Victoria Falls & Zimbabwean Kindness

Paul and I didn’t spend too much time in Zimbabwe, but the time we had was quality time. After finding a $100 flight with the airline Fastjet, we opted to fly from Dar Es Salaam to Harare, to save the days it would take to travel overland. We arrived in Harare around 3:00am so the rest of the night was spent sleeping on the floor in the airport. This might sound uncomfortable, but for budget backpackers this saved us the cost of a night of accommodation!

The Intercape Bus we booked to Victoria Falls didn’t leave until 11:50pm the following night so we had the full day to explore the city of Harare. From the airport we walked to a bus stop where we jumped in the most decorated minibus I’ve ever ridden in. The entire interior was covered in a retro burnt orange carpet, and there was even a TV playing gospel music videos. I wish I would’ve taken a picture, but with our two big backpacks and 15 other people there wasn’t much room for moving around. It was on this bus that we first experienced that one US dollar is not truly equal to one Zimbabwean bond note, despite what the Zimbabwean government has stated (see our previous blog post to learn more). A nice Zimbabwean gentleman made the bus conductor give back our one US dollar bill and he then exchanged us for a few bond notes so we could pay for transport in the local currency (costing us about one third the price). Everyone in the bus chuckled, while the man informed us about the real exchange rate and the currency crisis currently happening in Zimbabwe. Exploring Harare for Paul and I ended up being getting two for one pizzas, walking around a bit, taking a few pictures, and chatting with local Zimbabweans. Not having too much energy after a long night of travel, we arrived at the Intercape Bus station before dark and spent the next few hours reading, listening to podcasts, and napping. When the Intercape finally arrived (it was right on time) we were ready to be on our way. We were on the Intercape Pathfinder (but it seemed more like the Sleepliner) for our twelve hour journey from Harare to Victoria Falls - which turned out to be quite the treat. This double decker bus had seats that reclined all the way back, a foot rest that connected down to the seat practically making a bed, air-conditioning, and even a toilet! For the $25 we spent on this ticket, it seemed like luxury compared to the usual minibus rides we are used to. By noon the next day we had arrived in Victoria Falls, where we made the twenty minute trek by foot from town to Victoria Falls Backpackers. For ten USD each per night (they don’t accept Zimbabwean bond notes here...) we set up camp and planned to sleep in our tent together for the first time outside of Malawi! We enjoyed staying at this hostel which had a nice self-catering kitchen, swimming pool, and friendly staff to help you plan any of the adventurous activities you want to do while in Victoria Falls.

The following day we went to Victoria Falls National Park. This is different from the Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park (also Victoria Falls, but on the Zambian side of the Zambezi River) that I visited in early 2017. This time we were on the Zimbabwean side of the falls, which offers sixteen different viewing points and gives a completely different perspective! Plus, being October it was dry season, meaning there was not nearly as much water coming over the falls as there was when I saw them in the month of February. However, I still found it very beautiful to see this drastically different scenery.

During rainy season there is millions of liters of water flowing over the sides of these rock walls per minute and it is hard not to get soaked while on the path!

The entrance fee to Victoria Falls National Park is thirty US dollars per person, but because Paul and I are residents of Malawi or SADC (Southern African Development Committee) residents we each only had to pay twenty. Lucky us!

Being on a budget and not wanting to spend money on a taxi, we walked from our lodge to the falls which took somewhere around forty-five minutes. We packed a picnic with sandwiches, potato chips, carrot sticks, and a bottle of wine and enjoyed a nice lunch overlooking the Zambezi River inside the park. We didn’t have a problem with monkeys, but beware because they are definitely around looking for you to share your lunch with them.

The rest of our short time in Victoria Falls was spent taking it easy, chatting with the kind Zimbabweans we met, and reflecting on our travels thus far. I want to note that I am extremely humbled by the continued kindness we’ve witnessed during our journey - from Malawi to Tanzania to Zimbabwe. Whether it’s giving us directions, teaching us how to say a few words in a new and unfamiliar language, or helping us pile our backpacks into a very crammed minibus, the people in these countries have overwhelmed us with kindness.

Stay tuned to read about our experience in Namibia, up next!

#costrip