Photo - More Victoria Fall.
We finally decided to take some time and become tourists again for a while. We planned a short trip to Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe. We drove to Durban, had the car picked up and flew to Victoria Falls via Johannesburg. This was 2 shorts flights of about 1 hour and 1 hour 20. We were very surprised to get fed meals on each flight, something that has been missing on all short flights in western countries for some years. After arriving in Victoria Falls airport we can see why the airport tax is extremely high. They are building a new runway and a new terminal. We had to stand for over an hour, mostly outside in the heat, to get processed through immigration. This had to be one of the smallest airports we have been in yet the most inefficient. Hopefully it will improve with the new terminal. After getting through immigration and paying $60 for our 2 visas, we were met by the transport. We had to wait as she rounded up the rest of the passengers and then she forgot to come back and get us from the waiting spot. Another hour to hang out in the small dingy airport. Finally we found someone who could help us get to the hotel. We were met by the manager of the company who apologized but it doesn't make up for lost time. We are sure they won’t forget to pick us up for the return trip back. So here we were in Zimbabwe and took a walk to the town. Our hotel was only about 1 km from town. As we walked along the road we were eventually accosted by touts. We were advised not to buy from the touts along the road but to buy from the stores, as it would be cheaper. At least we got an idea of prices. We bought a map of the area to walk and looked at activities available. The next day we booked for a sunset cruise down the Zambezi and then set off for the falls. It was easy walking distance from town. At least the touts were not allowed in the park so it was a very peaceful experience. At this time of the year the falls are about a third of the volume but they were still magnificent. The spray from them rained down on us a times. Having less water made for slightly less spray which made for better views. We spent several hours walking along the opposite cliff edge getting all the views of the falls we could digest. We took a walk across the historic Victoria Falls bridge, built in 1905, and stopped for a much needed drink at a cafe overlooking the bridge and Zambezi river. We didn't have a visa for Zambia but it was easy to get a bridge pass to go as far as the Zambian immigration post. The best views of the falls are from the Zimbabwe side so we didn’t think we had missed out on too much. They lived up to the reputation of being one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World. We then went back to the hotel for a nap (are we getting old???) before our sunset river cruise tonight. Once again we had to run the gauntlet of touts. We were picked up for our cruise and taken to the upper deck of a river barge. After waiting an hour for a busload of local Zimbabwean parliamentarians, we were on our way. Apparently they were here on a symposium to set the country’s budget. They were rather a noisy crowd and made for a loud trip down the river. Not sure much budget got set. We did get to see the river before the falls though, and a quite a few hippos, elephants and a myriad of river birds. We stopped for pizza in town and decided to do our shopping the next day. We walked the next morning to the main craft market area, once again trying to fend off touts along the road. We were able to barter for what we wanted and made our way back to pack up and leave. The touts here are the most insistent that we have ever come across. Paul's shoes were the most popular item that he could of traded for. We could of sold them 100 times over. They were all willing to trade the clothes off our back as well. I am not sure what they thought we were going to wear home but they had to ask. It was difficult for them to understand that we travel light and did not have anything to spare. I guess that they are used to the usual tourist that totes a bagful of clothing. After 3 days of touts, it really became old hat and quite annoying. But we had to believe that people in this town were as poor as some of the others that live in a place with no local touristic industry. We did do our part and parted with some dollars to buy some African wood carvings. The standard of some of the artists was extremely good. After a wonderful few days in the heart of Africa, it was back to the plane and boat to finalize everything for our trip south.