Walking with Kings

I needed to get my visa extended for Zambia, which required a quick trip over to Zimbabwe for the weekend. It has been four years since I was last in Zimbabwe, and since then things haven't improved any with Mugabe running the country further into the ground. I walked over the bridge that connects Zambia and Zimbabwe because the view from the bridge are breath taking. Unfortunately, we are in the middle of the dry season and there wasn't much water falling over the falls.

Once in Zimbabwe, we drove over to the house that we would be staying at. I was staying at one of the program's houses with a few friends that I had met a few weeks back in Zambia. It is amazing the difference between the towns of Livingstone and Victoria Falls. Even with all of the concerns, Vic Falls is still a tourist town, catering to tourism while Livingstone is an African town in its true sense.

Friday night I headed to the Victoria Falls Safari Lodge to go have a few drinks with my friends. This is one of the most amazing places to have a drink, as the lodge and bar sit on the top of a hill overlooking a watering hole. At sunset, animals come to the water hole to have a drink. I joined them with a Zambezi Lager. There is no more relaxing place in the world. All of your worries seem to fade away as you watch the sun drop from the sky. This is the Africa I remember, God's country.

That night was a planned party night at the local backpacker bar, Shoestrings. Drinking in Zimbabwe is dangerous because your money goes so far and is even more dangerous when your friend is working the bar. It was a night of Zambezi Lager and windy windy shots. Around ten that night the power went out in Victoria Falls. The party continued with drumming by some local guys by candle light. It was a really great evening with almost everyone by the end of it ending up in the swimming pool. Somehow I managed to stay dry.

The next morning seemed to come too fast. I didn't get too much sleep and was a little hung over. I needed to get over it quick though because I was heading to the project that morning. After a little breakfast and a lot of water, we were off to one of the game parks in the area. This was about to be a morning that I would never forget.

My friend Phil greeted us at the park and we went to go meet his friends that we would be walking through the park with that morning. There waiting for us in the shade of a tree were three year old lions. The two boys and a girl were big though, each weighing about 150 kg. I said hi petting them and rubbing their belly. It is an amazing feeling to pet an animal that can take down a buffalo that weighs more than a ton. Respect.

I was at the Lion project, which is working to breed and reintroduce lions into the wilderness in Africa. They breed the lions, raising them in the park, which allows them to be comfortable with humans, but still wild animals. The lions I was walking were about as old as the lions get before the project takes them to a game park to reintroduce to the wild and hopefully start breeding in the wild again.

As comfortable as these lions were with humans, they were still the boss and there are strict rules that you have to follow: Never get in front of the lion, never show a lion your back, never touch its head, never show fear, and most important, never run away. These lions are still wild and will take you down... with that, we were off for a walk through the bush.

It was amazing walking with the lions through the bush. They are such beautiful animals and to be so close and walking with them was an incredible feeling. There were a few stops along the way, to lay in the shade for a bit. This afforded me the opportunity to get close with them and pet them for a bit. It was nice and relaxing siting there with the animals, until one of them decided he was tired of me being there and made a quick turn for me with his head. I jumped back with a fright. He wasn't going after me, but didn't want to be bothered by me any more. I got the message. We stopped by the river so the lions could get a drink of water and we rested there watching them for a bit. A few hours went by faster than I could imagine. I said goodbye to the lions and went to have a drink with my friends. What a feeling to know that you had just been part of the pride.

Saturday night, after a bit of rest, we were headed for the ugly side of Victoria Falls, the tourist traps. We headed for a dinner cruise on the Zambezi. We were greeted at the boat by some African dancers and musicians, all wearing loin cloths. I think I felt more embarrassed to be there then they did. We headed out onto the river at sunset and cruised down towards the falls. We saw quite a few hippos on the way, but no other animals before it got dark. The dinner was nice, but I felt like too much of a tourist. Hopefully everyone else enjoyed it a little more.

Sunday I woke up and spent the morning at the pool while the others went to the market to go buy curios. Phil and I were a bit bored so decided to head to the bar to watch premiership and have a few beers. I could only think that it was noon and I was pissed (English for drunk) already. It was only a year ago that I was sleeping preparing for the marathon. My friends back home would be starting the race in a few hours and I felt a little guilty... "Another Zambezi lager please."