2011.11.2-5 SE Africa (part 3/8) - Zimbabwe

Visa: $30. US$ is the local currency.
Chinotimba, Victoria Falls, Whitewater Rafting in Zambezi River.

Day 9, Nov.2, Wednesday. ~30°
Zimbabwe border is super slow: only 1 clerk working.
Minor delayed by police wearing reflective yellow sleeves that buttoned to their shirt at the shoulder. Got a fine because our reflector was not the proper shape, but let go because they ran out of carbon paper to write a ticket.

Sunset cruise on Upper Zambezi River before the Falls. A group of male dancers dressed in tribal fashion (Ndebele?) sang at the dock: trying to sell their CDs. This is a booze cruise: all you can drink alcohol. A couple of trays of crocodile nugget, peanuts, chips, pork sausage, not enough to share. Tried two beers: I like Zambezi brand more than Golden Pilsener. Also ried South African sauvignon blanc: sweet and crisp. Saw a couple of crocodiles, an elephant crossing the river.

The Rest Camp ¹ in the city of Victoria Falls is very nice. Only 5-minute walk to town center. Lots of shade (big mango trees and flowering frangipani), green grass, sheltered outlets in every section, clothes lines ², grills, benches, a nice pool. Many velvet monkeys (with shiny blue balls), who are attracted to human food.

While David was making Sherpa's pie in his kitchen, the same group of dancers came to perform and to sell their $25 CD and $30 village tour.

Day 10, Nov.3, Thursday. ~28°C, overcast.
Up @6am. Armed with a newly purchased $1 tourist map and David's instruction, I walked to the township of Chinotimba, where the local live. It starts only a few blocks away from supermarket TM ³ (where a family of 5 warthogs were hanging out when I walked by). Many people carry groceries home from the supermarket, quite a few carry new empty suitcases (why?). In a practice ground for new drivers, rusty blue oil barrels are lined for parking and turning. Vegetable market sells rice, corn, beans, tomato, onion, banana, collard green(?). Pretty boring. There's also hardware shop, shoe repair, cell phone, barber shop in the market. A running faucet is at the end of the market, people fetch water. Old women sell live chickens in pyramid cages cross the street. Kids wear uniform in preschool. Worn tires for decoration. Catholic church. Almost every house has a vegetable garden. Some has fences, quite a few has satellite dishes. I donated something to Sister Augustina, the head nurse at the clinic. Got disoriented on the way back. A kind young man corrected my trajectory (twice).

After lunch, visited Victoria Falls ($30 included). Zambezi River falls off the cliff into the long narrow gorge. Beautiful, but far from what I expected. Instead of a continuous white curtain, only the Main Falls and Rainbow Falls were still going strong, spraying across the border like rainfall. The better half of the wall was bare. The rainy season just started. Water level was at the lowest of a year. I was told that at the high season, the mist is so great, that it obscures the entire gorge, thus Zambia side is better for viewing. Now, Zimbabwe side is best.

All the way from the camp gate, I had to fight off countless hustlers. However, police presence is common, so no real danger. In the park, I encountered a family of 3 Taiwanese, and 4 Chinese tourists. The rest are either black or white. Monkeys and a deer.

Internet $1/30 minutes, AC, good LCD monitor with latest USB/Memory Card reader (closes at 9pm). $1/hour upstairs, 24 hours, no AC, older computer.

Dinner at campsite: chicken stew and rice. Saw a bush baby jumping between tree branches above us.

Day 11, Nov.4, Friday. Sunny with clouds. ~35 - ~20°C
Visit the bridge and the gorge. Both offer bungee jumping among other altitude activities. The bridge is between two border posts. Make sure to tell the border control that you are only visiting the bridge, so they don't stamp the passport.

Helicopter ride 3.45-4:00pm. $100. Underwhelming. I sat next to the pilot, probably got better view than the other 6 passengers. Microlight kites should be a better option in the air: you are strapped alone with the pilot, it flies lower, so closer to the falls and possible to see animals in the Zambezi River.

As the sun set, I saw the two Czech ladies off at the train station. They were going to Bulawayo. The toilet on the train stinks, no water.

Last dinner of the LivingstoneTrail group at restaurant Mama Africa. I ordered smoked ostrich steak with roasted potato ($18), and received 3 small slices of grilled meat (overcooked, too dry) + 2 fat french fries, topped by steak sauce. Nice presentation though. The only other game is crocodile. Also small portion. Beer $2/$3, desert $5. Free peanuts and popcorn with drink. The restaurant has good online reviews, but food is mediocre. Fine ambiance and good ⁴ but slow service. The same native dancers performed here (every night?).

Day 12, Nov.5, Saturday. Overcast, ~29°C.
6am breakfast. I dropped my bags in a locked room at the reception, then waited for my 7:30am pickup for whitewater rafting. $120. One day rafting (low water season only) on Zambezi is claimed to be the best in the world. We went from rapid #1 till #19, walking over #9. Rapids are closer to each other. Steep cliffs, saw 2 crocodiles. 3 truck-loads of tourists, most in their 20s. Except for me, one Indian girl from UK, one black girl from S.A., the rest are white. ~8 rafts, each ~7 people. One of the rafts is special: the guide rows alone, the tourists just sit pretty. 4 single monitoring kayak, and one guy running along the shore to take photos⁵. I joined Wild Horizon, one of the 3 outfitters running today. Instructions were given, tea and cookies, before walking down the steep gorge with helmet, life jacket and a paddle. The sales pitch of good breakfast or orange juice didn't materialized. At the end of the journey, hike up another gorge with the same gear. My wet clothes ⁶ dried up quickly and sweat started. A couple of guides dispensed water from a big jar at intervals. Once reached the top, a lunch is served (~2pm): beer, chicken, rice, veggie. Since there's no toilet, and few bushes around, I saved my beer for later. The lead guide of Wild Horizon refused to give me a band-aid for a scratch, let alone be bothered with my pounding headache.

I spent the rest of the day lying by the pool nursing a beer, feeling sick.

Notes

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1. VicFalls Rest Camp: +27 (0)21 683 6444, info@vicfallsaccommodation.com. Rooms have no AC, no fan, no screen window/door, no ensuite. Here a tent with mash is more breezy than a room. Locker $2 (one time fee, unlimited access while the office is open).

2. As we were staying put for 3-4 nights, I washed everything including outer layer. In preparing to walk over the border, I've, so far, thrown away 4 socks (not paired), 1 pair of pants, 2 T-shirts, to lighten my load.
Clothes lines are a good place to meet fellow travelers not from my group. I chatted with an old couple from Barcelona the day before my departure, in broken French. They drove an RV down via the west coast of Africa 2 months ago. The husband was forever fixing their vehicle.

3. The other big grocery store is Jays Spar. They close early on weekends (~6pm?).

4. I burnt my finger trying to moved the glass lamp. Asked for cold water, and received a glass of water with ice ! Our server even inquired about my finger at the end of the meal. Clair felt sick and return to camp after just some drinks. We were able to cancel her order. Slow kitchen may not always be bad.

5. The photographic result was shown at Shoestrings Backpackers Lodge at 7:30pm the same day (30 minutes passed the schedule). $20 for a CD and $30 for a DVD.

6. My boat capsized at rapid #18. I floated down the river long enough to get my neck strained. Since then I had a severe headache lasted for 24 hours, and the pain returned with vengeance a week later after just minor struggle in water. I was fished out of the water by the chicken boat, whose captain is the most experienced. My captain is the only white boy in the group, barely 20 years old.