Victoria Falls, at Zimbabwe and Zambia.

It’s one of the most spectacular places in the world to visit – and you have to visit 2 countries to experience it!  Since the troubles of Zimbabwe has pretty much killed the tourist trade, most of the infrastructure and facilities for visiting Victoria Falls now occur in Zambia.

A picture of Victoria Falls from the Zambian side is shown below.  If you look at the ledge on the left hand side and spot a small orange dot – that is a person covered in a raincoat.

There’s all sorts of things you can do at Victoria Falls – you could possibly try and drown yourself in the Grade 5 rapids  by white water rafting, you can bungee jump off the Victoria Falls Bridge, and go for a twighlight booze cruise on the Zambezi River.

But there is something you should do – fly over Victoria Falls via a Microlight. This gives a fantastic panoramic view of the falls, but also provides a fascinating insight into the surrounding areas.

For example, you can see animals such as elephants and hippos from this high up.

Microlighting over Victoria Falls is a great way to blow $USD 100 in 15 minutes, but it’s worth it.

Check out some of the shots of Microlighting below:

Other things to do in Zambia and Zimbabwe after Microlighting – marvel at the 230 million % inflation of the Zimbabwe Dollar, check out a Coffin Workshop, and check out what people use for a Washing Machine.

Coffins. 

We will all end up in one eventually.  Or maybe we’ll be cremated.  Some people sooner than others.  That’s just the way life is.  But I’ve never seen Coffins so prominently displayed as those in Africa.

You can gauge what the social issues are sometimes when you visit somewhere, simply by looking at some of the signs erected around the place.  One of my favourites are the ‘Hijacking Hotspot’ signs situated around Johannesburg in South Africa.  Obviously stating the obvious.  I’ve seen one at the end of an off-ramp.  I didn’t think it was that bad because the ‘Hijacking Hotspot’ sign hadn’t been hijacked yet.

But there is another sign I’ve seen around that unfortunately reflects a sad elemet of African life – deaths.  Africa doesn’t have a lot of things – decent infrastructure such as roads, hospitals or barely stable houses.  But it seems to have a ton of Coffin Workshops. 

I’ve seen heaps of these signs similar to the one below in sub-Saharan Africa.  This one was spotted at a service station in Zambia.

Some African countries have an average life expectancy of around 34 years of age – which is less than my age.  This is due to high infant mortalities, and also the scurge of HIV/AIDS which can infect up to 25% of the population in some places.  So, the Coffin Workshop industry is booming.

One can see these workshops on the side of the road, displaying their Coffins in all sorts of sizes, ranging from infant size to fully grown adult.  They are usually lined up meticulously next to each other, showing the fine craftmanship of their carpenters.

Anyway, this is a fact of life in Africa.  And a stark one at that.

Other things to do in Zambia – check out the inspiring Tribal Textiles, and see how women wash clothes.

Tribal Textiles is located near South Luwangwa National Park, in eastern Zambia.  The business was established in 1991, and specialises in traditional products and provides jobs for over 150 people.  Products are exported world wide, and funds are directly channelled into the local community.

I visited Tribal Textiles in 2008, and they look pretty well set up and organised.  It was great to see something so positive in one of the poorest parts of Africa.  You can see more information at their website.

Here are some photos from the Tribal Textiles Factory.

If you are ever around South Luwanga National Park in Zambia, it’s definitely worth visiting Tribal Textiles.

Do you have a Washing Machine?

Most of the world doesn’t.  These women have to dig a hole in a river bed to access groundwater to try and wash their clothes with whatever cleaning product they can lay their hands on.

A Washing Machine is something these women will never see in their life times.  If they ever saw a Washing Machine, it might look like some alien creature that’s come to invade this isolated part of Africa.

The revolution of the washing machine as described in this book, Unleashing Innovation: How Whirlpool Transformed an Industry, hasn’t occurred in Africa.

So if you ever bitch and moan about having to do the washing because you don’t like doing it, think of these women in eastern Zambia, Southern Africa.

It’s not that hard to throw your clothes into a Washing Machine and add a bit of powder.

It might just put things into perspective.