adventures like this one!
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