Sounds fantastic; any comments about general safety; would live to go. Zimbabwe vs. Zambia?
You have to be kidding or seriously myopic to write such a story! The town of Zim's Victoria Falls is grubby, dusty and hungry. This story is about expensive fluff. The town offers little. The hotels are private enclaves for well-to-do tourists and numerous locals who do the work--gardening, cooking, housekeeping. The public library looks like a jail from the outside with a paltry selection inside. The airport is definitely third-world and ill kept. Main Street is dull and un-picturesque. The border crossing for trucks into Zambia is a nightmare of red tape; for tourists it's faster but requires a guide to unwind the antiquated system. Local people are poor and my heart goes out to them, thanks to a lunatic dictator president who murders opposition party members. Much better to go to the Zambia side where there is a thriving city of Livingston including a museum to David Livingston as well as a human rights department.
The problem about boycotting Zimbabwe's tourist attractions is that thanks to Mugabe's disastrous leadership that has gutted a formerly rich country's economy, this is one of the few industries that enables the ordinary Zimbabwean to earn money and to keep families - and extended families - fed and housed and schooled. Zimbabweans live on less than $1 a day.
Mosi au tunya - meaning the Smoke that Thunders -comes from the language of the Tonga people, who live on either side of the Zambezi River and the Victoria Falls. I am not sure where the Kololo people are from , but they are not from Zimbabwe.
you missed one of the highlights of my 5 day trip there last August - the Livingstone Preserve. Zimbabwe is making a concerted effort to repopulate rhinos. The preserve started with 3 and now has a population of 12! It was also easy to get to Chobe National Park in Botswana - definitely worth going there.
Keep in mind that with every visit to Zimbabwe you're supporting one of Africa's, and the world's, most repressive and kleptocratic dictatorships.
Not so if you visit the Falls from the Zambian side. Yes, you may miss some of the Zimbabwean tourist shows, but why throw even more money at dictator Mugabe?
Not so if you visit the Falls from the Zambian side. Yes, you may miss some of the Zimbabwean tourist shows, but why throw even more money at dictator Mugabe?
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I was surprised that there was no mention of the Mugabe regime in the article. How Mugabe and his cronies oppress Zimbabwe's citizens is general knowledge about the current condition of the country. This is a beautiful part of Africa, but I won't be visiting until a less cruel leadership is in place.
We went about 10 years ago; stayed at the Victoria Falls Hotel with all its colonial splendor (complete with warthogs on the grass during high tea). The river has a huge difference in flow from flood in April at some 240,000 cu ft / second to 20,000 cu ft / sec in the dry season, when the "falls" are basically a cliff. We saw it in full flood and it is absolutely awesome (in the original use of the term). Without any doubt one of the high tourist points on the planet.
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a great way to arrive: by train from Bulawayo, through Hwange National Park, then you hear the roar, then the fog/mist as you near Victoria Falls. On arrival, get off the train and walk just down the street to the classic Victoria Falls Hotel, as so many have done for so long. If make reservations directly with the hotel, prices might be lower depending on current demand. Plus train fare is so low. I have to stop now before I go on and on about this wonderful place. Find and enjoy the treats on your own. PS I traveled alone. People were great to me. GO !
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Do you know the way to Cape Town?
Someone, please help me out with this: on Stanley's Terrace there is a flagpole embedded in a stone pedestal, with directional signs engraved in (what looks like) granite: Cape Town 1647 miles one way, Cairo 5165 miles the other. However, with one's back to the hotel and looking East-ish towards the Victoria Falls Bridge the sign points left to Cape Town and right to Cairo (or at least it did in early 2012 when I was there). Now this is driving me bonkers, for surely left is North is Cairo, and right is South is Cape Town, no? Can this really have been wrong for 100 years? Have I got my compass quadrants discombobulated? Does anyone have photos that show otherwise?
Someone, please help me out with this: on Stanley's Terrace there is a flagpole embedded in a stone pedestal, with directional signs engraved in (what looks like) granite: Cape Town 1647 miles one way, Cairo 5165 miles the other. However, with one's back to the hotel and looking East-ish towards the Victoria Falls Bridge the sign points left to Cape Town and right to Cairo (or at least it did in early 2012 when I was there). Now this is driving me bonkers, for surely left is North is Cairo, and right is South is Cape Town, no? Can this really have been wrong for 100 years? Have I got my compass quadrants discombobulated? Does anyone have photos that show otherwise?
I think the sign you describe is more or less aligned with the railroad tracks, the portion adjacent to the hotel runs more or less east/west +/- rather than north/south. VFH was a Railroad hotel when built, I believe. So the sign and the distances are aligned with the tracks as they lie at the hotel.
Returned from VF two days ago. All in the article can be accomplished very comfortably at lower prices for accommodations. At the Vic Falls hotel brunch is an option as well as tea. If bungee is not for you - have a beer at the café on the Zambian side and watch the action for free. The brand new airport (VFA) has service to JNB and just commenced service to Addis. Note it is not hard to get to by road through Botswana which has pretty good roads. Only problem is the risk of elephants in the road - about a 7 hour drive in daylight from Maun. Definitely worth a visit if one is in the region.
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Victoria Falls is one of the most amazing natural wonders that I have ever seen. I visited about nine years ago and stayed at a great hostel called Jollyboys across the border in Livingstone, Zambia. I met a great group of people there. We loved the little pool right on the edge of the falls on the Zambian side. We also crossed to see the Zimbabwe side. One of the guys had been there several times. He walked us down a dirt road for a few minutes that led away from where most visitors gathered to see the falls through a tall fence. The fence eventually ends and we were able to get on a trail that headed back toward the falls. We arrived at a spectacular vantage point that was right on the edge of the canyon that the falls plunges in to. We had the spot all to ourselves. The other visitors could see us from across the canyon and behind the fence. They pointed and wished they could be where we were, with the ultimate view, and the rainbow-laden mist swirling all around. Incredible!
We also went to a fancy riverfront resort above the falls on the Zambia side to get drinks and watch the sunset. We sat outside on the expansive, perfectly manicured lawn where zebras frolicked. There were hippos in the river. We could see the mist and hear the roar rising from the falls off in the distance. Mind... blown.
As great as Victoria Falls is, Iguazu Falls has it beat, in my opinion. I suggest seeing the Brazilian side first, and then the Argentinian.
We also went to a fancy riverfront resort above the falls on the Zambia side to get drinks and watch the sunset. We sat outside on the expansive, perfectly manicured lawn where zebras frolicked. There were hippos in the river. We could see the mist and hear the roar rising from the falls off in the distance. Mind... blown.
As great as Victoria Falls is, Iguazu Falls has it beat, in my opinion. I suggest seeing the Brazilian side first, and then the Argentinian.
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Been there, done both. I disagree with you but my wife disagrees with me (of course). I succumbed to the overwhelming almost-underwater mists of Victoria Falls, but yes there is more variety of walkways and vistas at IguazĂș, and the precipice at the Devil's Throat (Garganta del Diablo) sure feels like the gates to a watery hell.
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