Friends in high places

A free Helicopter flight over the Victoria Falls - Oh Oh OHyeah

So up early to be picked up for the microlyte flight  on a absolutely awesome morning - Dennis the menace picked me up and we were off -at the airstrip this guy came upto me and asked if I had any spare time  -I was kind of wondering what he was getting at then he asked if I wanted to go up in the helicopter for a free flight because they were doing a photo shoot and had to fill up the windows - so stoked -"Yes " wow  Thankyou Lord ! First up was the microlyte flight which is a unique way to see the falls The view was awesome from the air -what a cool toy we also saw a herd of elephants on the way back to land .Now time for the helicopter -they gave me the front seat and what was great was that I could hold my gopro out the window as we crossed over the canyons of the Zambezi and Victoria falls a couple of times - the flight lasted about half an hour and the view was awesome too. Shipped back to Jolly boys to see the Sweedes off and meet Oliver  to go to the Victoria falls for the third time -this time from Zambia -we cycled there locked our bikes up and checked out the falls  -so so so awesome again and again  -from Zambia the view is closer and the highlight was getting right to the edge of the falls and to feel the shear power of the falls up close -a good half hour must have past just sitting their comprehending what we were a part of -what a place! !!!!!!  So it came time to leave and as we cycled back the subject of steam trains came into the conversation -nek minit we cycled past a steam train getting ready to leave the station so we walked straight in the gates and I asked if we could have a look inside nek minit we were filming and taking photos then shoveling coal into the furnace  -I asked if I could pull the cord for the whistle as they departed and he said yes as long as I jumped straight off the train -even better thats a done deal - we waited a bit for them to fill the train with water from the Zambezi , apparently the two trains had been sitting in a museum and the pulled them out replaced a few parts and got them going again -l gave the driver 5 kwatcha for some beers to say thanks-it was awesome anticipating the departure with the getaway as the furnace was being stoked and getting hotter and hotter  steam was being released  what an atmosphere - the moment came and I pulled the cord hard to give three whistles then jumped off the engine through the steam doing a dive roll on the ground  ha ha 008 Wassup!   Wow wow wow and wow...... Who is like the Lord?  There is no one who is like the Lord! What a day !! Awesome people  Awesome everything!

What a massive day ! Even got to pull the cord for the whisle before the steam train left the station

My first Microlite flight over one of the 7 sevens of the world - Not bad Aye

Up close and personal with the edge of the Vic falls

Throw all your playstations in here

Makes you wonder what Heavens like

Bring it back !! When Men were Men  - Blood swet and Tears- Come on Bring it back - The Romance !!

So cool of this guy to let us aboard his engine - It was massive a great buzz

A view from the helicopter - they had to do a few fly bys to get the right camera angles for the marketing they were doing - OK sweet be my guest

Safety barrier - Sheesh mate

Make sure you bring a jacket and a waterproof camera at this time of year

Apparently the best rainbows were in the afternoon

What a place

Rejoice and again I say Rejoice!

Steel - Water-Coal - Fire!

Tabacco farm

I just rode 114.5 kilometers! Check it out on #strava: http://app.strava.com/activities/44709603
Stayed at a place called Macrons -a truckstop-had a great nights sleep in the tent.Ronald the owner offered to shop me around his farm that he leases yo a tobacco farmer Chris -It was awesome to see the whole process and I'm sure I would have had some great shots of the people working but my micro sd card failed -400 people worked on this farm , I didnt realise it when I was filming but a lady was breat feeding her baby while grading tge tobacco -it was fascinating to see the process-Thanks Ronald! Watched a bit of the Crusaders game -it was funny to hear the Newzealand accent .I past some people on the road collecting the spilled grain one guy srarted talking to me in his language then I answered back in english and he answered back in his language then we both looked at each other and laughed  ha ha classic two punctures later and I made it to Pemba where I slept in this round house with a thatched roof -I woke up around 330am with the roosters and finally my data connection was strong enough to upload some posts and get back up to date.

Crikey

Some of the wildlife hanging out in and around Victoria falls  -Thought my sisters kids Mia -Franklin and Alistair would like to see them -Hi guys!!
Also went on the Sundowner cruise eith my friend Trinity and some other awesome people !

A baby croc at the croc farm - Started by a Kiwi I think - A while back

Zambezi Sundowner cruise

All the rivers run into the sea but the sea is not full

Hippos in in Zambezi

Coupla fatties

A Beast

From Zim to Zam

I just rode 13.9 kilometers! Check it out on #strava: http://app.strava.com/activities/44012875 . Just a short ride across the border - I only had $42 US on me and the visa fee was $50  so the guy let me off  which was cool -I cycled into town and found a backpackers called Jolly boys  which was very centrqal and safe -I pitched my tent and went to the Livingston mueseum -where you can check out his original letters  also a bit of history if Zambia . Next I grabbed a new micro sim card  and headed back to camp for dinner.
This guy came up to me and asked if I was the guy with the bike and introduced himself -Rasmus and later his wife Suzanne -they were from Sweden and hand cycled from Norway and were heading for Capetown on a tandem -it was so awesome to meet some other cyclists and later Oliver from Germany also a cyclist -such an intelligent and funny guy who had travelled s lot of the world by bike he had so many funny stories and such an awesome sense if humor - great times!!

Game on

I just rode 139.8 kilometers! Check it out on #strava: http://app.strava.com/activities/44504785
Left Livingston around 730am after saying farewell to Oliver and Bobbie -So cool hanging out with you guys !!! Thanks for all the laughs!! Another beautiful day and sweet roads- Its amazing all the cyclists on the roads here in Zambia - they carry these massive loads and are great cyclist's  -everyone's very friendly here waving and saying hi or how are you? There was a massive songololo on the road so I took a video of it  -soo many legs ! Wow.Next stop was to by some delicious tomatoes  which oliver told me about -they were great! Cheers for the tip! Pulled into Zimba to grab sime hard boiled eggs and a red bull when this African lady leaned out the window and showed me the photo of me standing with her and her mate at the vic falls - classic!  Oliver mentioned a few things about Zambia that made me think if fact I finally clicked the other day when I realised that I had seen hardly any elderly people at all ! I was thinking of how young the population is the amount of young mothers with young children - The average life expectancy here is 38 years and the average wage is something like a dollar a day  there are a lot more staggering facts to do with aids and orphans too! The major item for sale on the side of the road today was charcoal  and piles of rocks and stones -makes you think! I had a couple of guys slip streaming me towards the end of the day also -one guy kept up with me so I gave him some oil for his chain then he was delivering a cabbage some phone air time and a couple of extra things -no peddles and semi flat  "tubeless" tyres  -These guys can really move on there bikes

My first sack of Charcoal I saw for sale a great way to recycle the Maize sack

Buying some fresh tomatoes for breakfast- Nicely presented too with happy people

Amazing coordination

Take your pick Rocks or stones?

No shortage of cyclists here all working hard !

Gave this guys bike some oil after he kept up with me for a while

Using branches to support the building while the concrete sets

Olly you Beast ! You are a great Person ! Thanks for the laughs!

Moses and the Ten dollar tour

When I arrived  at Victoria falls I didnt rush off and book everything instead I grabbed some accommodation and sussed a few joints out - as soon as you come close to the falls  its game on and all the hustlers are out to make a buck "Hello my friend" "Whats your name" " Where are you coming from" Some will follow you to make a buck and they all remember your name  - they are all selling various art forms and they are very talented  , when there is no tourists theres no money so every deal matters they're actually quite a bit  of fun and  cunning - they're watching you from the minute you arrive  -if you dont want to buy anything just ignore them and they give up seems rude but it works.I decided to do the bungy swing and zipline combo for $150  Moses my first hustler negotiated the deal.We rode to customs grabbed a pass and went and weighed in ready for the jump -I had my gopro on my head and hired one to hold as well .it is such a crazy thing to do and that adrenalin rush is unreal it doesnt matter what you do ,  gravity is going to have its way and all you can do is go with it  such a cool thing to do and such a beautiful place to do it .The swing was actually more mind blowing  I found - on the video I could see my legs trying to cycle as I was falling -a bit like a possum after you have killed it looks like it is still trying to climb a tree.The zip line was great too and and great way to finish the combo - an awesome way to spend the day.When I arrived back at customs there was Moses waiting for me -I must have been a few hours  he took me on a tour of the it was awesome because he could see things from other peoples point of view  -we went and grabbed s feed at the local restaurant where the owner was happy because I was the first white person to eat at his restaurant -- "high five"  we ate sadsa  something like $1 each - of course it was my shout and the water was free its awesome to get amoungst it with the locals and appreciate how they live and make ends meet - there is not much money circulating around here so it pays to carry small denominations because otherwise it is hard to get change   -  there is a lot of small money and small trade going on.So we continued through the village passing the widows cooking up something on the concrete porch out side their door with a fire fuelled by a few sticks and past the orphanage where the parents died of aids then Moses showed me his house or room which he rents for $40 a month - no power broken windows and a bucket to do the dishes in  no mosquito nets here. What I liked the most was his blue gideons bible sitting on the window sill - exactly like the one I had - Moses recited a verse then we headed back out and on with the tour  towards the pub where these girls were singing happy birthday to there mate and picking up dirt and throwing it at her and putting in on her head - it was so funny I thought to myself  I like that ! Thats more like it!! We ended up at the pub  where people buy beer in about two litre plastic containers for about $2  or in like a milk carton to takeaway .I nearly forgot about the roadrunners or as Moses says it rrrroadrrrrunners which are free range ckickens or roosters which you have to trap - the chicken we had with our sadsa was a roadrunner and tasted great too- you can buy one for about $6 or $7 from off theside of the road.In the tourist towns they all knowa bit about each country for example  "Oh kiwi - Allblacks " The first guy cracked me up when he asked me about John Key  then went on to talk about Helen Clarke and finally Jenny Shipley - Had to laugh!  Moss was very articulate as well I tried to help him with his feet bt taking him to the pharmacy to get some potassium permanganate he also had a big hole in one of his teeth so was reluctant to eat an icecream  in the end I gave him  $10  for the day he was stoked and I had seen the town .Back to Shoestrings for a swim in the pool and a bit of a party with the locals and tourists.

Moses - I think that was his Show biz name

Some girls celebrating their mates birthday by grabbing muddy sand and puttiny on her head in public and generally taking the piss out of her ,I think this is a great way to combat all the expectancy some people put on you regarding their preciousness and their precious day ha ha I think this is great!!

Happy Birthday babe

AaaaarrrrrrrggghhhhSh## ahthe Camera - Blood in my head The camera

Two meals mate - I was the first whiteman in this restaurant apparently the owner told me

The swing - Maaate dropping vertically in a seated position  AAAARRRRGGGGHHHH

Pure Adrenalin Look down and think about what you are about to do then jump Ha ha ha !

Gopro on helmet and a hired one in hand hanging upside down over the Mighty Zambezi

Roadrunners for sale in handmade traps

Watsup Moses

Come on come on support us !

"THE SMOKE THAT THUNDERS"

One of the 7 wonders of the world -Oh yer for obvious reasons! An epic evolving and eternal masterpiece ! A taste of heaven for sure! It is easy to become immersed in your experience at the Falls , watching the mighty Zambizi river cascading over the edge into the air changing from translucent brown into white curtains of delight speaking of the glory and power of the ever present all knowing almighty God !
You can feel the share power of the falls through the rocks as the sound of the water lets out a constant rolling thunder - the wind swirls around continuously , no one view or experience is ever the same  no artist could ever produce such a masterpiece of such epic proportions -THIS IS THE WORK OF THE ALMIGHTY!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I was for warned that I was going to get wet so I came prepared with a jacket and gopro in waterproof housing  and bare feet , however I brought my gopro housing that I had modified by putting a hole in the side for an external power source - my lens started fogging  up inside the housing so I rushed out the park and asked if I could grab a taxi to shoestrings to grab my other housing and some shoes too , I also ripped some pieces of  tissue paper and put it inside the housing to absorb the moisture  - bit the lens continued to fog so I had to find shelter now and then to get air into the housing - also because of the  spray and at times monsoon like rain you had to keep clearing the beeds of water from the lens -I was wiping the lens covering with a cloth when I remembered that I had read to just lick the lens covering and the saliva acts like a buffer - and it worked - so funny showing people the footage - the dont expect to see me licking my camera like a dog  woof woof ! So there I was right on the edge overlooking the falls in the monsoon rain jumping for  joy and  going  OFF  as the atmospheres were colliding  producing loud cracks and thunders in the midst of the yahooing and yelling - the rain was warm and heavy and sometimes cold  I ill never forget it -bring it on!!