Good and Bad Whatev

So since my last post I have made it into Zambia and walked across the largest waterfall in the world -Victoria Falls. But this came at some problems.

As I have said I have been traveling by way of taxis and hitchhiking, the problem came at the fact that after my last post I tryed to spend time around Tsumeb - I dont know why but I enjoy the atmosphere of most mining towns like Tsumeb- and once I realized that it was time to move it was kinda late. I went and got a taxi from Tsumeb to Grootfontein (60 km journey) and then had to wait there for about an hour till the taxi for Rundu (not my final destination, but the next main town going out to North West Namibia, about 250km from Grootfontein) arrived and left. Then in Rundu not too many people were going towards Divundu (my final destination in the Caprivi Strip - the odd tail of Namibia) so we had to wait for a while and left fairly late in the Afternoon. While on the leg of this 200 km journey, I watched the sunset, as a bad premonition for going to a small African town with no prior reservations or even knowledge of lodging. When I arrived in Divundu it was around 9 or 10 at night and things were Quiet. I eventually walked to the nearest lodge, but found it was about 3 times my budget, so I was forced to keep on keeping on, hanging out at the Shell Station for it was the only vestage of civilization there, I eventually learned about a Youth center about 6 km away, and then a bit later found a couple of bloaks heading in that direction, so they dropped me off deep in the Bush at a place where nobody had been awake, but where there was a fine little dormitory overlooking the Okavango river, it was really nice, especially once I realized the guys giving me the ride weren't taking me out into the woods to rape and/or kill me.

The next morning I awoke with a desire to go to one of the local game parks before hitching out to Zambia. So i found a ride after about an hour of waiting and took it to the entrance to the park, where I was left to see if anyone going into the park was taking passengers. That was a little hectic, but soon the first car to arrive was a couple of Germans who were more than willing to take me up for free drive me around, and even give me several beers in the park. While there we saw, a few elephants, buffalo, zebras, giraffes, springboks, kudu, and other antelope as well as hearing a hippo or two, but not seeing them for the river grass was too tall. Then the Germans it turned out were heading in the same direction as me and gave me a lift out across the Caprivi Strip to 100 km from my hopeful crossing point into Zambia. Unfortuanately it was again late afternoon, and once I did get a ride I only had 16 minutes till the border closed and 100 km to travel, so I got to stay in a run down backpackers in Katima and spent the night watching Zambian and Nambian news, and talking with a kid from San Fransisco, it was good.

The following day I went and crossed the border, finding out that my visa, which I had applied for from a place in Zambia, only arrived that day, and hence I would had to pay the day before, lucky me. I crossed the border with the help of a white Zambian, George "the white guy of Seseche." I was soon on a bud to Livingstone, the expensvie tourist capital of the country. Where I have been for the last two days, walking around town with a couple of locals, touring the Victoria Falls, with the unbelievable experience of crossing the top of the falls wading thru the Zambezi, and swimming right on the edge of the giant gorge- amazing. Everything despite som problems has worked out to be great experiences, and if I ever did try to do anything I think that it would definately come out worse.

Right now I am about to jump a ride to Botswana, where I shall travel, with little sightseeing, before going back to South Africa. I hope that my luck with 'Whatev" holds true for the next days because I need to hitch rides across a desert where cars come by only every couple of hours- that should be fun. Well, enjoy yourself, cause I know I shall be.