Victoria Falls - the most scenic place on earth to throw up

Marc here - taking a chance to post about our most recent vacation

We got off to a rough start on day 3 (I know, we're blogging out of order): Karla was sick, and had to skip the "Gorge Activities" in the morning.

So it was without my wife's support that I overcame my paralyzing fear of heights just long enough to get strapped into the safety gear - and then there was no turning back: we rappeled down a cliff, flew across the gorge on a zipline, and the piece de resistance was the "gorge swing" - which sounds harmless (ie. all the kids like to play on swings, right?) but actually involves a 30m free fall featuring 3.5 seconds of terrifying fear/adrenaline/gasping-for-breath, followed by the chafing of a lifetime from the safety harness as the ropes swing you way out into the middle of the gorge and away from the sharp rocks that you were falling towards just a few moments ago.
This photo (left) shows me stepping out into a free fall - it's hard to enjoy the scenery at 9.8m/s^2....









The key to the zipline is to run as fast as you can off the edge :)
In this case, at least I'm hanging on to something, which made me feel marginally safer...











Of course, the "the flying fox" style is even more daring (there goes Daryl)













Karla joined us at noon, for a speedboat ride to Livingstone Island to have lunch at the top of the falls. But first, we went on a guided swim to the edge of the falls (let's not forget my paralyzing fear of heights). Karla still wasn't feeling well - but she hung in there with us to make some great photos!
Right before the photos below were taken, Karla threw up, and then was the first to jump into the "Devil's pool" where you can swim right to the edge. I don't think she has ever been sick in such a beautiful place (rainbows/mist/waterfall/etc)













Jumping into this pool takes some courage - the edge of the falls is about 15 feet away.













The flow of water over the edge is only a couple of inches where we're sitting, but the current is very strong on both the left and right side of this "pool"













Don't look over the edge - it's a long way down. The cliff in the background belongs to Zimbabwe (the Zambezi river gorge is the dividing line in this area)








After a walk along the edge of the falls, we had lunch. The servers could tell that Karla was not doing well, and somehow they managed to find her a mattress, so she could rest - while Daryl, Sabrina and I enjoyed a fantastic lunch and drinks.

After 3 days in Livingstone, it felt like we were leaving Zambia too soon - but our time in Rundu and Etosha continued to exceed our expectations...

White-water rafting in Zambia!!

Africa! We have just returned from visiting 3 countries on the dark continent and we are awed by its beauty and the struggle of day-to-day life. It shares some similarities with other places we've visited, but combines it all together in a completely different way. And each area is distinct from the next. Different struggles and different successes, different things to enjoy. There were many heart-breaking situations we saw and heard about - so much to process. Not a dull moment, that's for certain! What with daredevil activities, a death threat or two, close encounters with wild animals, church politics and illness, we had quite the time!

We met up with our friends Daryl and Sabrina Neufeld who are volunteering in Namibia for a year at the local hospital as a pharmacist and a physio-therapist. You can check out their blog at http://www.neufeldsinnamibia.blogspot.com/

October 2

They drove from Rundu to Katima and then on to Livingstone to meet us at the airport. We travelled 24 hours, and then were delayed another 7 hours for our last 1 hr flight! We arrived, tired and excited and without our luggage. Stores were closed - it was 7pm after all. But thankfully, the Neufelds had enough stuff to lend us what we needed for the next day of white-water rafting on the Zambezi river at the base of Victoria Falls!!

October 3

The rafting was so much fun. We were a little nervous, and didn't know what to expect, but if I had known before what I knew after, I would have been even more excited! We drove in an open truck with bench seats to a Tire shop - that's where Bundu Adventures has its headquarters. (It's all very random, and I was never really sure where we were going or what we were doing.) But we paid there, and then headed to the falls! After an amusing safety briefing (featuring our guide, "Potato" reading an abbreviated list of all the possible injuries, followed by "Blah, blah, blah - just sign it!"), we got our safety gear and walked down the gorge to the river. There were lots of rafts, from different companies, but our guide was the best by far. We had spirit! We were the only raft giving each other high fives with our paddles. And Potato would explain each rapid with great detail, telling us where we were headed, and why. It didn't do us much good on the first rapid, unfortunately - we went down backwards which means much less control over the direction of the raft. The difference it made surprised me since I felt totally out of control the whole time, but I soon noticed that Potato was very skilled at steering our raft, even when we were too chicken to paddle at first!

Here's Marc almost falling out of the boat. My paddle held him in long enough for Daryl to haul him back in. There were no other accidental spills until later on...

Woohoo! Full recovery!!

Thumbs up!

Brace yourselves!

Yup, that's our boat!
One rapid was so scary, they were going to close it the following week. Wonderful timing! Wise, or chicken? You decide... I chose to leave our raft, (just for that rapid) go down the easier way, and let one of the daredevil riverboarders have a turn on the raft. Sure enough, the boat flipped, and everyone was thrown out. Daryl was thrown far and my raft went to pick him up. Sabrina surfaced underneath the raft, and had to go back under to come back up again. Potato gathered everyone quickly since they had to be on the raft (now upside down) before the next rapid. Woohoo!

What happens at Terra's...comes to Germany!

I just read the book that Terra made up of the extraordinary goodbye party she threw - photos of everyone and letters too. Thank you so much everyone!! It was so much fun, and to have the pictures and your letters to me really means so much! And thanks, Terra, for organizing such a great time! It makes me miss you all quite a lot! Enjoy each other. I'm realizing in a new way what a gift it is to have a community like we have at home.

Folks from home...

This week, my parents, sister, BIL (Brother-In-Law), and niece arrived at 6am at the airport an hour away, and Marc's licence has expired, so it was up to me to drive them. I was a little nervous to find my way on my own, but everything worked out very well. I was even able to drive my neighbour to work on the way. The luggage and people didn't all fit in the van, so we loaded up we could, and two people took the tram home!
We had a few fun jet-lagged days of shopping and seeing a few local sights, and then I drove my sister and BIL to a different airport a little further away so they could go to Scotland. The rest of us continued on to a small town in Holland. We didn't have too much time, but we did manage to see bicycles and a windmill, so what more do you need?

I have previously sang the praises of our GPS system, and now I think I would sing them even louder because we have a new rental car (a VW, not a BMW), with a new system and a new lady. She's nice enough and everything, but she's a little cryptic. Not really what you want in a GPS system. When we get on a straight stretch, she says something like, "Prepare to go straight on soon!" So, if I understand you correctly, right now, I am going straight, and I need to prepare myself to go straight in a little while? Okay, deep breath everyone, and... straight on!
On the way to the airport, we were going on the Autobohn (LOVE it), and she said, "Follow the parallel carriageway". Ooh, a riddle! Fun! But then again, not so fun when you're trying to get somewhere! I'm still not sure what we did right and what we did wrong, but we ended up going in circles - not big circles, little tight expressway circles. Round and round. Things were looking pretty familiar, and we were getting a little nauseous when finally, they started to look a little different, and we were on a different highway which happened to be the one we wanted! I have yet to follow the parallel carriageway (I think), but I'm sure it can't be as fun as those circles.

Yesterday all of us went to Cologne, which was wonderful - the beautiful, sunny weather certainly helped - it's been rainy and chilly lately. We saw the huge cathedral there, and went to the chocolate museum! http://www.chocolateatlas.com/Cologne_Chocolate_Museum/Cologne_Chocolate_Museum.htm) We had schnitzel along the Rhine, watching the boats traveling down the river.
On the way there, the children had been very well behaved, but were getting restless. A certain someone was driving, and a certain other someone told the first someone to do a quick U-Turn. The resulting swerve caused a certain younger someone's head to connect with something hard. Immediately, she started crying (more like bellowing), "I want to go HO-OME!!!" Just as immediately, the other younger someone started wailing just as loudly, "I don't want to go HO-OME!!!" Both of them are not really prone to this behaviour, and they had the same pitch, volume and intensity. It was so funny, the adults burst out laughing which didn't help matters. Thankfully, we were close to the parking lot, and could get out and find something fun!

We're heading to Africa this week. Everyone's a little nervous for various reasons. We'd love to have your prayers for my parents babysitting, and us travelling. We're excited though - should be fun and eye-opening! Stay tuned - it might be a few weeks...

The first month - a restrospective

I can't believe it's been a month already!!
A quick status update:
Our house:
We have been to IKEA 3 times, and expect to need to go again maybe once or twice more. But mostly, we have what we need. We're putting up curtains and lights, which is quite the endeavour - the ceiling (and walls) are a thin layer of plaster over concrete, and we have yet to find the right drill bit. We still don't have an oven, the dishwasher racks do not roll, but the bees are gone, our grass has been cut (reduces risk of ticks and poison ivy) and we have most of our furniture (most excitingly, a dining room table and chairs, and wardrobes!)
Language learning:
I have had 3 German lessons, and am learning all the time from friends. (Funny story: At the gym, my trainer asked for my phone number, and I said that I didn't know it, but I could go get my handy (cell phone) and tell her. She looked at me strangely, and I realized that she had said "Vorname" - for nah-muh - which means my name. Kind of sounds like "phone number" with an accent, don't you think?) Extracurricular:
I've been to the gym 4 times and have gone to 2 group classes (in the last one, the instructor came off the stage and corrected me, and later spoke to me from the stage - she must have thought I was a little slow...).
Marc has been go-karting, and to a men's breakfast, we've been to a football game, and I've sung at a wedding, gone to Mom's group twice, and to a flea market .
The children:
Lia is settled in Kindergarten, more or less. She talks about all the kids there, and seems to be enjoying herself. She is entering the Terrible 3s, but it's comforting to know that this is a regular stage, and that she is actually adjusting very well.
Kaia is no longer nursing, is learning to walk, and has lots of hair. She is very busy and LOVES playing on the stairs. I went to the neighbour's for something really quickly, and left the door ajar so I could get back in when I returned (the door locks automatically), and Marc found Kaia up the stairs and heading for the street! Pray for her safety, and our energy!
Work:
Marc has yet to have a complete full week at work due to numerous appointments, but is starting to feel in the groove.
Other stuff:
We have a housecleaner and babysitters and most importantly a church home with quite a few friends, and fabulous neighbours!
We miss home, and all you wonderful folks, but are feeling pretty settled here. More and more visits are starting to get organized- so make sure to book yours now!! :)