BLOG 16 - DAY 39, 40 & 41

DAY 39
Emily and Georgia joined us as spectators of the Gorge Swing- which we later convinced them to do to.  The drive was long and bumpy which did not help the butterflies already going wild in my tummy , I was extremely nervous before even seeing the gorge. When the car arrived at the destination my nerves increased, after filling out our indemnity forms we were fitted with our harnesses. My legs went numb and shaky, but I was was slightly comforted by the familiar feeling harness- like the harness I used when I first started kitesurfing. While waiting to get connected Sav and I managed to convince Em and Georg to do it as well which made me feel better haha. Strapped sideways to Sav, standing backwards with our heels of the edge we held on tightly to one-another. Bend knees. Head down. Bum out. 3. 2. 1.Lift toes and FALL. Free falling was a new sensation so I responded with silence as Sav screamed, as the rope pulled tight we swung along the width of the gorge swaying until we came to a stop- and I finally released my tight grip on the rope . Crazy and awesome would be the words I'd use to describe it.  Once we were lowered down my legs still trembling we got to watch Em and Georg while on the forest floor. Woah, it was hard to believe we'd just done that. The hike back up the gorge was quite long and tiring with jelly legs but once we were at the top we decided to do the Flying Fox which is a zip-line across the top of the gorge- such a beautiful view. Later that day we had a booze cruise which was a great highlight. All dressed up and seeing each other wearing makeup with brushed hair was very strange but allowed for many great photos. Even the constant drizzle couldn't dampen our moods. After the booze cruise we were visited by some Zambian friends we had made previously.

 DAY 40
Today started off very tough with two very hard goodbyes. Then a trip to the local market and an incredible helicopter flight over the Victoria Falls- the gorge and the amount of water was phenomenal. In the evening at our pre-departure meeting Sav, Jessie, Amine, Alison and myself met our new tour leader Justin and the new members - Ashleigh, Aubrey and Danny.

DAY 41
Saying goodbye to people who have become like family is horrible. I'm still crying about it as I write this (3 days later). We crossed the border by ferry into Botswana at the Kazungula border crossing which is where Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia meet. Once at Thebe River Lodge we went for a river safari and saw many hippos ( including an adorably round baby), many crocodiles and lots of birds. Before bed we had a hippo noise competition - pretty funny.also pretty sure I won haha.