Victoria Falls

What a stupidly PERFECT week! My jaw still hurts from laughing, my head is still buzzing with all the incredible things I never thought I’d see/ do/ try and my fingers are sore from constantly clicking away on my camera.

Ok, I feel this is gonna be a long one, so let’s get down to business:

Soon after we arrived at Victoria Falls, I discovered that my home for the next 5 days was a beauutiiful, modern, spacious room with a balcony and my own en-suite bathroom… in a 3 bedroom house, right outside a water hole where we saw animals coming to drink, not to mention insane sunsets ….. whaaaaaa!!

That same evening we went to a restaurant which was entertaining to say the least! They welcome you with face paint and a traditional outfit (knowing that in advance would have def avoided the hour-long ‘what-should-i-wear’ dilemma.. #justsayin). Then they proceed to giving you traditional beer that they used to drink in tribes…and obviously I’m asked to try it for the camera and…… OH DEAR LAWWWDDDDD!

NOT

GOOD.

Literally the most bitter, inexplicably bad tasting substance I have ever had. It’s fermented maize, apparently…. completely unprocessed. So ye. Thankfully the ginormous buffet got my mind off everything and the best part was the dessert (BEST CHOCOLATE MOUSSE EVER!!)(So good infact, that I made everyone come back a few days later just to have more).

The real fun started when the traditional dancers (who made me dance infront of 200 people, no biggie) handed out drums and got us to play some beats. Here’s Bino (this week’s guide) and I having way too much fun and no longer paying attention to the drumming instructions:

What’s great about Bino (apart from some sick drumming skills) is that he knows EVERYTHING there is to know about the Falls. I cannot even begin to describe how spending the day at the Falls felt. It’s always been on my Bucket List.. and here I am, with the best guide and best team one could ever dream of, seeing this magical place with my own eyes…. and doing it all as part of my JOB! #momenttobegrateful

We got there at around 7am, which was a good idea because we saw the mist illuminated by sunlight, just before it dissipated:

And then the mist cleared…. and Bino blindfolded me before letting me see the double rainbow that emerged… It took a lot for me not to swear on camera, because WOW! Just WOW.

Fun fact (courtesy of Bino): Did you know that London’s total annual water consumption is the amount that passes through Vic Falls in LESS THAN 3 DAYS?

And a few hours later: ‘Kristina, wanna go ziplining 120m above the Vic Falls gorge?’

Me : ‘Ye sure why not’

That afternoon:

When they launch you, you go fast. And I mean FAST. 106km fast to be precise. I screamed my tushie off for the first few seconds (and yes, all of Victoria Falls heard). The zipline is not only 120m high, but also 425m long. Attaching a GoPro to my head made me look like a complete dork, but was actually a really smart idea because I got to capture the beauty, quiet and serenity of the gorge when you slow down and just enjoy the glorious view.

And as if that weren’t cool enough, the producer (whom I ALMOST beat at Scrabble this week… SO closeeeeeee! muahahahaha) casually announced that we needed some footage of the Falls from above sooooo…. OPEN DOOR HELI TIME!

Thoughts: ‘yeeeeee this’ll be totally fine, what’s a bit of air in my face? Might even stick my hand out n take a few selfies’

Reality: MY HAIR HAS NEVER BEEN WHOOPED SO HARD IN MY LIFE. Literally pony tail hitting my face harder than a chair every few seconds. And sticking ANYTHING out is a baaad idea with the amount of wind there is.. it’ll just fly away (guaranteed). The view is more spectacular than anything I could have imagined and the coolest part (apart from flying over the Victoria freakin Falls in an OPEN DOOR HELI!) is how the rainbow follows you and also spotting wildlife from above.

And speaking of wildlife… Ever been on a golf course where you’re surrounded by waterbuck, warthog, herds of elephant, lions and impala? Well in Vic Falls, this is def one of the top attractions:

I was terrible at the golf (and I mean TERRIBLE. So bad, in fact, that I managed to hit a ball directly into a lake that said ‘Beware of Crocodiles’. Smooth). BUT I drove the golf cart and didn’t crash once! And that’s a big deal for me because I’ve never driven anything, ever! (yes yes, I’m the only person in my mid 20s without a driver’s license bla bla)

Thankfully, the croc wasn’t much of a worry, because earlier that week, I had a Colgate White contest with a 6 month old baby one at the local Croc Sanctuary!

We were also lucky enough to get close to a rhino family (notice how this one has been dehorned so that it doesn’t attract poachers) and a friendly bushbuck :