Safari Adventures: Victoria Falls Fun

Day three of the safari started at the ridiculous hour of 4am and I don’t think anybody was too excited about that. Our goal was to make it to the Zimbabwe border around opening time to try and beat the queues and we succeeded in that mission so that kind of made the early morning worth it.

Canada must have done something to piss off Zimbabwe once upon a time because while most nationalities only have to pay $30 for an entry visa Canadians need to pay $75! There is a loophole though, if you get a visa for both Zimbabwe and Zambia it’s only $50 and South Africa has recently lifted their yellow fever restrictions for travellers who have visited Zambia so I was able to take advantage of that bargain. We all paid for our visas then waited about half an hour for them to be processed before continuing on our merry way.

We arrived at our campsite in Victoria Falls a short time later and set up camp. Jo-Jo busted out the cereal and some bread so we could have some breakfast (a million hours after we woke up) and a man who worked at the campground then came and told us about all the different activities available to participate in during our time there. Waiting for everyone to book and pay for their activities was a long and painful process that probably took about two hours.

Shortly after noon we all set off to see the falls. Victoria Falls borders Zimbabwe and Zambia, and is more than twice the size of Niagara Falls in both width and height. The falls were spectacular but unlike Niagara Falls there is no viewpoint where you can take in the entire falls at one time. We walked to several different viewpoints getting more and more wet as the afternoon wore on.  We also encountered several monkeys during our journey and some of the girls were taking pictures of them I felt like they may have been getting too close which was confirmed when a monkey bared his teeth and hissed at Emma and we both almost crapped our pants. We tried to avoid the monkeys during the rest of the walk but were unable to avoid the mist from the falls, which was basically a torrential downpour by the end of our walk. We were completely drenched and joked about having a wet t-shirt contest but really the cool water was probably a blessing in disguise because it was sweltering hot that day.

Once we had taken in the falls we made our way to the bridge where Gayle bungee jumped, Sarah did the bridge swing, and I did the bridge slide (basically a zip-line). The jump was much higher than the one I did in New Zealand so there was no way in hell I was going anywhere near the bungee or the swing (you still jump straight down but you are tethered at the waist so instead of bouncing up and down you swing back and forth) but the slide seemed like a fun alternative. I got incredibly nervous as I was being hooked up but as soon as I was over the edge of the cliff the fear vanished and I just tried to enjoy the ride and the view.

After finishing my slide I watched Gayle jump then started walking to Zambia. While other people on the bus had gotten the visa that allowed them to go to Zambia no one else in our group had so while they were finishing up their activities I needed to make my way across the border so I wouldn’t have any problems when trying to get back into Botswana. The walk from the bridge to the border post was probably only about a kilometre but I was wearing flip flops and had already walked a fair distance in them that afternoon so my legs were killing me and the walk dragged on forever. I finally made it though and had the most awkward border crossing ever as I essentially just walked in a circle around the border. This silly act saved me $25 though, and the bridge slide is technically in Zambia so it’s not like I didn’t do anything while in Zambia, I just did it in a part that didn’t require a stamp in my passport.

I made my way back to the bridge just as Gayle and Sarah were finishing purchasing their videos so my timing really couldn’t have been better. I learned that some of the girls had called Jo-Jo to come pick us up at the Zimbabwe border post. This was the best news ever as my legs were killing me and the walk back to the campsite would have taken roughly 40 minutes. We still had to walk from the bridge to the Zimbabwe border post which was again about a kilometre but still so much better than having to walk the whole way.

Back at camp we all changed and got ready for our sunset cruise on the Zambezi River. We had all packed way too much into our afternoon and didn’t find time to grab lunch so we had been awake for roughly twelve hours and only had a bowl of cereal to eat. The cruise promised canapés so we were all pretty excited about the prospect of food. The cruise also had an open bar and most of the girls were pretty stoked about that. I enjoyed a can of coke and a cold chicken wing and wished dinnertime would hurry up and arrive. Despite being hungry the cruise was pretty amazing. I got to see my first hippo and couldn’t stop smiling about it. We also saw a crocodile and a stunning sunset.

We made our way back to the campsite after the cruise and Jo-Jo whipped us up a lovely dinner. It was probably the most excited I have been about food in a long time. With food in my tummy I was smiling from ear to ear as I reflected on the day but little did I know Jo-Jo had a surprise up his sleeve. Just after we finished eating dinner a group of Zulu dancers showed up to preform just for us. They sang and danced, and busted out some of the craziest high kicks I have ever seen in my life. It was an incredible way to end the day.

I was up before the sun again the following day and made my way to reception where I waited to be picked up for my first activity of the day, walking with lions. My shuttle was more than half an hour late and I was starting to think they had forgotten me but eventually a bus pulled into the parking lot to whisk me away. The bus arrived at the “rehabilitation centre” (they have been open for 20 years and have not yet rehabilitated a single animal) and we were split into small groups. I got put into a group with 5 other young women and we set off to meet our lions. We spent an hour or two hanging out with two lion cubs that were about 11 months old and then about 20 minutes with a two lions who were slightly older. It was a pretty incredible experience, a little terrifying at times, but incredible nonetheless.

We were served breakfast after we finished playing with the lions then transported back to our accommodation. Back at camp I bumped into the English girls (Emma, Kat, Jenny, and Amy) and chatted with them for a bit before making my way to the pool with Amy and Kat. The pool was cloudy and had a lot of stuff floating in the water so I was reluctant to get in even though I was melting but next to the pool was a kiddie pool that looked much cleaner so we decided that was the place for us. The kiddie pool was fantastic because we were able to just sit in it and chat and stay cool at the same time.

For lunch we met up with Emma and Jenny and the five us made our way to town in search of food. We ended up at a place that had pizza, chicken, a bakery, and an ice-cream place. It looked like it was going to be fast food but we all waited quite a while for our food and just as long for change. If you ever travel to Zimbabwe take US dollars with you and take small bills. No one in Zimbabwe ever has change!

After lunch the girls had to head to their next activity but I still had some time to kill so I decided to look for a zoom lens for my camera. During the game drive at the rhino sanctuary it quickly became apparent that my 18-55mm lens just wasn’t going to cut it but shopping opportunities while on safari are pretty rare. It took me a while but I finally managed to find a store that carried Canon accessories but was shocked to find that they wanted more than twice what I would pay for the same thing in Canada. I was not willing to pay an arm and a leg for a new lens so I left empty handed and slightly disappointed.

I wandered around town a little while longer and before I knew it the time had come for my next activity so I made my way back to reception at the campsite and waited to be picked up. Thankfully this shuttle was on time so the activity started out stress free but it didn’t end that way.

The drive to the game reserve took forever and it was down a long bumpy and windy dirt road so I was super excited to get off the bus and on to my elephant! I rode elephants twice while I was in Asia but African elephants are different so I decided I wanted to ride one of them as well. This was probably a waste of money because it was essentially the same thing. I was hoping to have an elephant to myself but we had to ride in pairs so I got partnered up with a French guy named Julian, as we were the only solo travellers. During the ride we saw zebras and impalas and took in some beautiful scenery. We stopped to take some pictures along the way and our guide had me feed the elephant during this time and I may have freaked out just a little bit. Elephant’s trunks just feel so weird! Towards the end of the ride I got pooped on by a bird which I thought was meant to be good luck but now I'm not so sure.

At the end of the ride the guides had our elephant’s kneel down and had us sit on their leg and feed them for some pictures. The problem with this was that you were sat inches away from the elephant’s mouth and it was terrifying. The pictures of me are hilarious, I look like I'm trying my hardest not to cry or scream.  Julian said he was scared as well but he didn’t look nearly as horrified as I did.

Most of the people in our group had only signed up for the elephant ride so they made their way inside for some snacks before heading back into town but myself and a retired couple from Milton, Ontario jumped into a game drive vehicle and set off on part two of our adventure. This game drive was pretty incredible. We saw a black rhino minutes into the drive and then saw two more rhinos a little while later. They got quite close to the vehicle as well so I was feeling a bit better about my decision not to buy the crazy expensive lens.  We also saw buffalo, elephants (wild ones, not the ones we just rode), impalas, a hippo, and several different kinds of birds. We also heard a lion but weren’t able to track it down. I know this all sounds incredible and it was but I was starting to stress as we kept driving and driving. I was told I would be back at camp by 6:30 and we were going for a group dinner at 7:00 so as the sun started to set and we kept driving away from where we started I was worried that I was either making the rest of the group starve while they waited for me or I was missing out on our group dinner at an African restaurant. Both of these options sucked.

I finally arrived back at the campsite at 8:30, two whole hours later than the time I was told so I figured there was no way the group had waited for me. Luckily our lovely guide Jo-Jo had taken all the girls to the restaurant then went back to camp to wait for me. He said he was starting to worry about me and I really don’t blame him. I had been MIA for two hours. He took me to the restaurant and everyone cheered that I was still alive. The girls had all ordered but hadn’t received their food yet so I didn’t feel super bad about holding them up and I also didn’t feel like I had missed out so things turned out okay in the end.