Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe

Just a few days before I arrived in Africa, my parents took a trip to Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. They returned full of praise for the trip and their photos raised my interest as well. After chatting with friends of mine who had also been to the area, and given the accessibility of Botswana's Chobe National Park, I decided to visit myself before I left Africa.

The flight from Johannesburg is short, only two hours. As you descend, the pilot banks the plane so that both sides can see the falls from the air. You can see a great gash in the earth with mist billowing upwards. It is quite a view! Visitors have the choice of flying into Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe or Livingston, Zambia to access the falls--we chose the Zimbabwean side because we wanted to stay at the Victoria Falls hotel.

The airport immigration setup is typical. There are two officers handing the whole line, but each has a separate job so your visa requires two people to stamp and sign. We originally had been seated at the back of the plane but I had been warned in advance about the line so we moved up once the plane was in flight. We also filled out the visa forms ahead of time which also helped a lot. We still waited about 30 minutes, but beat most of the people on our flight. A double entry visa for US passports is $45; Zimbabwe recently dollarized so they accept greenbacks. A single entry is $30 but since you can walk to Zambia from the town I felt the double entry was definitely worth it.

After finally making it past immigration, we caught a taxi into town. Our driver chatted with us and told us to keep our eyes open for wild animals crossing the road. There was even a sign warning of elephants crossing! The land here is quite flat and covered in scrub brush and acacia trees. I couldn't see any mountains, or elephants for that matter.

The drive to town took about 25 minutes. Our hotel, the Victoria Falls Hotel, is a gorgeous Colonial era historical building that has absolutely retained its charm. The staff are friendly and helpful without being obsequious and the rooms are decorated in an Edwardian style. My four poster bed even has a mosquito net, although I suspect that's more for ambiance than need this time of year. Nick and Jimmy, my traveling companions (whom you might remember from my post about the USA vs Algeria World Cup game) have a double room that overlooks the gorge and the bridge to Zambia, so we definitely lucked out!

We had high tea on the veranda overlooking the gorge where the Zambezi River flows after it goes over the falls and admired the ambiance and scenery. We had a local Zimbabwean tea that reminds me of a mix of Roiboos and English Breakfast and a tower of tasty eats. There were finger sandwiches (cucumber, lox and ham), scones with jam and clotted cream, and a plate of dessert cakes. The best cake in my opinion was definitely the carrot cake! I felt very posh sitting on the beautiful veranda, overlooking one of the natural wonders of the world and enjoying a thoroughly English tradition.

After the indulgence of high tea, we walked to the bridge to look at the falls. The hotel has a private path to the Zimbabwe border station as well as a security escort. Our guard, Raymond, wax walking with us through the scrub brush just outside the hotel when we heard something large trampling through the bushes and making a squeaking noise. It turned out to be some male warthogs fighting! Raymond led us through the brush until we were about 20 feet away from the warthogs. They were trotting around, tossing their heads and squealing. I wondered if this was a bad idea to be so close, but the warthogs didn't seem to mind. Eventually they moved off and we kept going on the path.

I had been warned to expect a barrage of hawkers selling curios and there were a few but they weren't bad. They virtually ignored me and beelined for Jimmy, I think because he is the oldest and they probably assume he has the most money (sorry, Jimmy, but you do look more dignified than Nick or I!). One guy had a nice elephant carving for only $5 opening price, which temped Jimmy. Raymond told us that the hawkers usually buy their items somewhere else so you can get the same thing for cheaper in a local market and he said their money usually goes straight to drinking. We probably won't buy anything from these guys, but if there are kids selling on Saturday I'll probably try to barter some of the old clothes i brought.

Visitors can leave Zimbabwe and go to the bridge without sacrificing one of their visa exits as long as you do not go through Zambian immigration on the other side, so it is a good chance to view the falls. I also wanted check out the bungee jump, which I want to do. The walk to the bridge from the Zimbabwean border station is about two kilometers, some of which was wet and misty from the falls. We wee walking around 4:30pm so there was almost no vehicular or foot traffic.

We walked across the bridge past the sign in the middle indicating we had technically entered Zambia and gazed out over the falls. Victoria Falls is wider and taller than Niagra Falls so it is truly a wondrous sight. The mist billows up and the air is cool and damp. The roar of the water makes it hard to talk. The walls of the gorge are slick with moisture and thick vegetation. We felt very tiny!

After taking some photos we walked back to the hotel. The border guards checked passports to make sure we hadn't entered Zambia, although the inspection was somewhat cursory. Raymond met us at the railroad tracks and escorted us back to the hotel, the warthogs were now rooting around on the lawn of the hotel in front of the veranda where we had tea. They seemed peaceful enough but there was a staff member with a rifle keeping an eye on matters just in case.

For dinner we ate at Mama Africa based on many recommendations and it was delicious. For appetizers they served us tiny dried fish, dried worms (a black grub of some kind, tasted like salty beef jerky) and boiled peanuts. I had a chicken stew with a peanutty flavor and it was amazing. It came in a tiny cast iron pot. I also tried the local beer, Zambezi, which was watery but complimented the food well enough. We were also treated to live music and a native dance show. Prices were reasonable and I was quite happy with the meal. Weirdly, we had been warned that the place would be crowded but we were one of only four tables at the restaurant. Maybe town will fill up over the weekend but right now it feels deserted.

We were pretty tired so we walked around the grounds a bit to work off dinner and then headed off to bed. Tomorrow we have a day trip to Chobe in Botswana and I am really looking forward to that!