After 10 days of safaris in Botswana, with early mornings and non-stop action, our band of adventurers headed to Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe. Although it was fun to see exotic African animals, THIS surprising adventure really did it for me.
Day 2 in Zimbabwe, we got to visit Victoria Falls (one of the 7 natural wonders of the world). Yes, I live near Niagara Falls, but I didn’t expect I’d be so impressed by this African waterfall! Boy was I wrong…
It’s hard to explain the feeling you get from simply being close to Victoria Falls. It’s expansive – stretching over 1.7km in width – and has a spray that can be seen from 50km away! From the first moment I saw it, I was in awe. I was only at the beginning of the falls and I already felt drawn in. I kept wishing I could ride on the back of one of those creatures from Avatar and fly straight through the middle of the canyon that marked the falls.
As we walked from one vista to the next, catching glimpses of the falls, I found myself wanting to run. We had spent days traveling and doing safaris by land and by water and I missed my usual schedule of hiking and swimming. Having the opportunity to turn this glorious trip to the falls into a hike was just too good to miss. I walked quickly, ahead of the group. I went up and down stairs multiple times and doubled back to the group several times so I could get extra mileage in. While some of the group turned back part way through, half of us, sopping wet from the spray, continued on until the end, knowing full well that we’d have to walk back another 1.7km to the entrance.
As we got to the end of the falls, we saw a sign advertising the opportunity to abseil down into the canyon where the falls were. For those not familiar, abseiling is a mountaineering term for going down a vertical cliff by using a doubled rope that is fixed to a higher point and wrapped around the body. One of the young girls (22 years old) in our group wanted to do it. When she said she would do it, I felt the excitement rise in me: all my thoughts of wanting to soar through the canyon on the back of a beast culminated in a decision to join her.
Now, you need to know that I am afraid of heights. So, you might wonder why I would be so excited about hanging by a rope off the side of a cliff, descending 110 metres down into a canyon where a waterfall roared. Well, I guess I analyzed the situation, felt that it was done in such a way that would keep me safe, and concluded that it wouldn’t be good for business if I died. So, after a quick tutorial, down we went.
It was incredible! I was smiling from ear to ear the whole time! And I made sure to look over my shoulder down the canyon as often as I could to imagine that I was flying. 🙂 When we reached the bottom and looked up, we felt a sense of accomplishment.
The thing is that the person who explained the experience to us didn’t give us full disclosure. What we were told is that we would do our descent, hike around the bottom of the canyon, and that someone would pick us up at the end and drive us to the entrance where our colleagues would be waiting. He called it a “glorious exit” from the falls. Kinda true – except that he forgot to tell us that after our 110 metre descent, the hike at the bottom of the canyon involved walking up 115 metres of stairs!
Yup! I’m telling you, the stairs never seemed to end! And they weren’t just nice even stairs – they were forest stairs and ladders with ridiculously wide chasms between steps. As I was walking back up, I had two thoughts in my mind. One: I wish I hadn’t done so many stairs earlier that day. And two: what would people do if they weren’t in shape?!
This last point is the important one: how many adventures do people miss out on because they aren’t fit or are in pain? How many people just accept that getting older means you have to be sick, sore and tired? I can’t tell you how grateful I felt to have had the strength and energy to enjoy that adventure – and to be the first one up the stairs, beating out two twenty-somethings. 😉
Let me share with you a few of the ways I stay strong and fit. (Incidentally, I did create a 10-week course outlining my plan for vibrant living. It’s called Life More Abundantly.
3 simple habits I do to make sure I have lots of energy
Energy Tip 1 – Treat Food As Fuel
Although I’m a big believer in the fact that food should be desirable and should taste amazing, I do not choose foods solely based on what tastes good or what I feel like eating. My good friend, Daphne, who often travels with me, regularly remarks how she appreciates that, even when I am presented with a buffet of yummy food options, I always choose foods that will fuel my body well.
While I’m not a fan of dictating what every person should or shouldn’t be eating (every body is different), I can share with you a few general principles:
- Avoid sugar, gluten and dairy. Even if you don’t have sensitivities, these are inflammatory foods.
- Balance fats, fibre and protein to optimize satiety. Choosing simple carbs will spike your blood sugar and make you feel hungry sooner.
- Eat a colorful diet (no, Fruit Loops do not count) filled with a variety of fruits and vegetables.
- Take Terrazyme digestive enzymes to be sure you are getting what you need out of your food.
Energy Tip 2 – Exercise Regularly
I know, I know. You’ve heard it a million times. But that doesn’t make it less important! You’ve heard it a million times because it is absolutely foundational to your emotional, physical and mental health.
Hear me on this: you cannot enjoy a vibrant, healthy life if you are sedentary. End of story. And you can’t give yourself the excuse: I don’t have time. Just decide: do you want to make time to exercise or do you want to be forced into downtime because of illness or injury. Pay now or pay later, but you will have to pay.
If you struggle with this, I encourage you to consider taking my Life More Abundantly course where I go into it in more detail. In brief, here are some pointers:
- Do what you love. I hate lifting weights and running on a treadmill, so I don’t do those things.
- If you experience pain, take a two-pronged approach: reduce inflammation in your body and use topical solutions.
Reducing inflammation involves eating an anti-inflammatory diet, taking Lifelong Vitality supplements, and taking the power trio (Turmeric Duo-caps, Deep Blue Polyphenols, and Copaiba softgels.)Topical solutions include the Deep Blue Rub and oil, Deep Blue Stick and the AromaTouch massage blend.
Energy supplements – covered in my next point…
Energy Tip 3 – Energy Supplements
Now, I’m NOT talking about Red Bull or the like. Those create an artificial energy boost that wreaks havoc on your adrenal glands, among other things. What I’m talking about is taking supplements that help your body to create energy naturally. For this you can’t be my three must-have energy supplements:
- The Lifelong Vitality Pack. In the dōTERRA community, they are affectionately known as the “mommy uppers”. Gratefully, they’re not just for moms and not just for women. Taking this supplement system on a daily basis is what started creating real change for myself and my husband. We never want to have a day without them!
Learn more about Lifelong Vitality. - Mito2Max is a must-have partner for the support of cellular energy production. This powerhouse supplement helps with both physical and mental energy and is something I take every morning. Learn More.
- MetaPWR Advantage – I may sound like a broken record on this one, but I seriously can’t recommend it enough. If you haven’t seen my video on this awesome product, check it out here. Learn More.
This is a photo Darrin took from our boat one night. He’s a professional photographer and always seems to capture the magic of the moment in his photography. He also organized the entire safari trip. If you’d like to see his photography or are interesting in booking an African Safari Adventure, connect with him here.
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