Victoria Falls

  Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe
Saturday, July 14, 2007

After a short 30 minute ride from Livingstone, Zambia we crossed the border to Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. What can I say about Zimbabwe --- it's the most expensive country in the world --- well not really, but if you are stupid enough to take out money at an ATM or exchange money at a bank it sure is! Here's how it works, if you take out money at an ATM or exchange at a bank you are given the official government rate of 250 Zim dollars to 1 US dollar. In reality you exchange money on the black market for anywhere from 90,000 to 130,000 Zim dollars to 1 USD. Good thing for the black market or you would end up spending $200 for a beer instead of 50 cents.

Welcome to Zimbabwe

Before entering Zimbabwe you are informed of all the troubles in the country (extreme poverty, food and fuel shortages, government repression, etc.) and warned not to say anything about the president Robert Mugabe or you might end up in jail. Sure enough as soon as I arrived there was a Wimpy Burger (British Hamburger Chain) where we stopped and since I hadn't ad a burger in quite some time I had to go and get one. I walked in and asked for a hamburger to find out there were no hamburgers. "What do you have?" I asked. "Toasted Sandwiches and Chips (French Fries)" the counter woman said. A little disappointed, but not shocked I decided to leave and make a reservation for an aerial flight over the Falls. As I walked around the corner I came upon the supermarket where at least 100 people were lined up outside to go in. I decided to take a peak inside to find there was nothing in there but loaves of bread and the people were lined up to come in and get 2 loaves each.

Bread lines at the Supermarket

After I made the reservation for the flight over the Falls I headed back to the Wimpy to get a sandwich only to find out that in the 20 minutes I was gone they had run out of bread and now all they had were chips. Great, welcome to Zimbabwe! Other than the difficulties in obtaining food at times the town of Victoria Falls is the place to be to see them, since you are 5 minute walk from the falls as opposed to a 20 minute ride on the Zambian side. With loads of adrenaline activities, white water rafting, and animal adventures I opted for a flight in a Cessna over the falls and a visit to Vic Falls National Park to get a close up view.

Aerial - Vic Falls 1

Aerial - Vic Falls 2

After a couple of days exploring the area and saying my good-byes to the people on the truck I decided to blow off my trip to Hwange Park, since there were no Rhinos there, and head down to South Africa a few days earlier.

Paul at the Falls 2

The Falls 3

The Falls 4

The Falls 7