Victoria Falls from Zimbabwe

This afternoon we decided to cross into Zimbabwe for lunch and a larger view of Victoria Falls than can be seen on the Zambian side.  Fawlty Tours took us straight to the border, but then it’s a fifteen minute walk across the gorge bridge to Zimbabwean immigration.  Still, it was a nice walk, a beautiful day, and no trouble at all.  

Straddling Zambia and Zimbabwe

Isaac and I had to keep reminding ourselves that the Zimbabwean unemployment rate hovers around 90%.  When walking instead of driving across the border, vendors flock to you to sell everything from copper bracelets to art to worthless Zimbabwean dollars.  They’re willing to trade you the shirt off your back for their wares.  These people are incredibly persistent and therefore unendingly annoying.  We’ve decided to fly back to Lusaka so we have more time to explore the Falls tomorrow, so we have no extra room in our bags for a anything.  I felt bad saying, “No thanks” so many times, but I’m not going to buy something I don’t want.  I still hate the economic situation here though.  Boo, Mugabe!  Boo, corruption!

The truck line across the Zambian/Zimbabwean border was nothing like yesterday’s wait into Botswana.  What we did see though were cheeky baboons who’d rather steal bananas and corn meal off the trucks than forage for food.  Warthogs did the same thing, but they cleaned up the spilled mess the baboons left.  Wow.  

We walked a bit into the Zimbabwean Town of Vic Falls.  We stopped at a huge hotel called The Kingdom for lunch.  This is another beautiful lodge that we’ll probably never afford to stay in but sure was beautiful to tour.  The artwork here is incredible.  The Zimbabwean people are incredibly talented but without a free education system, so much of the talent is left untapped.  It breaks my heart.

After lunch we walked to the Victoria Falls Rainforest, which is a national park.  They have trails with 16 lookout points to see the Falls.  The view here is much wider than on the Zambian side, so we were very glad we came across for the afternoon.  It wasn't the cheapest adventure ever with visa and park fees, but we saw a side of Africa that is nowhere else.  The largest waterfall in the world isn’t worth skimping on anyway.  Oh, and plan on getting wet.  It's like a rainstorm 24/7, but it's super fun!  God outdid Himself here, and it was relaxing to bask in His creation after a long day.  

I really am off the ground!

And yes, now we’ve been to Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, and of course precious Zambia!  My parents still have us beat for number of countries in 2013, but we’ve made a valiant effort!