Our last few days of travel were dedicated to discovering Victoria Falls and the various national parks found in the area. The falls form a natural border between Zimbabwe and Zambia; Botswana and Namibia are close enough for day trips.
Money
Zimbabwe, as we all know, has had a horrible experience with money value resulting in about 80 billion percent inflation. After hanging on and printing bills of increasing size (you can purchase billion dollar bills from desperate locals for a few American dollars), the government gave up and started the process of switching their currency to USD. However, the ATMs in the country still spit out another local currency, "kwacha," with an exchange rate of about 12 kwacha to 1 US dollar. Why? Our guess was that the currency exchange bureaus are significant job providers in the country, so fully moving to USD was out of the question.
However, US cash is in extremely high demand. Credit card machines were often "offline." At the Livingstone airport on our way back home, we were forced to sit in a cafe because all the other airport seating was reserved for those boarding imminent flights (wth?). We had already done the ATM > Kwacha > USD process multiple times as we ran out of cash (guess who overpaid for tipping and souvenirs again...😏) and had almost no US cash left, but there was a credit card reader on the counter of the cafe, so when the waiter looked at us expectantly we ordered $7 worth of drinks with confidence. When the bill came, the waiter said the credit card machine was broken, could we pay cash? I showed my empty wallet and the 3 single dollar bills I had. That's when something very strange happened:
The waiter said he could take the $3 cash and charge the remaining $4. Sure that I had misunderstood, I said, "So we can charge $4 but not $7?" The waiter said yes. I'm not proud to admit it, but I laughed in his face. "You have to admit that's insane," I said. He did not admit it. He took our $3 and charged the rest.
Shops (even somewhat reputable shops like those in hotels and shopping centers) would say their readers weren't working. Normally we would refuse to pay cash and leave. Luckily, when we would come back a bit later, the machines were magically working. So on one hand, this is very sneaky and honestly quite silly. On the other, it's not that hard to bring American cash, especially if you are well informed of this phenomenon before you go (lucky you!).
We stayed at a ridiculously well appointed lodge in Zimbabwe, which meant that even getting from the airport to the hotel required crossing a country border. We were often asked to give our passports to drivers we had just met so they could handle some of the visa formalities for us, so we got used to that early.
Mike insisted on this particular lodge because the bar there won Heineken's "best bar in the world" award. Upon further research, I have concluded that that is not actually true, but it is indeed said to be "one of" the best bars in the world. They can help you organize all of your excursions and day trips and are a great, comfortable base from which to explore. These lodges charge rates that absolutely dwarf regular pay scales in the region - starting around $200 per night. But here instead of a parking lot view and a shoebox like a similarly priced room in Boston would be, you have an unimpeded view of a beautiful savannah and watering hole. We saw lots of impala and monkeys right from the hotel. To be honest, though, the monkeys were seen mostly on the breakfast buffet table and not at the watering hole!
We booked an effortless day trip to Botswana, with full day game drives (morning by boat and afternoon by jeep-type-vehicle). We saw hundreds of elephants, along with lots of hippos, a couple of young quarrelsome giraffes, and (a lucky encounter) female lions with cubs, along with tons of other "lesser" fauna (water bucks, eagles, antelope, etc.).
Let's be honest, though, it's also quite a rush. Here's what you need to know:
There are many lodges right around the Zimbabwe/Zambian border. It would be hard for you to go wrong either way, but you can theoretically minimize your border crossings (we averaged 2 per day which was a bit tedious) by staying on the side you plan to hang out in most.
The falls are heaviest on both sides between March - July.
Devil's pool closes at the end of January (water becomes too strong to safely swim) and opens again in August.
The falls are mostly dry in October - December.
We went in January and it felt like there was plenty of water if you ask me!
More weather/water info here.
Visas
First and foremost, you need the right visa. We flew into Livingston airport in Zambia, and the immigration counter workers who sort you out as soon as you land make it easy to get the right one - they ask you where you plan to go and give you the appropriate visa. Otherwise, you can ask for the right one by name: the KAZA visa allows for (much needed) unlimited crossings between Zimbabwe and Zambia within 30 days and even grants you access to Botswana as long as you don't spend the night there. The visa costs $50 per person, and lucky for us the immigration employees were taking credit cards that day... but apparently that cannot be banked upon. |
| Got our money's worth out of the Kaza visa! |
However, US cash is in extremely high demand. Credit card machines were often "offline." At the Livingstone airport on our way back home, we were forced to sit in a cafe because all the other airport seating was reserved for those boarding imminent flights (wth?). We had already done the ATM > Kwacha > USD process multiple times as we ran out of cash (guess who overpaid for tipping and souvenirs again...😏) and had almost no US cash left, but there was a credit card reader on the counter of the cafe, so when the waiter looked at us expectantly we ordered $7 worth of drinks with confidence. When the bill came, the waiter said the credit card machine was broken, could we pay cash? I showed my empty wallet and the 3 single dollar bills I had. That's when something very strange happened:
The waiter said he could take the $3 cash and charge the remaining $4. Sure that I had misunderstood, I said, "So we can charge $4 but not $7?" The waiter said yes. I'm not proud to admit it, but I laughed in his face. "You have to admit that's insane," I said. He did not admit it. He took our $3 and charged the rest.
Shops (even somewhat reputable shops like those in hotels and shopping centers) would say their readers weren't working. Normally we would refuse to pay cash and leave. Luckily, when we would come back a bit later, the machines were magically working. So on one hand, this is very sneaky and honestly quite silly. On the other, it's not that hard to bring American cash, especially if you are well informed of this phenomenon before you go (lucky you!).
Getting around, staying around
Keep your camera ready, the border towns are absolutely crawling with baboons and warthogs! They were navigating traffic rather expertly.We stayed at a ridiculously well appointed lodge in Zimbabwe, which meant that even getting from the airport to the hotel required crossing a country border. We were often asked to give our passports to drivers we had just met so they could handle some of the visa formalities for us, so we got used to that early.
Mike insisted on this particular lodge because the bar there won Heineken's "best bar in the world" award. Upon further research, I have concluded that that is not actually true, but it is indeed said to be "one of" the best bars in the world. They can help you organize all of your excursions and day trips and are a great, comfortable base from which to explore. These lodges charge rates that absolutely dwarf regular pay scales in the region - starting around $200 per night. But here instead of a parking lot view and a shoebox like a similarly priced room in Boston would be, you have an unimpeded view of a beautiful savannah and watering hole. We saw lots of impala and monkeys right from the hotel. To be honest, though, the monkeys were seen mostly on the breakfast buffet table and not at the watering hole!
 |
| Sunsets and scoliosis, a winning combo. |
We booked an effortless day trip to Botswana, with full day game drives (morning by boat and afternoon by jeep-type-vehicle). We saw hundreds of elephants, along with lots of hippos, a couple of young quarrelsome giraffes, and (a lucky encounter) female lions with cubs, along with tons of other "lesser" fauna (water bucks, eagles, antelope, etc.).
 |
| We narrowly avoided the downpour in this photo. |
How to go to Devil's Pool to hang off the edge of Victoria Falls
First, why would you ever do this. It is terrifying.Let's be honest, though, it's also quite a rush. Here's what you need to know:
- Only one company can get you there. Tongabezi has a monopoly on these tours, and they all leave from the same place - The Royal Livingstone hotel. This hotel is as gorgeous as the other full price lodges, but this one has another point in the "pro" column - there are giraffes and zebras inside the property gates. We happened upon a giraffe on the way out and it was insanely close!
Bonus giraffe! - It is on the Zambia side. Leave time for border crossing and arrange for pick up and drop off, but don't go through Tongabezi for this. They were horrible with the pickup/dropoff. Like, the car that took us the few miles to the hotel broke down and we had to wait for another one. And it awkwardly stopped near tourists who were waiting for a taxi, and the driver didn't clear up the confusion very well, so they almost got in with us. In hindsight this is funny, but we were worried about getting there in time to pay (see #3) and the humor was lost on us.
- Book in advance. We hadn't, so we tried to book as soon as we arrived in Zimbabwe... we were lucky and snagged some space on a tour that left 2 days later (the tours within 48 hours were all booked). However, their online payment system was broken, and when we showed up ready to pay, their credit card machine was broken (ha!) and they asked us to go to the ATM to pay the ticket cost ($175 each, totally worth it) in cash. We politely refused and said we would wait until the credit card machine started working again, and wouldn't you know it, it did!
- You will have to swim. As in, fully submerged in water. They supply towels to dry off afterward, but the ick-resistant among you will want to bring a full change of clothes. The current of water heading toward the falls gets quite strong (duh) and it is too deep to touch the bottom for about a minute - if you are not fairly confident in your swimming abilities, this is not the excursion for you.
- You will want shoes. I wore my aforementioned awesome shoes and did great, but everyone else had to take their shoes off (flip flops wouldn't stay on, sneakers couldn't get wet) and they had to deal with jagged rocks and hot hot hot sand and rocks.
- You will be handled. The guides tell you exactly what to do and where to go. They go in the pool with you to make sure you don't do any buffoonery and kill yourself. For the "hang over the side pic," they are holding your feet (kind of necessary; there is a current and that ledge is slimy/slippery).
The guide has perfected his poses over the years! - Don't worry about pics. We had bought waterproof cases for our phones so we wouldn't risk them getting wet while we took pics, but we handed my phone off to a guide who promptly took it out of the case and handled it with expert care on the way to the pool. He literally took several hundred pictures for us. He told us all the poses to do and directed us to move various body parts if they were in shadow/misplaced. This guy was walking barefoot on the aforementioned slimy ledge to get these pictures, about 2 inches away from certain death. Now you see why we were fine paying $175 for this.
The moment where I said "I think that's quite enough thank you!" - Food is included. After the swim back to Livingstone island, depending on the type of tour you booked, you get refreshments. We went on the lunch tour and it was a big, filling lunch with booze included.
- The process goes like this: hotel to boat, boat to island, island walking tour with epic views, island to water (passing the food prep place where you can let them know of dietary restrictions, they accommodated everything), water to deep swim, deep swim to pool. You will probably go in a group of 5-8 people (we went with a lovely Australian family). Don't worry, you'll get all the separate pics of just yourselves that you want. The Aussie group was 5 kids, among which were 2 couples, and the guide got photos of
- each person individually
- the entire group
- the couples
- just the girls
- just the guys, etc.
- Mike and I were just sitting in the pool (out of camera range) this whole time (20 minutes?), with me soberly taking in the experience - the thundering noise, the rushing water - and occasionally screaming "I CAN'T BELIEVE I'M DOING THIS"
- You don't have to do all of it: the parents in the Australian family didn't want to do the final swim/pool part but they wanted to join in for everything else, and that was fine.
Which side to stay on?
There are many lodges right around the Zimbabwe/Zambian border. It would be hard for you to go wrong either way, but you can theoretically minimize your border crossings (we averaged 2 per day which was a bit tedious) by staying on the side you plan to hang out in most.
- There are epic game drives (aka safaris) on both sides.
- Devil's pool in Victoria Falls (where you can get pics hanging off the edge) is on the Zambian side.
- The most impressive views of the falls are from the Zimbabwean side looking at the Zambian side.
- Zimbabwe shares a longer border with Botswana (good for day trips)
- Zambia shares a longer border with Namibia. We saw Namibia from a boat safari we took but didn't set foot there; it was not included in our visa and none of the hotel sanctioned trips went there. US citizens can get a separate visa upon arrival to Namibia if you'd like to check it out.
There are river cruises (dinner and sunset) along the Zambezi from both sides.
Timing
The falls are heaviest on both sides between March - July.
Devil's pool closes at the end of January (water becomes too strong to safely swim) and opens again in August.
The falls are mostly dry in October - December.
We went in January and it felt like there was plenty of water if you ask me!
More weather/water info here.
Final tip: for an extra EXTRA unforgettable trip to the falls, you can go when there might be a lunar rainbow. This requires not only special timing (a visit during the full moon) but also ideal cloud and spray conditions. Basically, it's like trying to see the northern lights in Iceland. You can do everything right and still might not see it/them. But it's worth a shot! You're most likely to see it in the months of April-July.
 |
| not my pic, but cool huh? |
