THINGS TO DO
All these activities can be booked via the tour agency Safari Par Excellence ( 00 260 213 320 606; safpar.com)
Sunset boat cruise: US$65 per person (about R920), including a braai on board, and drinks. Canoe safari: Half-day paddle US$110 per person (about R1 600); full day US$145 (about R2 000). Vic Falls: Entrance fee US$30 per person (about R425). Microlight flight: A 15-minute flight costs US$155 per person (about R2 200); 30 minutes costs US$310 (about R4 400).
Kiss of angels
On our third day in Livingstone, we have a 6 am date with a microlight for a flight over Vic Falls. We meet pilot Heiko Held at the airfield about a kilometre from the lodge. When he last counted in 2015, Heiko had done 25 000 flights over the waterfall.
The microlight only takes one passenger at a time. I’m up first. My hands are shaking as Heiko straps me into my seat and passes me a helmet. There’s a camera mounted to one of the wings to capture our flight. You aren’t allowed to take your own camera, but you can buy the photos on a memory stick afterwards.
The take- off is quick and before long we’re flying over the river. The spray of the waterfall is lit by the sun, which is just peeking over the horizon. The Zambezi is smooth as glass as Heiko tilts the aircraft for a better view.
Next he says he’ll take me into the spray for an “angel’s kiss”. The air suddenly turns cold and wet and Heiko smacks his lips.
We do one last pass over the falls then we return to the airstrip, flying low over an island I remember passing when we paddled the day before. I can see a fish-eagle on its nest and a hippo family in the shallows.
I only spent 15 minutes in the air, but this experience will have me up in the clouds for days. The next day we’re back at the airport. We’ve only been in Zambia for 72 hours, but it feels as if we’ve been away for weeks. I have a golden glow on my arms and face and want to think that all the other passengers waiting to board the aeroplane look pale in comparison.
The thing that stands out most clearly in my memory? The roar of the waterfall, which made my blood tingle with excitement.