Victoria Falls

Lazy morning. Still up at 6:30 but only by our internal alarms. Breakfast is included at this hotel, so we met up with mom and dad for breakfast at 9. At 10, Yvonne picked us up to go to Victoria Falls (only a few minutes away). She had pre purchased tickets, so we walked right in. She gave us a short orientation and discussion about the falls and we started our 4.4km, leisurely walk, with 16 look-out points to appreciate the exquisite falls. March and April are the high water flow months for the falls. By November the volume of water will have greatly decreased.
The falls were made famous by Dr. David Livingstone in 1855 when he came across them for the first time. ("Dr. Livingstone I presume?") Yvonne brought us ponchos for the wet portion of the trip which was a must (to stay dry anyway!). I had a chance to talk with Yvonne quite a bit on the walk. She is so easy to talk to and is very honest about the state of affairs in Zimbabwe (though it would be illegal for her to say some of the things she says!) Belmond subcontracts her to guide tours in this area. She started her business, Routes Through Africa, 6 years ago after managing the local Abercrombie and Kent tour operator office here in Victoria Falls. She tells us that very few women own their own companies in this country. Pretty remarkable!
We had lunch with Yvonne at The Lookout Cafe (recommended by her) which had beautiful views of the falls and the historic bridge (finished in 1904) that spans the Zambezi River. Ken had crocodile which truly tastes just like chicken. (I confirmed. 😊) This restaurant is also the point where travelers sign up for bungee jumping, swinging and zip line. We saw a few people jump. Made me sick just looking at them!
We had a half hour back at the hotel before Yvonne drove us to our next activity at 3:30p. We took a sunset cruise on the Ra Ikane, a small skiff with seating for 12. Drinks were included along with some small appetizers which were fine, not excellent. We had nice views of birds and crocodiles, a water monitor lizard, saw hippos, and saw another lovely sunset. We were back at 6:15p.
Yvonne picked us up and drove us back to the hotel (5-10 minutes).
We ate at the terrace again, this time just dessert. The ice cream brownie was mediocre in my opinion.
An early night tonight - back up to the room by 7:30, but Ken and I ended up sitting in the lounge downstairs so that the room could be turned-down.Read more