Noin 2viikkoa sitten matka alkoi Vaasan juna asemalta kohti Viktorian Putouksia innokkaan 9hengen porukan seurassa.
Päätepysäkki oli Viktorian putoukset Zimbabwessa. Siellä järjestettiin Victoriafallsmarathon tapahtuma sunnuntaina 01.07 aikaisin aamulla. Jotkut meistä osallistuivat täysmaratoniin mutta suurin osa puolimaratoniin. Jännitystä oli ilmassa!
Lensimme kätevästi Qatar airwaysillä Dohan kautta johannesburgiin,ja sieltä matka jatkui british airwaysin lennolla Viktorian putouksille. Sain yllättävästi upgradauksen Business luokkaan Qatarin lennolla Helsingistä -Dohaan,joten ei olisi paremmin voinut matka alkaa 😊
Saavuimme perille perjantai iltapäivänä ja astuessamme ulos lentokentän ovesta vastassa oli lämmin aurinkoinen päivä,hymyilevä kuljettajamme Pattson,sekä laulua ja tanssia esittävä paikallinen ryhmä ,tunnelma oli heti matkan alusta korkealla. Matka hotellillemme ,Kingdom hotel,sujui mukavasti hämmästellen paikallisia tiekylttejä missä varoitettiin elefanteista,pahkasijoista ja antiloopeista.
Saavuttuamme hotellille oli aika käydä hakemassa juoksukisan numerolaput ihan hotellin vierestä. Sijainti oli siinä mielessä hyvä että maraton aamuna startti oli ihan hotellia vastapäätä .
Kun olimme saaneet numerolaput lähdimme tutustumaan lähi ympäristöön ja päädyimme viereisen hotellin terassille ,Victoria Falls Hotel,alueen vanhin hotelli joka hehkuu siirtomaa aikaa,ja jonka terassilla nautitaan high Tea hetkiä joka iltapäivä ,ihailimme maisemia kohti siltaa joka yhdistää Zimbabwen ja Zambian,valmistui vuonna 1905.
Seurasimme pahkasikojen touhua nurmikolla.
Illalla söimme paikassa nimeltään The Boma,tarjolla oli erillaisia afrikkalaisia herkkuja,krokotiili lihaa,eri antiloopin lihaa,pahkasikaa ja mopane toukkia. Illan lopuksi opimme rummuttelemaan afrikkalaiseen tahtiin .
Olimme tosi väsyneitä pitkän lennon jälkeen ja kyllä uni maistui.
Seuraavana päivänä vuorossa oli Viktorian putoukset. Kävelimme noin 1km hotellilta putouksille. Vaikka olenkin monta kertaa käynyt putouksilla,olen aina yhtä otettu ! Viktorian putoukset ovat uskomattoman kauniit,mikä voima !Siinä heti alkumetreillä kaikki päätti että kyllä ne putoukset on nähtävä myös ilmasta 😊joten samantien varasimme koko ryhmälle helikopteri lennon iltapäiväksi.
Taas kerran kastuin,en ole vielä kertaakaan tullut kuivana pois putouksilta ,joten on hyvä varata sadetakki mukaan,puiston ulkopuolella myydään myös jos sattuisi unohtamaan .
Siinä meni koko päivä tutustuessa putouksiin ja illalla meitä alkoikin hieman jännittämään seuraavan aamun maraton kisa.
Aamupala alkoi klo 05.00 ja paikalla olimme kaikki heti tankkaamassa ,jo klo 06.45 oli maraton juoksijoiden startti,ja meillä muilla puoli maraton juoksu alkoi klo. 07.15.
Alkumatka oli hidasta ja kävelimme osittain. Juoksun alkuvaihe meni sillan yli Zambian puolelle ja sieltä kääntyi takaisin Zimbabwen puolelle. Sen jälkeen alkoi juoksu tasoittua ja tilaa oli paremmin juosta. Sillalla vastassa oli sellainen vesisumu putouksilta ettei mitään nähnyt putouksista ja ilma oli aamulla viileä ja kostea.
Koska juoksimme luonnonsuojelu alueella mahdollista on että vastaan tulee jokin villieläin. Elefantteja alueella on paljon joten sopivan matkan välein tien vieressä seisoi aseistetut vartijat huolehtimassa juoksijoiden turvallisuudesta ...villieläimistä :)
Matkan varrella oli tarjolla vettä ja cokista,banaania ja apelsiinilohkoja. Matkan alkuvaihe oli tasaista ja miellyttävä juosta,mutta kun saavuttiin 16km kohdalle alkoi ylämäkeä...joka jatkui melkein loppuun asti,siinä alkoi voimat hyytyä,mutta maaliin jaksettiin hyvällä vauhdilla. Kaikki saimme mitalin :)
Illalla osallistuimme viralliselle auringonlasku risteilylle zambezi joella. Kaikki osallistujat olivat juosseet aamulla ja tunnelma oli mukava ja rento :)
Sitten olikin matkan viimeinen etappi edessä,safari Hwange luonnon puistossa . Ajomatkaa luonnonsuojelu alueelle meillä oli putouksilta noin 2h,sen jälkeen siirryimme safari autoihin ja ajoimme Lodge majoitukselle vielä 1,5h. Majoiduimme keskelle luontoa The Hide nimisessä paikassa. Tällä eläimet saavat vapaasti liikkua ilman aitauksia. Sää oli miellyttävä ja nautimme safareista ,teimme myös kävelysafarin,hyvästä ruosta,juomista ja uima-altaalla olemisesta.
Yöt olivat tähän aikaan vuodesta viileitä ,onhan nyt talvi menossa,päivälämpötila noin 25 astetta ja yöt paljonkin alle 10 astetta,onneksi kuumavesipullo lämmitti mukavasti sängyssä.
Muutaman safariyön jälkeen oli aika sanoa näkemiin ja aloittaa pitkä kotimatkaa Suomeen,monta unohtumatonta elämystä rikkaampina. Kaikin tavoin onnistunut matka,kiitos koko matkaseuralle!
Terveisin,
Jannika
ENGLISH
About 2 weeks ago we started our journey from Vasa towards Victoria Falls. We where 9 eager runners ready for the challenge ahead, the Victoria falls Marathon :) I think for most of the group it was the destination itself also that was very exciting.
We flew Qatar Airways from Helsinki via Doha to Johannesburg, and from there onwards to Victoria Falls with British Airways. The flights went smoothly , and to my surprise I got an upgrade to business class on the first leg of the trip...I could get used to this :)
Once we landed in Vic falls , we where greeted with sunshine and warm weather, and our happy driver Pattson, and the drumming and singing outside Victoria Falls airport. On our way into town everyone in my group looked at the road signs showing elephants, warthogs and antilopes...and this was part of the stretch we where going to run on our marathon :)
When we got to our hotel, Kingdom Hotel, we went over to the registration stand and got our numbers for the race. It was a great atmosphere in the air, excitement! We decided to walk for a bit and explore the near by sites and ended up at the hotel next door, Victoria Falls Hotel, the oldest hotel in town with a colonial feeling to it. The views from the terrace opens up over widespread beautiful lawns and towards the bridge between Zimbabwe and Zambia opened in 1905.
We had still some program for the evening, at 18.45 we where picked up by the hotel and went for dinner to The Boma. Here we tried different african dishes served buffe´ style, crocodile meat, warthog meat and different antilope meat, and of course the famous mopane worms, so rich in protein ;) At the end of the evening we learnt to drum to some african beats and that was entertaining.
The next day, after a well deserved sleep, we where ready for the mighty Victoria falls. We only stayed 1km from the falls so it was a short walk. It always amazes me how powerful the falls are, and beautiful!
Already at the beginning of the visit at the falls everyone decided that the Falls definitely needs to be seen from the air also, so a few phone calls later I had arranged for us an afternoon helicopter tour of the falls. I do recommend everyone to do it, it is something very special to fly over the falls!
In the evening we started to feel a bit nervous for the next day marathon. It was a early wake up as breakfast was served at 5.00am and the full marathon started at 06.45 and half marathon at 07.15.
We where all full of energy and excited in the morning. The mornings are very chilly, it is winter in Zimbabwe, so one needs to pack warm clothes with, so breakfast was enjoyed in down jackets :) And then the question what to wear for the run...thights or shorts, long or short sleeve...I decided to have shorts and a thin long sleeved, and that worked fine the first hour of the run, but once it was 8.00am, and sun was up it quickly got hot.
The run started with crossing the bridge over to Zambian side, there it turned back over the bridge and back into Zimbabwe. The start was very slow as we where many runners and there is not too much space on the bridge, but once on our way back the crowed got more spread out and it was easy to find the right pace for the run. As the race goes trough the national park, there is guards with rifles along the route for the safety...from wild animals. That morning there where lots of elephants on the move, so Im sure the guards had some work to do. A few from our group heard the elephant trumpeting next to them in the bush and, that made their pulse go up quite a bit :)
The route was otherwise nice and smooth, but at the end at about 16km the route started with an uphill, that carried on almost to the end, that was heavy and really took some determination to tackle, but we all made it to the end and completed the race, some half marathon and some full marathon.
After the race we walked back to our hotel and went over the The Look out point for a well deserved lunch and a G&T:)
In the afternoon we where booked on the official marathon sunset cruise on Zambezi river. We where about 140 people on the cruise and the weather was perfect, such a great way to end this special day, moving slowly over Zambezi river watching the sunset over the african landscape!
The following day it was time for our safari. In the morning we where picked up by our driver Pattson and we started our 2h drive towards Hwange national park. Once we reached the maingate in Hwange , we changed vehicle and got on an open safari vehicle for the last stretch to the lodge about 1,5h and this was our start to our safari.
We stayed 2 nights at The Hide safari lodge, a beautiful setting out in the middle of the park where animals move freely around, no fences. Both our mornings at the camp lions walked in front of the lodge and we sat with our coffee cups and cameras watching them slowly walk by, amazing! And one evening we walked into the hide, a tunnel that takes you to the waterhole in front of the lodge, and while we where sitting there in the darkness, a herd of elephants came to drink, just 2 meters away from us, we just saw legs and trunks :) It was exciting and fun!
During our safaris we saw lots of animals, giraffes, zebras, elephants, lions, antilopes and much more. We also did a walking safari, taking in the nature in a different way than from sitting in the vehicle.
The days where nice and warm and we relaxed by the pool, but the nights got chilly, I think one night it was just under zero...we where all happy to have our warm water bottles in bed at night.
After a few nights at the safari it was time to pack up and start our journey home to summer Finland again. We had such a great trip and we all got so many wonderful memories, and many laughs to bring back home with us! Thank you to everyone of you who participated on this unforgetable journey!
Love Jannika
ENGLISH
About 2 weeks ago we started our journey from Vasa towards Victoria Falls. We where 9 eager runners ready for the challenge ahead, the Victoria falls Marathon :) I think for most of the group it was the destination itself also that was very exciting.
We flew Qatar Airways from Helsinki via Doha to Johannesburg, and from there onwards to Victoria Falls with British Airways. The flights went smoothly , and to my surprise I got an upgrade to business class on the first leg of the trip...I could get used to this :)
Once we landed in Vic falls , we where greeted with sunshine and warm weather, and our happy driver Pattson, and the drumming and singing outside Victoria Falls airport. On our way into town everyone in my group looked at the road signs showing elephants, warthogs and antilopes...and this was part of the stretch we where going to run on our marathon :)
When we got to our hotel, Kingdom Hotel, we went over to the registration stand and got our numbers for the race. It was a great atmosphere in the air, excitement! We decided to walk for a bit and explore the near by sites and ended up at the hotel next door, Victoria Falls Hotel, the oldest hotel in town with a colonial feeling to it. The views from the terrace opens up over widespread beautiful lawns and towards the bridge between Zimbabwe and Zambia opened in 1905.
We had still some program for the evening, at 18.45 we where picked up by the hotel and went for dinner to The Boma. Here we tried different african dishes served buffe´ style, crocodile meat, warthog meat and different antilope meat, and of course the famous mopane worms, so rich in protein ;) At the end of the evening we learnt to drum to some african beats and that was entertaining.
The next day, after a well deserved sleep, we where ready for the mighty Victoria falls. We only stayed 1km from the falls so it was a short walk. It always amazes me how powerful the falls are, and beautiful!
Already at the beginning of the visit at the falls everyone decided that the Falls definitely needs to be seen from the air also, so a few phone calls later I had arranged for us an afternoon helicopter tour of the falls. I do recommend everyone to do it, it is something very special to fly over the falls!
In the evening we started to feel a bit nervous for the next day marathon. It was a early wake up as breakfast was served at 5.00am and the full marathon started at 06.45 and half marathon at 07.15.
We where all full of energy and excited in the morning. The mornings are very chilly, it is winter in Zimbabwe, so one needs to pack warm clothes with, so breakfast was enjoyed in down jackets :) And then the question what to wear for the run...thights or shorts, long or short sleeve...I decided to have shorts and a thin long sleeved, and that worked fine the first hour of the run, but once it was 8.00am, and sun was up it quickly got hot.
The run started with crossing the bridge over to Zambian side, there it turned back over the bridge and back into Zimbabwe. The start was very slow as we where many runners and there is not too much space on the bridge, but once on our way back the crowed got more spread out and it was easy to find the right pace for the run. As the race goes trough the national park, there is guards with rifles along the route for the safety...from wild animals. That morning there where lots of elephants on the move, so Im sure the guards had some work to do. A few from our group heard the elephant trumpeting next to them in the bush and, that made their pulse go up quite a bit :)
The route was otherwise nice and smooth, but at the end at about 16km the route started with an uphill, that carried on almost to the end, that was heavy and really took some determination to tackle, but we all made it to the end and completed the race, some half marathon and some full marathon.
After the race we walked back to our hotel and went over the The Look out point for a well deserved lunch and a G&T:)
In the afternoon we where booked on the official marathon sunset cruise on Zambezi river. We where about 140 people on the cruise and the weather was perfect, such a great way to end this special day, moving slowly over Zambezi river watching the sunset over the african landscape!
The following day it was time for our safari. In the morning we where picked up by our driver Pattson and we started our 2h drive towards Hwange national park. Once we reached the maingate in Hwange , we changed vehicle and got on an open safari vehicle for the last stretch to the lodge about 1,5h and this was our start to our safari.
We stayed 2 nights at The Hide safari lodge, a beautiful setting out in the middle of the park where animals move freely around, no fences. Both our mornings at the camp lions walked in front of the lodge and we sat with our coffee cups and cameras watching them slowly walk by, amazing! And one evening we walked into the hide, a tunnel that takes you to the waterhole in front of the lodge, and while we where sitting there in the darkness, a herd of elephants came to drink, just 2 meters away from us, we just saw legs and trunks :) It was exciting and fun!
During our safaris we saw lots of animals, giraffes, zebras, elephants, lions, antilopes and much more. We also did a walking safari, taking in the nature in a different way than from sitting in the vehicle.
The days where nice and warm and we relaxed by the pool, but the nights got chilly, I think one night it was just under zero...we where all happy to have our warm water bottles in bed at night.
After a few nights at the safari it was time to pack up and start our journey home to summer Finland again. We had such a great trip and we all got so many wonderful memories, and many laughs to bring back home with us! Thank you to everyone of you who participated on this unforgetable journey!
Love Jannika
