We checked into Safari Lodge in the early afternoon and were welcomed at the entrance by a warrior, complete with feathered headdress and flowing multi-colored coat. As we climbed off the transfer bus he burst into a frenetic welcome chant that while a little intimidating at first, certainly left a lasting impression.
Bags stored in our room, it was off, through the Buffalo Bar and onto the deck where one can enjoy panoramic views over the water hole to the spectacular African bush below. There was already an abundance of game, grazing and watering below. We sighted a herd of Buffalo and a magnificent Kudu bull with one horn snapped off half way, probably while fighting off rivals, intent on ousting him and taking over his harem of females. There were also Warthog with several babies, Impala, Egyptian Geese, Greater Ibis Red Wing Starling, Capped Wheatear and a variety of Great White Egret and Little Egret stalking Frogs in the reeds along the fringes of the many waterholes.
Feeling a little parched after our transfer from Botswana we ordered a couple of Zambezi’s, the local beer, from Neville, the barman and sat facing outwards with our binoculars scanning for movement below. Above our heads dozens of African White Backed, Lappet Face and Hooded Vultures are circling on a thermal. The bird life is abundant and within minutes we added many new sightings to our already impressive and growing list.
However the real reason for our trip to Vic Falls was not primarily game viewing. We had another agenda; to take part in as many of the famous activities as possible. I immediately headed for the activities desk where Gavin, the resident expert showed me the ropes, so to speak. Within half an hour I had booked a Bungi jump, Elephant back safari, sunset cruise on the Zambezi and ‘Flight of Angels’ Helicopter flip over the falls. We were going to be keeping busy over the next few days.
My thoughts then turned to food and a quick visit to the guest-relations desk in the foyer and we had bookings confirmed for the Boma place of eating.
VICTORIA FALLS SAFARI LODGE.
The warmth and good nature of the Zimbabweans is inspirational. Even though they face daily challenges with regard to food and petrol, as a result of the policies of the ruling government they are always positive, jovial and promote their town and its tourist attractions at every opportunity. The hotel staff is no exception and the friendliness is tangible from the very minute you arrive.
The main Lodge is a massive gum pole and thatch structure, three stories high, a truly magnificent architectural achievement. The lodge dominates the skyline for miles around as it nestles on a hilltop; the thatched rooms overlook the game park and the waterholes. The rooms are spread out on either side of the main building in a crescent along the hillside.
The ground floor is dominated by the reception, curio shop, activities lounge and Buffalo bar with the Makuwa-Kuwa restaurant on the first floor and a library, lounge and viewing deck on the top level. The restaurant looks out over the waterhole. This is floodlit at night giving exceptional night sighting opportunities while experiencing the sumptuous local cuisine on offer.
Our room was spacious with glass sliding doors leading onto a private deck; welcomed mosquito net and a comfortable bathroom with both bath and shower. Mini safes are provided in the cupboard to lock up cash and valuables. And yes there is also that essential, air conditioning, to ensure a sound night’s sleep. Summers are hot.
Dinner is served in the Makuwa-kuwa restaurant offering an a la’ Carte menu complete with traditional Zimbabwean fare. The grilled Bream was exceptionally good. There is also a good range of local and imported wines available. We drank the Zimbabwean red and enjoyed it immensely. But so do the local moths. They arrive surreptitiously, flutter up the glass and then either probe the inside with their long proboscis or climb inside where they invariably succumb to the fumes and fall into the wine. Luckily they don’t seem to like beer.
Breakfast is served in the same venue with a buffet style arrangement with loads of delicious offerings and eggs to order off the menu. One morning we were visited by a resident troop of Vervet monkeys. Although the staff seemed to have the upper hand and the monkeys were content with getting as close as they dared and then peering anxiously at the guests, almost willing them to toss a morsel. Service is friendly and attentive and the staff quickly learned to keep the coffee coming to our table.
THE BOMA – PLACE OF EATING
If its entertainment you are looking for in Victoria Falls then the Boma is the place to go. The hotel transport picks you up for your reservation and whisks you a few hundred meters up the road, past Lokutula Lodge to the Boma. During the trip the driver explains exactly what is on the menu so that by the time you get to the entrance you are already salivating in anticipation. Called the place of eating this is no exaggeration, there are both contemporary and exotic dishes that would please any palate.
Once seated the waiter introduces himself and carefully explains where everything is situated. He then pours a shot of the local Chibuku Beer into a tin mug and provides “nibbles” in the form of Kapenta fish, roasted groundnuts and baked corn slithers. The Chibuku is an opaque, Sorghum beer brewed traditionally and well worth the experience. Another local snack is the sun dried, tiny Kapenta fish that one consumes whole. Very fishy, but one can always wash the strong flavor down with a swig of Zimbabwean red. Watch out for the moths they love the Boma too.
The waiter then offers a variety of delicious hot and cold starters. You make your choice and it is served at your table minutes later. We visited the Boma twice during our stay and we tried the baked mushroom and the cold Crocodile and Bream. Both were worthy of a return trip.
Mains are buffet style, with a selection of soup (served in little cast iron pots) and a huge variety of delicious salads. Further along one encounters a vast selection of mains, cooked to order; Chicken, Impala steak, Warthog, Ostrich kebabs, Grilled Bream and many more that we never even got to try.
Then of course we come to the Mopani Worms………. I believe a traditional delicacy in Zimbabwe. It is rumored that there is an unwritten law that states that one cannot leave the Boma without tasting at least one of these dried worms. And with the attention to detail that is synonymous with Safari Lodge, there is always someone on hand to issue an official ‘Certificate of Mopani Worm Consumption’, to take home as proof that you are a worthy member of this elite club. As for the taste?……well, I will leave you to judge for yourself, when you are there.
While all this is going on the traditional dancers are warming their drums over the open fire on which a Lamb on the spit is cooking. The Boma Man is doing his rounds selling his Boma-cocktail that he mixes and serves at your table. The face painter is doing his rounds and the traditional fortuneteller, Maliziapape, is visiting tables and offering a glimpse of your future for a few Zim dollars. He throws the shells for you in his private enclosure within the restaurant. An experience not to be missed.
With dinner out the way (we never seemed to make it to dessert, but the selection was impressive) it’s time for the fun to begin. The dancers are out of this world, nothing like the usual foot stomping that one is used to. They mix a fast paced dance with singing and drumming that has everyone clapping enthusiastically and grinning from ear to ear.
However now that we are all in the mood, the best is yet to come. The highlight of the evening is the Drumming. A collection of large and small drums is set up in the center of the room and the drummer’s hand out drums to everyone. Within minutes we are all drumming like pros and the leader is setting the rhythm for all to follow. It is an awesome experience that you simply never want to end, even when your hands are stinging from beating your heart out. For the finale they get everyone into the center for the final session. The sight of all those people of diverse cultures, races and occupations drumming away, enthused with the drum leaders infectious energy is unforgettable. There is truly nothing to beat the energy and rhythm of these people; it is inherent, not only in their culture, but indeed, in their soul.
Time for bed tomorrow morning we have to face our maker as we throw our bodies into the Zambezi gorge and prey that the Bungi does its job.
ACTIVITIES – THE BUNGI JUMP
Breakfast is a quiet affair. To be honest I am not in the mood for eating and even the coffee doesn’t taste as good as usual. Simply put, I can’t help wondering what possessed me to book the Bungi. What was I thinking? Clearly I wasn’t thinking, or I would have remembered how afraid I am of heights. Karen is unusually quiet as we climb on the hotel shuttle bus, en-route to the bridge. Understandably there is little conversation on the way to town.
As we go through immigration and walk along the road to the bridge my mind is racing. “Oh well”, I decide, I can’t pull out now, so I will just have to get it over with as quickly as possible.
With the weighing in and indemnity form out the way we are the only people foolish enough to be there so early. Not even a queue to stand in and prolong the agony. The Bungi staff are jovial, they have done this a million times. Apparently up to 60 jumps a day for 14 years without an accident. They know their stuff……. I hope.
Kitted up and going through the safety checks I am sweating like a wild animal although it is only 9.30am and overcast and cool. The Bungi crew is confidently reassuring as they explain exactly what they are doing and the heart stopping 5,4,3,2,1 Bungi ritual.
My legs bound and attached to the Bungi cord, I shuffle awkwardly to the edge and look down at the Zambezi far below me. The Bungi is 110m but I swear that the river looks at least ten times that distance away. My legs are shaking uncontrollably; sweat is running down my back, my heart stopped beating hours ago. I can’t even manage a smile for the camera because my face is paralyzed.
Then I hear it; the dreaded 5,4,3,2,1 Bungi….. I can’t do it. The Bungi crew just doesn’t want to understand how terrified I really am. They persist and after some advice to look at the horizon and not down at the water, now 100 kilometers below, they start the count down again. I swear they only got as far as 3 and then gave me a good shove and instantly the water is rushing up at me and I am falling through space. I am too scared to think and the fall lasts forever. A drop of blood finally reaches my brain and I think this has to be the worst part…….
WRONG!.
The Bungi reaches full stretch and I am hurtling upwards, then down again, then up again. Up down, up down spinning around. Is this ever going to end? Then I see the retriever coming down on the winch and after what seems like a lifetime he finally gets to me. At last I am upright and being winched back up to the bridge. About now the adrenalin kicks in and I feel this rush of pure energy and euphoria sweeping through my veins. Unbelievably I survived.
Will I ever do it again? No way. NEVER.
Karen steps up to the edge, as I watch from the landing below, cool as a cucumber she does a perfect swan dive out into the abyss. Like she does this every day of her life……. This girl has guts.
With the hard work now safely behind us, clutching our CD of photos and DVD of both our jumps, it’s time for some fun.
We are off on the sunset cruise up the Zambezi at 3pm.
SUNSET ON THE ZAMBEZI
The river is remarkable as we chug along with Zambia a stone’s throw away. We sit on the deck sipping our Zambezi’s (local beer) watching the Hippo, Nile Crocodile, African Open Bill Stork and Pied Kingfishers. The African Darters fly so close to the water, across the sunset reflection, that their wing-tips skim the surface. I can’t help thinking what a magnificent river the Zambezi is. This is a real African River and for as long as we know has flowed downstream, crashing over the falls to the gorge far below, creating this marvelous spectacle and the permanent mist cloud over the falls.
Over dinner in the Makuwa-kuwa restaurant, back at Safari Lodge, we reminisce about the day’s experiences and share our individual experiences. The food is good, the service impeccable and there are even a group of singers that sing traditional songs in perfect harmony, but all that adrenalin stuff has left me dog tired and I can’t wait to crawl into my bed. Tomorrow morning we are being picked up at 6.30am to go on an Elephant back safari. Frankly right now I am too tired to care.
ELEPHANT BACK SAFARI
I have barely closed my eyes when in the distance, somewhere far away; I can hear a phone ringing. Half asleep I think that if I ignore it, it will stop. It doesn’t and I have to drag my body out of bed and answer it. Why is it that the operator always has to be so cheerful?
Half an hour later we are climbing into the Shearwater bus and our guide Paul is equally as chirpy.
The ride takes around 45 minutes, as we have to pick up some other half-awake souls along the way. I would kill for a cup of coffee!
Thank goodness when we arrive at the Elephant Company there is lots of strong coffee available and when we see the Elephants arrive my spirits begin to lift and the excitement begins to set in. Karen absolutely adores Elephants and is so full of excitement; she is like a kid in a candy store.
After the safety briefing we manage to get to the front of the line. We noticed that the biggest Ellie was loading first and Karen was determined to go big. We were soon up the ramp and on board the special saddle and found out that our ride was a 23year old male called Tusker. No prize for guessing why!
He was captured during the 1982 drought in Gonarezhou when so many Elephant died of starvation. He arrived at the Elephant Company in April 2003 from the Matopos and despite his enormous size, four and a half tons; he was gentle and did exactly what his Elephant driver asked of him. All the Elephants are orphans of either the 1982 and 1992 drought or have been rescued from culling operations in Zimbabwe’s Lowveld, during 1988.
When they became too big to keep in the back yards of private individuals the Elephant Company adopted and trained them. Training is done using the reward system where the animal is rewarded with a molasses cube if it responds to a command. Although there are 11 Elephant they only participate in one ride per day. For the rest of their day they are free to roam around the 4000ha reserve doing what Elephants do best, eating, and only returning in the evenings for their feed. At no time did we get the impression that the animals were unhappy and considering their history, they have an almost normal life.
The ride is amazing, the sheer power of these natural 4x4 beasts is astounding and yet they are gentle and one feels completely safe in their company. The drivers are kindhearted and one gets the sense that there is a deep and mutual bond between man and beast.
After the ride that lasts around an hour, guests are allowed to touch and feel the Elephants and feed them some cubes.
Karen enjoyed this so much that when I got back to the Lodge I sneaked off and secretly booked another surprise ride for the next day.
This time we rode Doma, also a huge animal with impressive tusks. Our friend Tusker had the day off. The amazing thing is that he had a completely different character to Tusker. While Tusker was quiet and docile Doma had a bit of attitude. He was a naughty boy. Not with us but with the other Elephants. Every time one of them tried to overtake him he would block them and then pick up his pace. He would not let any one of the other Elephants get in front of him, even though on a few occasions he blocked the path while stopping for a quick snack and holding up those behind.
Once again the interaction at the end of the ride was a truly unforgettable experience and despite their size they have kind and caring eyes and are quite comfortable when you stroke them or sit on their knee for a photo.
The whole ride is recorded and one can purchase a recording as either a CD or DVD.
We will defiantly be returning as soon as possible to the Elephant Company for another ride and to check on our newfound friends Tusker and Doma.
Back at the lodge there was just enough time for a bite to eat and a Zambezi, before our transport arrived for the Flight of Angels.
FLIGHT OF ANGELS
Arriving at the Shearwater Helipad, which is 5 minutes down the road from Victoria Falls Safari Lodge, we checked in and as usual Karen managed to talk the guide into letting her sit in the front seat, next to the not too chatty pilot. In this seat she could see through the glass bottom. I had to be happy with a window seat in the back. The chopper only takes four people at a time.
Within minutes we were taking off and as we climbed we got a real perspective of the magnificent spectacle below. It had rained during the night and early morning and Gavin, back at the hotel leisure desk, told me there was an extra meter of water rushing over the falls.
To say the falls are huge does no justice to the spectacle unfolding below us. Millions of liters of water flow over the falls every second and fall into the Zambezi gorge far below. This creates a plume of mist that is visible for miles around. One can only imagine what David Livingstone thought when he first discovered the falls, over a hundred years ago.
The Chopper does two circles over the falls in each direction and then heads up the Zambezi, then it banks and drifts past Safari Lodge, while making its final approach to the Helipad. In all, the trip is only about 12 minutes long but is well worth the effort. There is no better way to view the falls than by air.
Back at the Lodge, we had so much to talk about and the pictures as well. At 7pm we were on our way back to the Boma. We couldn’t resist another visit.
Then, tired and weary with sore hands from drumming, we managed a nightcap in the Buffalo bar with barman Neville. Then off to bed, remembering that we were getting another wake up call in a couple of hour’s time.
TRAVELLERS INFO
As our flight gathered speed down the runway we recounted our many exciting adventures and before we knew it we were landing at Oliver Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg. Sadly our holiday was over.
Zimbabwe is a fabulous country with wonderful, friendly and genuinely interested people and Victoria Falls, if you haven’t been there yet, has to be one of those special places in our Africa that you have to visit in your lifetime.
There is something for everyone at Vic Falls and should you be lucky enough to stay at Victoria Falls Safari Lodge you will understand what true Zimbabwean hospitality is really about.
Victoria Falls is a malaria area, so be sure to discuss this with your family doctor prior to departure and be sure to pack some Peaceful Sleep or Tabard for the evenings.
Non-Zimbabwe residents are required by law to settle their account with foreign currency or credit card. In any case you would need to take an extra suitcase for all those Zim Dollars. Our lunch cost 1.2 million Zim Dollars, around R75. Everyone accepts both SA Rand and US Dollars.
Don’t forget to visit the open market. It is an education in discipline, as none of the vendors will approach you until you walk across an invisible line onto their turf. Take along some good old clothes, caps or shoes. You will get incredible bargains when using these as currency.
Safari Lodge provides a shuttle, stopping at the Wimpy, the market, the bank and the falls, every hour for hotel guests.
We had dinner at the Victoria Falls Hotel one evening. It is a grand old colonial building set in park gardens and looking straight up the gorge to the bridge and falls beyond. The food is excellent and a visit to Stanley’s bar is a must. It is a time capsule that takes one back to the ‘good old days’ over 100 years ago.
ACTIVITIES
We have mentioned the Bungi, Elephant Back Safari, Sunset Cruise and Flight of Angels but there are many more attractions to be experienced. These include; White Water Rafting, The Fuffi slide, Gorge Swing, Flying Fox, Microlite flights, Canoeing down the Zambezi, Kayaking, Riverboarding, Jet boating, Walking with Lions, Tiger fishing and many more that I can’t remember.
When booking activities it is cheaper to take the packages so be sure to ask what is available.
There are two main operators at Vic Falls, Shearwater Adventures and Wild Horizons. They are both very good and one has to be impressed by their organization and the way they take guest safety so seriously. Transport is included with most of the activities and they will pick you up from your hotel. We found the guides to be very friendly and knowledgeable.
Vic Falls is also only 75km from the Botswana border and the famous Chobe National Park. Day trips and transfers are available through any of the operators.
HOW TO GET THERE
Both SAA and British Airways fly daily out of Oliver Tambo International Airport (Johannesburg) and Air Zimbabwe also has regular scheduled flights. Contact your travel agent for details.
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