Emma and I are walk toward the entrance of the National Park. We are together for the last time and we are planning to spend the morning watching a local dance troupe before I go across the border back to Zambia to catch my flight to the Middle East. We have been invited to watch this group of local dancers by Jacob who we met on our last night in Zimbabwe…. while getting a taste of the local culture.
One of the last activities we did as a group before we go our separate ways is attend a session of interactive drumming done by the local ‘Rastafarian’ boys! We go across to the Shoestring Lodge to find it buzzing with life and backpackers and quite different to our own rather quiet campsite.
We have a hilarious evening trying to keep the rhythm of the drum beats as the local boys instruct us on what we should do. Occasionally, they try and trip us up and we are doubled up with laughter. The drumming is interspersed with a bit of singing and dancing. Our merriment has carried to the bar because we are soon joined by the backpackers at the bar who stand around and join in by clapping to the rhythm.
It has been a fun evening and the session ends with a taste of a traditional meal. It is quite a simple meal of pap, spinach and some rather tough meat which we struggle to get our teeth into!
After dinner we relax, get a few drinks and settle in for one of our last evenings of fun. There are a lot of locals around and they walk over to introduce themselves. Emma and I get chatting to Jacob who turns out to be a driver for Nomad, another overland company and a member of a local dance group. He invites us to come watch a performance the next day.
So here we are. Emma and I walk across to the entrance of Victoria Falls to see Jacob and his troupe perform.
These African boys are so talented and athletic. They have amazing physiques and they sound fabulous. The singing is accompanied by a local dance which involves a lot of jumping up in the air and reminds me both of the outfits and dances of the Zulus in South Africa. Emma and I can’t but help think of how far they might have gone with this kind of talent had they been in Australia!
They entertain passing tourists all morning and there is about a dollar each to go around the group. This is the main source of income for many of these boys and I wonder how they survive. I buy their DVD to show a bit of support as well as to remind me of my last day in Zimbabwe.
It is time to say goodbye to Emma and walk across the border back to Zambia from where I will catch my connecting flights to Egypt. I had left my rucksack back in Zambia and just come over with a day pack and some clothes. Jacob offers to walk me across and I’m glad of the company.
We walk across the bridge which is basically no mans land, a stretch of road across the Zambezi which connects Zambia to Zimbabwe. We stop for lunch at the cafe on the bridge and Jacob tells me his story….
“If you reject the food, ignore the customs, fear the religion and avoid the people, you might better stay at home” James Michener
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