Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe
How did we end up taking home five bags when we arrived with only four? Simple: your carry back stuff multiplies. It’s the rule of travel. So we always pack an extra lockable duffel bag to hold the overflow.
Such as four bottles of wine protected in special cushioning wine bottle bags. Like gifts for family and friends. How about dirty laundry you don’t want to mix with the clean guys before you launder them at the next stop.
The rule for this morning: Namibian immigration “leaving” document to be filled out and given to tour director Delia McBride along with our passports. Ship’s bill settled and crew gratuities taken to the business office. AMA comment card completed. Breakfast at 7:30. Bags packed and locked by 9:30 am. Leave the ship at 10 am.
The dining room is empty now but will soon be filled up
I will never forget one bit of advice we were given on the first day aboard ship: if you fall overboard DO NOT yell or splash in the water. That noice and vibration will draw in the crocodiles.
Yesterday two passengers on a tender ride spotted two very large crocs eat a Cape Buffalo. One croc ate the body while the other tossed the Buffalo head up in the air and eventually swallowed it whole.
Out on time and within an hour we had our passports stamped at three border crossings: Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe. We are all in one bus:
Less than an hour and we’ll be at Lake Victoria Hotel and can’t wait.
We talked about why we scheduled this trip: we unpack and repack four times. We spend no more than four days in any one place. It has been over 100 degrees and dusty outside and inside the AC works some of the time.
But we think that question answers itself. During what other 18-day period can we see and do so many very different things:
—Cape Town with its penguins, urbane city life, food for all tastes, a funicular to foggy Table Mountain and paragliding.
—The Zambezi Queen river and its excursions to see the wild animals of Africa, to visit a local village and the opportunity to meet some really delightful fellow passengers.
—Victoria Falls to see perhaps the most spectacular water falls on earth
—The Rovos Rail because we’ve never spent 4 days and nights on a train, especially one traveling through the African savanna, super especially one that has an observation car and dining car that requires business attire.
We arrived at the Victoria Falls Hotel in time for lunch. The hotel is something like “Out of Africa” with photos the English royal family on the walls. Referring to it as “grand” is an understatement. It just looks grand.
The room is gorgeous.
While exploring the grounds we stood next to a giant mahogany tree with the Victoria Falls bridge in the background.
The base of the flagpole shows us where we are.
A closer look at us and the bridge that we will visit shortly
This evening’s program was riding a steam engine-pulled train to the middle of the Victoria Falls bridge where we got out to view the Zambia side of the falls. Not as spectacular as the Zimbabwe side that we will see tomorrow. Zambia diverted its water to hydroelectric turbines to generate electricity. However that diversion reduced the water falling over its side of the falls.
The excursion almost didn’t happen as I misheard the departure instructions and guided us to the opposite end of the hotel. A hotel employee turned us around and took us to the real departure…just in time.
Barb here: Niles had gotten directions. I should had paid more attention. We walked what felt like a 1/2 mile in the wrong direction until we saw a hotel employee who took us all the way back to where we started. The others had gone on to the restaurant. Our guide had stayed behind waiting for us. She commandeered another bus that took us to the train station where everyone was waiting for us. It was a lovely evening.
Niles: we started in the lounge car of the train, sipping drinks and listening to a local singer/guitarist. After walking over the bridge we got back on the dining car for a 5-course dinner.
Driving through the city gives the impression half of the merchants sell handcrafted items to tourists: carved wooden African animals, reed baskets, colorful cotton materials. We’ll find out tomorrow when we walk around.
When we got back to the room this evening here is what we found:
Good night.
Our South African Adventure 