Gorge Thrills

Just down from Victoria Falls, there's a railroad bridge over a gorge between Zambia and Zimbabwe. That bridge has become famous for adrenaline adventures. There are three options for thrills: the bungee jump (straight down, then bouncing up and down), the bungee swing (straight down, then swinging back and forth), and the zip line (from one side of the gorge to the other).

Ethan had tried the bungee swing with Taylor the year before. This time, he and Ava were determined to do it together. Zenz had no interest in any of it, but she was happy to watch.

We drove to the Livingstone Falls parking lot and went to the customs office for a day pass into Zimbabwe. Then we walked down a road to the bridge and to the Bungee Bar, where you could purchase tickets. Judith bought Ethan and Ava tickets, then somehow (in spite of Kate's intense fear of heights) persuaded Kate and I to buy tickets for the zip line.

We all went down to the bridge and waited for Ethan and Ava's big jump, which was exhilarating even just to watch.

Afterwards, Kate and I hiked back up to the top of the zip line with Mike and Ethan, and Judith and the girls stayed on the bridge to take photos. The zip line actually wasn't scary at all, once you took that first big step. And it was over so quickly. On the other side, a man in a harness slides out to stop you (with his body) before you hit the bridge. Kate, who was having a marvelous time and had her back to the bridge, was going quite fast, and the man's knee smashed her head with a loud thunk. I was very concerned about a concussion, but after she regained her balance, she insisted she was fine.

Feeling extremely parched after our adventure, we decided to wait on seeing the falls and walk instead of the very fancy Livingstone Hotel for a drink by the river. Along the way, we saw the only giraffe we enountered on our Africa trip.