Zimbabwe: A Trip to Victoria Falls
Greetings from Johannesburg, South Africa!
I’m here after a trip to Victoria Falls with my friend Leo. After returning to Durban from our trip to Lesotho via the Sani Pass, we flew to Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe.
Here’s the first part of our trip, which we spent on the Zimbabwe side of the falls—
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I recommend knowing the price of the visa you are buying (it’s $35 for a single-entry Zimbabwe visa and $50 for the KAZA visa which allows you to go to both Zambia and Zimbabwe) before landing in Zimbabwe. The border guard tried to charge me $55 for a $50 visa.
I had arranged ahead of time a transfer via Emmanuel Taxi Tours (+263-77-264-5104). They were great, though the rides weren’t cheap ($40 from the airport to our hotel).
We stayed at Ursula’s Homestead which is a 4-room hotel outside the city. For $160 a night I thought the price was very fair for a room overlooking the game reserve. There’s a small pool and common room where you can also order meals. Since the hotel is very small, things are quite flexible. The lovely manager, Milli, told us we can have breakfast any time we want and that they are happy to make things not listed on the menu. I quite liked their eggs benedict with prosciutto.
We saw lots of wildlife, and the stargazing from here was absolutely unparalleled. I enjoyed using the SkyView app which came recommended by a friend from the Libya trip. We saw Saturn, Jupiter, and Mars, as well as numerous constellations.
Day 1: Victoria Falls Town
I decided to head into town. Victoria Falls town is set inside the national park, so it’s not big. However, I found it a very pleasant place to walk around for an hour or two.
I stopped at the Zulu Bistro Bar for a steak and shrimp dish. The food here was really excellent, but prices were international— $18 for the steak. The server here was super friendly, much like I found most Zimbabweans to be.
To get to town I used a driver the hotel recommended, Nhlalo. He was punctual, very friendly, and his car was in great condition. I highly recommend him as a driver if you’re in Zimbabwe. Reach him at +263-77-627-5455 on WhatsApp.
During my walk through town, there were loads of people trying to sell me large bills of Zimbabwean currency. In 2008, Zimbabwe went through a period of hyperinflation where prices of household goods could increase by 300% in one day. This caused the government to print increasingly large bills, with the highest being 100 Trillion. On the street side, you’ll see people selling small wads of this cash (mainly the 50 billion notes) for just a few dollars (with sufficient negotiation). These bills have now been retired, with Zimbabwe having adopted the US dollar and, secondarily, a new local currency. So, these notes only have collector’s value. The 100 Trillion bills are harder to find, but Nhlalo was able to get me one for $120.
Again, you need to negotiate. He arranged one for $120 and then when we met the guy he tried to get me to pay $200. I told the guy I wasn’t interested (I can buy one on eBay for $135), and after practically sitting in the car to go back to the hotel, the guy relented and sold it for $120.
When I was downtown, I also booked a helicopter ride to see Victoria Falls the next morning and saw some warthogs when I was buying some water at the gas station.
Day 2: Helicopter, Falls Walk, and Dinner Cruise:
At 10am, a car came to pick me up to take me to the helicopter. Unlike when I took a helicopter ride in South Africa, there was no safety briefing. We just hopped in and went off!
While not cheap, the 13-minute ride was $175, this was a great experience because I got to get a sense of the scale of the falls and how it is laid out.
The helicopter tour place put together a silly little video of our ride— some guy was following me around with a camera from the moment I got to the place. Then they try to sell this video, which includes no footage of your ride, for $40. I didn’t even stick around to watch the video.
Within an hour I was back at the hotel where I had some breakfast before Leo and I headed on a falls tour. I booked this through Emmanuel Taxi Tours as well. It was $40 for the roundtrip transport and $100 for the actual tour of the falls (including the entrance fee for the park).
We were picked up at the hotel by our driver and tour guide. The tour guide was great, explaining everything from the meaning of the Zimbabwean flag to the meaning behind the Zambezi River’s name.
He also showed us the best photo spots and shared with us many interesting facts about Zimbabwean culture, including the fact you men must pay about 15 cows as a dowry and that polygamy is permitted.
After we spent a couple hours by the falls, our driver took us to the Victoria Falls Bridge which links Zimbabwe and Zambia. One can also bungee jump off this bridge, though that’s a bit beyond my risk tolerance.
We also stopped by The Lookout Cafe which serves food and has great views of the gorge of Victoria Falls. He then drove us to the meeting point for our dinner cruise. We booked this through Emmanuel Taxi Tours too, and it was $75 a person. Pickup is free within town.
On the cruise we started upstairs where there are large seats to take in the animals and sunset. We saw lots of hippos, both in and outside the water. We also saw some elephants on a nearby island.
My friend and I both had a crocodile starter and beef medallions as a main dish. Alcohol is also included, but I didn’t try any.
The boat starts on the Zimbabwe side of the river and then turns at the fork in the river and goes along the Zambian coast for a bit. Right as the sun was fully set, we docked back and headed to the hotel.
Heading off to the Zambian side of the falls tomorrow! Talk to you then.
Zimbabwe is UN Country 72/193 and TCC Region 89/330 for me.