Living it up in Livingston

The next morning we were up early to make our way to the adventure capital of southern Africa - Livingston, Zambia. Our campsite at the Waterfront was a hub of activity with cruises coming and going from the port, white water rafters heading out, and everyone squeezing as much into the 3 full days we had there as we possibly could.

I was toying with the idea of bungee jumping but my mind was set on white water rafting the Zambezi. After a presentation outlining all the available activities in Livingston from lion walking to helicopter flights, gorge swinging to building homes for the locals, I was still set on rafting and booked for the next morning.

I promised myself an early night but of course the sunset cruise (that's affectionately known as the "booze cruise") had other ideas. It was a stunning boat ride down the zambezi where we saw hippos, crocodiles and a huge group of elephants frolicicking in the water and on shore. All tinted orange by yet another spectacular African sunset.

But when the sun went down and the boat docked at The Waterfront we were all ready to dance. And even when the rains came we still danced, drenched and deliriously happy. It was a superfun night with the superfun people on my tour, but we were all responsibly in bed by 10.

Heads still hurt in the morning though, despite the early night. But, let me tell you, if they could bottle whitewater rafting as a hangover cure Zambia would be the wealthiest country in Africa. It us the single most exhilarating thing I have ever done!

From the briefing breakfast in the morning they'd decided to call me Esther Crazy and I did my best to not disappoint. I was put on Boyd's boat - an injured kayaking champion who's getting through a set of broken ribs by captaining rafts full of unsuspecting tourists. He's an adrenalin junkie and being in his boat meant taking the hardest route through each of the grade 5 rapids (the hardest in the world you can do). Needless to say we were the only boat that flipped... and it was worth every nail biting moment!

My tenty Katy and I were the only girls on a raft with 6 other men. What a relief we thought. Turns out we were possibly the toughest of the lot of them - although one Irish guy couldn't swim... Talk about brave! We survived the washing machine rapids time and time again and each time you'd fist pump the air with relief and excitement for what you'd just done. Not for the faint hearted, and only the video we got can truly show you the fun, but everyone should do it once in their lifetime.

Now, it would be remiss of me not to mention the one major drawback of the day. Climbing out of the Zambezi gorge. 45 minutes of sheer hell. You literally scale a steep, steep rocky mountain face with a ladder made of flimsy tree branches. Hundreds of makeshift rungs, the heat of midday, pure exhaustion after hauling yourself in and out, up and down in a raft all morning... all while suffering a muscular disease. I'm not even ashamed to say I cried. Yep, I sat down about halfway, when my legs were turned to jelly and my entire body was sapped of strength and I cried. Like a big sook I sobbed "I just can't make it, I know my limitations". I looked up at that clifface and had absolutely no idea how I would get myself up. My disease was at it's worst and I honestly thought my $2K in insurance was actually going to be worth it. But, like every other challenge my illness has thrown at me, I regrouped. With ten jelly steps at a time I made it to the top... And cried again for the sheer strength of my determination. My disease, myasthenia gravis for the curious, has never stopped me before and by every ounce of my willpower it still hasn't. I'm bloody proud of myself.

Needless to say if you're fortunate enough to go to Livingston make sure you do white water rafting in the Zambezi. Just make it a full day to avoid the climb out at half way.

Love to my little Harvey monkey... Tell him mummies alive and will be home soon.

Xxx