May 25 - Zimbabwe

Today is a travel day. Our time in South Africa has come to an end. Colette and Sylvia are heading back to Canada today, and Sandy, Deb and Sue and I are heading to Zimbabwe. We said our heartfelt good byes last night to Colette and Sylvia, and thanked Colette profusely for leading this tour.

It was an early morning wake up call because the international airport is a 2.5-hour drive away and we had an 11:30 a.m. flight. The lodge graciously packed nice breakfast boxes for us which we enjoyed during the bus ride. We watched as the towns through which we passed came to life – little shops were being opened, kids were walking to school (on a busy road with narrow shoulders), and taxis were everywhere delivering people to where they needed to be. Virtually no public transport exists in South Africa so people are reliant on these mini-cab taxis.

Our flight to Livingstone in Zambia took just over 1.5 hours. The temperature was 31℃ when we arrived. We are very near the Tropic of Capricorn now. We flew into Zambia because this airport is very near the sight that we want to see – Victoria Falls. The only international airport in Zimbabwe is several hours east.

Then the fun began. We had to queue up for passport control in Zambia. It was a slow process. Fortunately, we could see our contact person, Gift, just beyond the barrier. Eventually, we made our way through, got our luggage, bypassed luggage inspection because we were with a tourism guide, and were handed off to a van driver by the name of Chris. He drove us to the border control point, just a 20-minute drive. We could see the mist from Victoria Falls in the distance. We had to have our passports stamped for going into Zimbabwe. Then we crossed a one-lane bridge and reached a sad government office with peeling paint and grumpy staff. There is a fee for a visa required for entering Zimbabwe. We had been told the fee was $30 US. Turns out it’s $75 US for holders of Canadian passports – Canada obviously has some kind of beef with Zimbabwe. No credit cards (despite the documentation provided by the tour company). Cash only which depleted our US money stashed. One solitary man was writing out the receipts – by hand, in triplicate, using sheets of carbon paper. And he added the cash we handed over into a big wad he kept in his shirt pocket while a bored security guard watched videos on his cell phone. Our passports got a visa put in them by another agent, and then finally we were free. At some point in this gong show, we were handed over to yet another tourist guide with the unique name of Big Boy who was authorized to drive in Zimbabwe. Needless to say, by the time we got to our hotel, we were fried.

And then another challenge. The room Sandy and I was assigned had just one king bed, while Deb and Sue’s had the two single beds as booked. This is a very new hotel, but there is no elevator, so we had to climb three flights of stairs, and the porter had to hand bomb the luggage. When Reception finally called to say they had a room ready, it was on the first floor. Sue and Deb took that one (Deb is dealing with an injured ankle and soreness in the other ankle), and Sandy and I took their room. The logistics of travel days can be exhausting.

The place where we are staying, the Palm River Hotel, is situated in a lovely location right on the Zambezi River. It's very new and has huge doors that get pushed back to yield open areas for Reception and the dining area. I took a few pictures the next morning to give you and idea of the place.

The other girls contacted a friend of Behki’s who came and took their orders for customized Africa shirts showing where they had been. Delivery tomorrow. Great service.

On Behki’s advice, we took a taxi into town to the Three Monkeys restaurant. The taxi driver was James whom we contracted to come back and get us a couple of hours later. He graciously found an ATM but it was out of service. We figured out later that it was a national holiday. Africa Day is the annual commemoration of the foundation of the Organisation of African Unity on 25 May 1963. After a good feed of pizza (with leftovers for lunch on Friday), we headed home and headed to bed. It had been a long day.Read more