On the 4th day post Christmas

So here we are...Africa baby. I love this place - it has a very special feel about it and I'm chuffed to bits to be back.

So quick recap of the last few days. I left stuffed full of Christmas Day turkey, had red wine spilt on me by a very apologetic seat neighbour and BA failed to get the entertainment system working. So happy days when I hear a cheery 'gem' from behind the immigration desk at Johannesburg. A welcoming party for me - this never happens. To celebrate the gang being together we go and spend a bit of time with the bored looking guy giving out free shots of belvedere vodka. It was the only booze we were going to get that morning ' lady we may serve alcohol from 10am' was the response from the bar when I tried to get us a Christmas lager. Oh well. Probably for the best - we'd already failed to realise we were actually on different flights to Livingstone - which resulted in a jodie and em sprinting to their gate. It worked out well for me - I got another welcoming committee in Zambia.

So back to the here and now - I'm sat here in Zambia , the mighty Zambezi is to my left, a bottle of Zambias finest lager is straight in front of me ( best name ever, Mosi) and Em is looking after my sun lounger next to the pool. Our campsite -the Zambezi waterfront is fabulous. I'd really, really like to see what the rooms alike - alas it's tents only for the next 20 days.

One of the tricky things about being near Victoria Falls is choosing which of the many activities to actually do. Fate played a hand though and all trips to Livingstone island are full all week - so after debating visiting a school, or doing a cookery class - em and I decided to go to a nearby national park for a walking safari. Jodie is currently experiencing Victoria falls up close in a raft - I'm a little scared for her....

We woke bright and breezy, and within 5 minutes had been greeted by 3 hippo, about 20 impala and lots of naughty vervet monkeys. This was starting well. Within the hour a family of giraffe, a herd of Wildebeest and lots of birds who'se names escape me had sauntered past. We hadn't even started the walk yet! The saved the best til last though , on our walk we came across a herd of White Rhino - beautiful creatures. My highlight though was learning that dung beetles fly, and that the sausage tree plant can be used to enlarge male genitalia. Curious.

It's enough to bring the David attenborough out in us all....

Happy holidays,

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