Seven day Victoria Falls off week trip

During our off week, twelve of us had the opportunity to spend seven days visiting four countries: South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Zambia. Along the trip, we had tons of opportunity for adventure and exploration within the communities and interaction with the locals. Personally, my favorite part of the trip was the couple of days spent in Zimbabwe.

Our first fully day in Zimbabwe, the boys and girls split up for some adventure activities in the morning. The girls made their way toward the falls to go gorge swinging while the boys made their way to the Zambezi river for some fishing. Gorge swinging was incredible! I partnered with Jenny and we volunteered to go first, luckily, as we soon figured out its a lot scarier to watch then to actually gorge swing!

 In the afternoon, we all met back up to see the Falls, one of the seven natural wonders of the world. They were truly amazing and beautiful to see! Unfortunately, a camera can't come close to capturing the scenery or majesty of this natural wonder, although part of me is glad that I experienced it for myself and not through a camera lens.

After walking out of the falls completely soaked by the mist, we returned to the backpacker to change for our Mighty Zambezi Booze Cruise. The Zambezi river splits four countries, two of which we had the opportunity to visit, Zimbabwe and Botswana, and one of which we made a short stop to on our cruise, Zambia. During our cruise, we saw elephants bathing in the river, hippos peering just over the water and alligators watching from the banks. We also had the chance to watch a purple/orange sunset unseen in the States.

On second day in Zimbabwe, we woke up early for a walking elephant safari. We all paired up and hopped on our elephants with a personal guide. At the end of the excursion, we were able to feed the elephants through their trunk as well as their mouths. It was so much more than I ever expected! Also, at the end of the safari, we were able to purchased a footprint of our elephant in order to fund efforts to reduce poaching, which many of us did.

After the safari, we finally had the chance to shop at the market, which was truly an eye-opening experience. Vendors wanted to negotiate prices and trade things with you. The items at the market were extremely impressive, all hand-carved figurines of the big five, bowls, bracelets, etc.

Visiting Zimbabwe was an amazing experience that I personally will never forget! The people, the scenery, and the adventures offered in the town surrounding the falls is unmatched by anywhere I have visited previously. I hope to some day return to Zimbabwe and give back a fraction of what I have taken away from my two or three days in the country!

-Brooke Ray