Livingstone / Victoria Falls: 18th Aug 09

We met up at 7:30am to transfer the 3mins to the airstrip for the microlights. After getting into flight suits we transferred onto our individual microlights, sitting behind the pilot.

The microlights get up to an altitude of 1070 ft and the views are totally amazing, you can see the entire falls, which are more than a mile long, and feel like you can wrap your arms around them. We were both nervous about the flight as you’re very exposed to the elements when flying, but it was fantastic, felt very safe so we’re able to just enjoy the spectacular views. The flight time was 15 mins, on the way back to the landing strip we were able to see hippos and elephants down below, a totally amazing experience.

On the way back to the van for the short drive back to the hotel we saw a herd of elephants. Unfortunately the bull (a huge MoFo!) didn’t like us and decided to charge! He only ran at us for a couple of seconds but we panicked and ran! Fortunately we got to the van safely but he decided to stay in the middle of the road blocking our way for the next half an hour – the git!

After a couple of hours kip we met up to walk with lions, based at the local game reserve. We were given a briefing explaining the do’s and don’ts (don’t approach the lions from the front, don’t crouch down, don’t get mauled, do enjoy it!) we took a two minute drive to meet the lions. The optional activity film we saw on Monday explained that the lions would be cubs between the ages of 6 to 15 months so we we’re quite taken aback to see three massive lions, two male and one female (they looked like cute cubs on the video)! The walk was amazing, it’s something I’ve dreamed of doing for as long as I can remember, thanks to watching all the wildlife programmes on tv with dad when I was a kid.

The lion conservation programme is non profit making and started in Zambia in 1999, following introduction of the same in neighbouring Zimbabwe some years earlier. The ultimate aim is to increase the number of lions in various parts of Africa, having been severely diminished over the years, largely due to poaching. There are four life stages in the programme, starting with raising cubs in captivity (having tourists walk with them helps raise money), re-introducing them to a semi wild (but carefully managed) environment, the captive lions in turn have cubs that are born wild with zero human contact which can then be released into the wild. The entire process takes many years, the Zambian programme has yet to release lions into the wild. The programme also works with local communities to educate and raise awareness that lions are on the brink of becoming an endangered species. We were able to ‘walk the lions’ by holding their tails and spent time petting them.

At one point one of the male lions turned around and gave Paul a death stare as he grabbed his tail, luckily managing to avoid a mauling!