Travels with Kathryn

Today it was goodbye to Botswana. The day started with a lie-in, it was so magical, it was so magical I got told off by my sleep app and I really didn’t care. I even skipped breakfast to really embrace the extra sleep and the a leisurely getting ready and packed. This would turn out to be a foolish error on my part as it would be some time (and another country) before I would get a meal. However, I really did enjoy putting on my sparklingly clean (but still sludge clothing) onto my sparkingly clean self – I even mostly blow-dried my hair. I completely understand the essential nature of getting up early on safari, but I was ready for a lie in.

At 10.15pm we were picked up by our transfer bus which would drive us the short distance (roughly 20 minutes) to the border. I did have a very quick moment to avail myself of the hotel gift shop (shop is perhaps an oversell, more of a random assortment of goods arranged on a shelf) and purchased (finally) my Botswana fridge magnet and a butter dish I had much admired. These are handmade locally from recycled aluminium and come with a variety of animal toppers, obviously I went with my favourite.

It was a shared transfer, but just one other group to be picked up and we drove to the border. This was all very easy. Firstly a stop to be stamped out of Botswana. Our driver had been incredibly organised so we had already completed our exit declaration forms whereas the group (and one older lady who had practically killed herself to get infront of me), so we were able to just walk around them (ha!). Then a short drive and whilst we were queuing to enter Zimbabwe the Botswana driver/van dropped our bags off literally at the gates where our new Zimbabwean driver/van collected them. There was a distinct lack of queue discipline going on, and I do wonder in situations like this whether it is genuinely some people’s first day on earth when they look blankly when being asked simple questions like: “do you have a visa?”. However, none of this took very long and there was an opportunity for some Zimbabwean wildlife spotting (completely different from Botswanian wildlife) in the rubbish strewn area by the border:

It was then a 45 minutes drive to Victoria Falls. Generally speaking almost all Botswana safaris end in Victoria Falls, yes they are a big tourist attraction in themselves (what with being one of the largest waterfalls in the world), but they are also a massive tourist hub including an international airport to allow easier exits to Johannesburg and therefore to Europe.

So, I though that mongoose might be the end of wildlife spottings but I was wrong. Due to the fact that the weather was rubbish (grey, rainy, a bit on the cool side) a few elephants decided rather than traipse down to the river for drinking water they could just work there way along the puddles formed on the road – and so they did. Elephants are very intelligent (and generally awesome).

We were staying in a lodge tonight, and would be sharing a two bedroom apartment. It is part of a larger “village” hotel complex, and unfortunately this meant that we (and by we, really here the main problem is Mum) saw the really fancy hotel right at the front and then we drove up the road and were shown a far more rustic check in. I will say it was perfectly nice (as you will see from the photos below) and it did not help that the weather was grey, but the lodges are obviously set up for self-drivers/self-catering which of course we were not and we really did not need things like a kitchen. Instead, it would have been better to just have a hotel room in a building attached to things like a 24 hour reception (ours’ closed at 5pm) and easy access to things like taxis.

After dropping our bags and layering up (which we then had to get the taxi driver to drop us back off when we realised we did not actually need them!) we walked back to reception (getting directions from passing workmen!) to borrow a hairdryer ($20 deposit paid) and to get them to call us a taxi to the falls. We only had one afternoon so I was not wasting any time.

Victoria Falls are also known as Mosi-oa-Tunya – Thundering smoke that rises and are located at the border between Zimbabwe and Zambia (although we did not visit on this occasion, we could see it!). They are one of the world’s largest waterfalls based on its combined width of 1,708m and height of 108m making it the world’s largest sheet of falling water. Let us compare:

I have actually visited to all three of these “largest” waterfalls, Niagra falls a couple of times (from both sides) in all weathers including blazing sunshine. When I visited Iguazu falls the weather was atrocious, it was so rainy and foggy that I could barely see them. I therefore was accepting that today was going to be a grey day as opposed to beautiful blue skies and rainbows of photographs, and we also accepted it would not be ideal viewing conditions as the water was low – at this time of year one does not see the full sheet (which make these the largest waterfalls), but can actually see the gorge. The old people have actually been here before, so I was convincing them that the weather/low water was a “new and exciting experience”.

In terms of the difference bewteen dry and wet,

The falls were “discovered” by David Livingstone in 1855. It was not that they did not exisit before this time, but he got to name them and then returned in 1860 (with John Kirk) to extensively map the falls i.e. he put them on the map. Before then, Europeans were sceptical that the falls exisited as they assumed that the lack of mountains and valleys in the plateau would make a large fall unlikely. Until the area opened up with the building ofthe railway in 1905, the falls were seldom visited by Europeans (which is probably why the German’s thought there may be a navigable route to the coast when it swaped the Caprivi strip).

On arrival into the car park for Victoria Falls, you can absolutely tell that you are in tourist central being greeted by the hard sell of numerous . The first thing we did was hire a set of very attractive waterproofs ($3 each and worth every penny). Apprently in the 9 years since the old people were here, quality of these has massively improved as they were given more poncho like garments. The other big change is to the price to enter the National Park – $58 each. I get this and accept that this is a part of being a privileged foreign tourist, but was pleased to see there was a far cheaper local price. It does however mean that we only went once, I had ideas of going again tomorrow if the weathers suddenly picked up, but at this cost you do have to think about it.

So in we went, and there is a helpful pathway which lists stops 1-14 so you get to see the falls from every angle. This was my very first view of the falls:

and I thought, nice but not quite seeing the scale here – however, I am certainly seeing the smoke that thunders.

However, stop 1 the first thing you get to is a huge statute of the abovementioned David Livingstone. David Livingstone was born in Scotland in 1813 and started working in the local mill aged 10, but remained in school and and was set on becoming a missionary. At the time there was a call for aspiring missionaries to also be trained as doctors (which makes sense). This rise from a poor boy in the mill to a protestant missonary, scientific investigator and explorer, imperial reformer, anti-slavery crusader and advocate of British commercial and colonial expansion have come to tell an almost mythical rags-to-riches story. I heartily recommend Livingstone by Tim Jeal (which I am about a quarter of the way through).

As a missionary, he requested an was sent to South Africa with a hope of expanding into missions into Botswana (or Bechuanaland as it was then). As he travelled north looking for suitable locations to set up mission stations he was also obsessed with attempting to find the source of the Nile – this exploration into central Africa was the culmination of the classic period of European geographical disovery and colonial penetration of Africa. His “disappearance” and eventual death in Africa in 1874, as well as the story of the return to his body to London led to the start of the scramble for Africa which would place almost all of Africa under European control.

Anyway, let us get back to the reason we are here. To see the falls. Well, even with low water, even in grey weather, they are amazing. I didn’t realise we would be able to get this close to the water! This first point is on the edge of the Zambezi with the first big drop – I can’t imagine what it would be like in high water!

We then spent the next couple of hours walking between the stops getting to see the falls from all the angles. I was actually surprised that there were not people here, but I suppose it was less than ideal weather so if you are local-ish you would come on a nice sunny weekend rather than today. We also did some posing.

Once you are past the main drop point, where in high water you would see the sheet of water, today there were more mini falls. Still pretty impressive.

At the end of the path you get to the bridge which is the crossing point between Zimbabwe and Zambia. This was built in 1905 primarily as a railway bridge in response to the desire of the British South Africa Company for mineral rights and imperial rule north of the Zambezi, and the exploitation of other natural resources such as timber, ivory and animal skins. But classic British colonialism – build a railway… This location was chosen as Cecil Rhodes had insisted that spray from the falls must fall on passing trains. When it opened in 1905 it offered accessible travel all the way to South Africa and in 1904 the Victoria Falls Hotel had been opened to accomodate visitors (the olds stayed there last time, it sounded very fancy). Today you can bungee jump off it too, if you are mental.

After walking back to the entrance (which is a bit of a trek in reverse) we were ready for a drink and a sit down. I was certainly also ready for something to eat. The plan was to visit the Lookout Cafe which the old people described as a nice little cafe overlooking the gorge, well, this is probably what it was 9 years ago but today (after about a 5 minute walk) there was a car park and an imposing entrance. I was slightly to think we were not dressed fancy enough, but no one seemed to mind. There is now even a whole new terrace and we were shown to a lovely table right on the edge. Which was lovely, but meant we were in a cold wind so after taking some photos we retreated upstairs and slightly closer to the inside.

What folllowed was a fabulous meal, a sharing platter, steak and a chocolate mousse accompanied by a gin and tonic. An excellent last meal of the holiday.

It was then a taxi back to the hotel, showers and bed. I would say without doubt that this was the best shower of my whole trip – powerful and like 7 feet up, I also turned my air con to warm in my bedroom and was asleep by 8pm which is pretty impressive. Tomorrow, its a full day travelling and I shall be back home the next morning. This makes me sad.

So, to sum up today, the falls are utterly amazing as I predicted they would be, and I will absolutely return. However, I would like to come when the water is high, and hopefully on a sunny day so I can see the rainbows. It will probably then also include a helicopter ride, but certainly not bungee jump!