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Photographic Safaris Victoria Falls - Livingstone
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The town of Livingstone is positioned
ten kilometers from Victoria Falls in Zambia. The foreign
exchange problems described in Victoria Falls Zimbabwe do
not exist in Livingstone. Like the Town of Victoria Falls
the town is riddled with beggars, hustlers, self appointed
agents trying to cut themselves in on a commission for introducing
you to a tour operator, to sell you safari activities, curious,
exchange money and in some cases get you to part with your
hard earned cash. My advice is to deal through your hotel
and the banks. You might not get as god a deal as the black
market, but you won't get ripped off either. It's not worth
the 5% you might save dealing with these people.
Livingstone was so named after Sir David Livingstone, a missionary,
medical practitioner, explorer and hopeless romantic that
served the British Crown and the Almighty God throughout his
life. He was the first white man to explore this part of Africa
and to settle there to serve the native people of the region.
He established his mission which provided medical services
to the natives and brought the Word of God to the heathens.
His is a lovely story of peaceful change in Africa as there
was no religious war to impose the doctrine upon them, but
a story of gentle consideration that won them over. It is
interesting to note that when Zambia's revolutionary government
of the sixties attempted to change the name of the town, the
local tribesmen (the Lozi's) refused to allow the renaming,
in a display of respect & loyalty to this great man.
Sir Cecil John Rhodes met him during …… at Livingstone,
after having trekked over 2,000 miles through the wilderness
from the Cape to introduce himself. At that historic meeting
it is said that Sir Cecil introduced himself to Livingstone
with this famous introduction, "Dr. Livingstone I presume?"
… as Livingstone was the only white man to have taken
up residence in this deepest, darkest place in Africa it was
a natural and correct assumption to presume that it was indeed
he.
During early colonialism, Livingstone, was once the capital
of Zambia, then Northern Rhodesia. The Rhodesia's were named
after Sir Cecil John Rhodes in recognition of his service
to the Crown of England. Livingstone has the footprint of
colonial architecture that whispers of days that brave men
either met their fate or found fortune exploring Africa. If
you take time to pause in between the relentless onslaught
of adventure activities, you'll no doubt hear Livingstone's
words, uttered on his death bed whispered, "I have sacrificed
much, but have done so little for the Almighty."
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Things To Do
The Victoria Falls/Livingstone area
is rich in adventure activities. Activities are available
to all accommodation establishments as operators run independently.
So irrespective of where you choose to stay, you can do
all these things.
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Bungi
Jumping
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US$
95 - 3 min |
Jet Boat
Gorge Swing
Elephant Back Safaris
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Hotels
& package deals
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Adventure
Packages
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Garden
Route Adventures
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Canoeing
US$ -
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US$
85 - full day
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| Chobe National
Park daytrip US$ |
US$ 105
- full day |
| Elephant
back safaris |
US$ 110
- ½ day |
| Fishing |
US$ 175
- ½ day |
| Gorge Swing |
US$ 75
- ½ day |
| Hwange National
Park |
US$ 110 - full day |
| Jet Boat
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US$ 110
- full day |
| Livingstone
National Park |
US$ 20
- 2 hrs |
| Micro-light flight
over the Falls |
US$ 85 - 20 min. |
| Sunset Cruises |
US$ 95
- 1 hr |
| Victoria
Falls National Park (Livingstone, Zambia) |
US$
20 - ½ day |
| Victoria
Falls National Park (Victoria Falls Zimbabwe) |
US$ 85
- 20 min |
| White water
rafting |
US$
35 - 2 hrs |
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Faulty Towers - Backpackers 
Livingstone’s most
popular backpackers, only 8km from the Victoria Falls.
Fawlty Towers is set in a massive
private garden shaded with huge mango trees, with a crystal
clear swimming pool & good "Welcome Bwana" service.
Next door is the Hippos Restaurant and its super funky bar.
It's got a really nice explore Africa feeling and costs by
most standards next to nothing. It's priced from US$ 8.00
pp/p/day for a shared dormitory to US$ 30 per room with a
private en-suite bathroom. The rooms are basic, but clean.
There is a certain romance about the old house as it was once
a huge, graceful private residence. One wonders who lived
there and what they got up to.
It's an interesting lodge as it caters for the hard core back
packer traveling through Africa on the Cape to Mombassa &
Cairo routes, to the forty plus, Baby Boomers, like me that
wish they had been a back packers in their youth. Enjoy free
pancakes by the pool every day and cold beer.
The lodge is within walking distance to the centre of town
that boasts seven cafes and restaurants less than 500 yards.
They have a supermarket, internet cafe and pizza shop right
next door. This is important because the cost of transport
in crappy, ancient local taxis is high. For this reason, you
want to avoid unnecessary to and fro in these metal monstrosities.
Faulty Towers has an in-house booking centre, where you can
book all your excursions, kayaking, white water rafting, river
cruises, bungi jumping, elephant back safaris and micro-light
flips over the Falls to name a few. They provide a free lift
every day to visit the Victoria Falls. Getting anything for
free in this part of Africa is a miracle.
Group and student discounts are available. Fawlty Towers has
special deals every week, so what ever your accommodation
and activity requirement in the Falls area, talk to Fawlty
Towers for the best back packers deal
in town. There are three other backpacker establishments,
but none offers the cleanliness & service standards that
we are happy to recommend.
  
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