For anyone interested in travelling to the Victoria Falls, I went some time ago & thought I'd share some traveller's advice with you.
I found the locals to be very warm and friendly and it made me realise the importance between distinguishing between a country's people and its politics, esp. as we are spoonfed perceptions by the world's serialised media. A max. of 4 day / 3 nights visit is all you need - more & you'll be bored. Of that you only have 3 full days due to the timing of the flight arrivals & departures making up the 4th day. If you're not into the adventures below, shave off a day, but give yourself at least 2 full days - one to explore from Zim side & the other from Zambia side. You can also combine it with a visit to Chobe in Botswana for some excellent game viewing (one hour), or Lake Kariba (2 - 3 or so hrs) in Zim, or the Okavango Delta and the Caprivi in Namibia. It is all an interrelated ecosystem spanning across 4 countries.
The mighty Zambezi River which feed the Falls, and the Falls themselves, seperate Zimbabwe and Zambia. It offers great adventure for those seeking thrills - it has grade 5 rating (most difficult) white water rafting rapids, but when we went during the wet ( Apr - May) season the river was too high for rafting, so it is advisable to go when the river flow recedes during the dry season if you go for that. You can still kayak and canoe and have to make the climb down the enormous gorge with your canoe. That is OK, but afterwards when you are perhaps short on energy, you have to carry it all the way back up as well! It is a steep descent. Bungi jumpers jump from the rail bridge crossing the gorge. It is AFAIK the only bungi jump in a zone belonging to no country (or two) as it's slap bang on the borderline of Zambia/Zim. We took a helicopter ride over the Falls, which I would have liked to be longer & I would have liked the pilot to fly so that we could have gotten a better view (sit on the side opposite to him), but we still got a great aerial view! If I had to do it again I'd take the microlight option. Both are pricy and it is better to take it as a package with which you can also choose two other activities. We chose a booze cruise, which is a sunset cruise on the Zambezi with as much booze as you can drink and an elephant ride. The elephant ride streches your inner thights quite alot, so warming up with some leg streches before you leave your hotel is advisable. African elephants are wilder than their Asian counterparts and are very difficult to train for this purpose. They only bond with one elephant trainer / guide for life and all of the elephants were taken in after they were abandoned by their tribe as calves during droughts or after their tribe was slaughtered by poachers, leaving them as helpless calves. So whatever ethical environmental doubts I had, I could appease it – the money goes towards taking care of them. There is also another option to go walking with "rather largish" (a bit like a toddler who is about to become a child) lion cubs who were also abandoned and saved. From what I could ascertain, the lion cubs are being reared to be released back into the wild, but in the local parks. Booze...lions...it was a difficult choice. There are two companies who sell these adventure packages. One is
Shearwater Adventures and the other
Victoria Falls Safaris. Shearwater's elephant ride is in an enclosed camp, Vic Falls Safaris in a game reserve. The packages are not cheap, but have a look at buying it yourself rather than through your tour operator - you may save a minor amount. Just be sure to do it before you arrive, as there are a limited number of places for some of the more popular events.
The Falls itself – the largest continuous falls in the world dropping for more than 90m, are tuly magnificent and awe inspiring. It is so huge that there is a rainforest on the other side of it sustained from the spray alone, which can reach 500m up into the air at times - this all in the middle of African savannah & bushveld. We were lucky to be there at the time when it was at its fullest (Apr-May), although going just a bit earllier might get you better views with less spray on the Zim side. We were told that the Zambezi's water levels fluctuate according to the rainy season. The river is so huge it takes about 3 months for the water to reach the falls following the first upstream rain as far back as its source in Angola. During the dry season (November - Jan) the falls do not run all along its escarpment (is that the right word?) and you can literally walk to one of the many islands like the Livingstone island in the middle of the riverbed, where game sometimes get trapped after the river fills up. You then also get to see all the rocks which are not visible during the wet season. You can access the falls from both the Zim & Zambia side. The rainforest is on the Zim side (USD10). Here we got pisswet underneath our raincoats and hosed ourselves laughing as we tried to take pictures before the next wave of water spray poured down on us. Wear non slippery walking shoes, pref. open as it will get soaked & your bathing suit (wear it under your clothing & take a plastic bag to wrap it & a handtowel in) instead of the raincoats they rent out there. The Zambia side was more "wow" with better photo opportunities given all the spray at the Zim side. You walk across the river on the railbridge & cross the border. Bridge lovers can take a guided tour of it - it was built in England in some pissweather colonial era and shipped lock, stock & b to be erected on the spot. There is also a small bridge called Knife's Edge, on the Zambian side that we crossed, across from the nearby mealstorm known as the Devil's Boiling Pot below. Here it was a total rainstorm, great fun and a bit dangerous (slipperywise - I took off my soaking shoes for the crossing) but you get the most fabulous views & shots. A Chinese family was there in full force with their underwater scuba diving cameras. Go figure (and secret envy for not having thought of it myself).
As far as the security situation is concerned, we had no reason to be worried. I was surprised by the number of foreign tourists given the bad media Zim's been receiving, mostly elderly but adventurous American & Chinese tour groups, some Ozzies, Kiwis, a trickle of Brits and a handful of Germans. In comparison there is a steady stream of South Africans who get hotel discounts, discounts to enter the park (passports required) etc. in a desperate attempt to draw more tourists. The only thing I should note is that it is not recommended to walk at night or to the big baobab tree in Vic Falls. There are a lot of hawkers who don’t understand the meaning of the word NO and who are so desperate for business that they offer to give you their goods (of stone or wood – too big & heavy for the plane) in exchange for USD 10 plus your hat or your shoes – so if you go take old clothing along, it will be much appreciated. If you’ve ever visited another African or Middle Eastern country, you may not initially flinch at it, but their desperation and determination does get annoying and sometimes even intimidating, so walk in groups with other tourists at all times. We were told that they are mostly harmless but sometimes pick pockets. I fell in love with Zimbabwean tea, grown on the Eastern Highlands and arranged with the hotel staff to buy me some. (The type of thing to hide from local customs & excise on your return or it will be confiscated).
On the Zim side, the small little tourist village of Victoria Falls has several good hotels (incl. the colonial Victoria Falls Hotel, a member of the "Leading Hotels of the World" group), a small arts & craft market and a few blocks making up the town centre. Victoria Falls Town is generally in a good condition and clearly there only to cater to tourists. The nearest hotel to the Falls is the Kingdom Hotel, a theme styled hotel / casino. Barely no-one uses the casino as you cannot convert Zim dollars to foreign currency. It is a fly trap designed only to collect desperately needed foreign currency. The hotel though is of a very good standard. It has a private footpath to the gate of the Falls. There is a security guard that walks with people on the footpath, as sometimes wild animals roam there (along with the street vendors variety) and there was a buffalo and an elephant when we went. We saw the elephant but not the buffalo, just as well because they are apparently the most dangerous of wild animals who will just storm at you without mock warnings (like lions). The Victoria Falls hotel and Ilala Lodge are also within walking distance of the falls. Everything else is too far, however luxurious it may look. You’ll need an over-priced taxi & they don’t give small change back in forex, leaving you with worthless Zim $. We had dinner one night in the legendary Vic Falls hotel (once a black-tie venue, now only smart-casual clothing is required). It was very good but very pricy. There were only an Italian family, a birthday party and some Americans in this great posh dining hall, most prefering to dine by candle light outside (take ample insect repellent). The South African wine was marked up about 5 times from what it costs in SA and so on, all reflecting the general malaise of the situation in Zimbabwe.
The village of Livingstone is on the Zambian side & has been drawing the lion’s share of tourists following all the drama across the border. In comparison to Victoria Falls though, it is in a dilapidated state and does not compare well with Victoria Falls. It does however offer two new & modern hotels right on the Zambezi next to the Falls which I will choose if I ever go again, namely the affordable, family style Livingstone Sun with great mosaic tile work in the pool / restaurant area and the Royal Livingstone (another "Leading Hotels of the World" member) where zebras mow the lawn (literally). After our outing on the Zambian side, we went to the Royal Livingstone for some drinks and had G&T on the quiet, serene jetty – it was all very posh in a colonial way.
Foreigners have to pay for their hotel stays in forex. Visas are required by most travellers, but not by South Africans. Make sure you get the multiple entry type to cross the border to the other side of the falls. It is of course a rip-off business to get / exchnage forex there, so purchase giids in USD or ZAR. For that, take as much USD or South African Rand in SMALL denominations as possible (USD 1 / 2 / 5 or ZAR 10 / 20). Beware that some forex outlets in South Africa will sell but not buy back dollar denominations printed after a certain year…if I remember correctly it was USD 2 or 20 bills printed before 2001, but there I saw nothing on the US Treasury Dep. website saying it is not legal tender. Food is expensive. In restaurants count on a min. of USD 40 pp for a basic meal and in some of the smaller South African franchisees like Spur, Panarotti's Pizza located inside the casino at the Kingdom Hotel, Vic Falls, about USD 25.
We flew to Livingston from Johannesburg, as all the return flights from Victoria Falls were sold out. From Livingstone you can get transfers to Vic Falls & vica-versa, but arrange this with your tour operator before you go (!). South African Airways, British Airways franchisee Comair and Nationwide, all South African airlines, serve the routes daily. I think Nambian Airlines also serve the route from Windhoek. I wouldn't fly with Zimbabwean Airlines if they gave me the ticket for free. They use unknown Chinese built aircraft and may stop operations at time due to financial difficulties.
dɪˈfaɪnd