Zimbabwe (3) - Victoria Falls

Victoria Falls

For the record, I stop at the Hwangay National Park on Tuesday to try and pick up some game viewing.  It's one of the most populated parks in Africa and potentially a fine value-for-money day trip.  Sure enough, there are plenty of elephants, zebra, antelope, giraffe and even a few lions to leave me happy with my choice.  The photos are better in Kruger, though, so I don't take many here.

Probably just as fun, however, are the cheerful family of Americans, fresh out of Maryland, on their first trip abroad.  They let me join their game drive and it's lovely to share their experience.  The blunt, call-it-as-it-is manner of our 3-hour drive is almost as refreshing as the two coolers of beer they load on the truck of our bemused safari guide.  Any frustration he feels when asked (politely) to explain-less-and-drive-more, is no doubt equal to the discomfort experienced by those on board when the reality of a game drive becomes clear two hours (and several litres of beer) later...   You can't jump down off the jeep for a pee.

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I make for the tourist mecca of Victoria Falls, and arrive ahead of schedule.  My friend from earlier in this motorcycle journey, Martin Yache, crosses over from Zambia the following morning and we have a great time catching up.  He's done a hellish hard ride down the west coast of Africa on his BMW 650 Dakar, and I'm happy to confirm that the riding ahead for him now will be comparatively easy.

We catch up over the next couple of days, sharing tips and reliving the best and worst memories.  Funnily enough, even after all these miles we both agree one of the best weeks either of us have had on our bikes came in Moab, Utah when we were the guests of our biker buddies Hap, Jerry, Bruce and Syaufu.  (If you locate the HD movies on my SmugMug site you'll see why!)

It's not all talk, talk, talk.  Walking the Victoria Falls park will satisfy me for an hour or two, even with the entrance fee priced at $30.  I've got high expectations.

 To my surprise, the waterfall tumbles over a narrow rip in the ground, rather than dropping off the edge of a table-like plateau as I've been expecting.  The result is nevertheless impressive - a dramatic gorge, sprung with rainbow beams, from which hang billowing clouds of mist.

I stop at most of the sixteen official, unobscured viewing points and gawp appropriately.  Walking along the cliff edge for about 1,500m I'm enjoying the variations-on-a-theme...  waterfalls in a different stage of distress:  weeping rivelets, flowing off-shoots and plunging curtains, all to the pounding hydraulic hammer beat of water falling 70m onto stubborn rock.

Keeping the camera dry is a challenge; as is finding an angle or perspective that hasn't been taken by a thousand cameras before.  There are no wooden barrels handy, and Sherlock Holmes is in London (filming) so you'll just get standard postcard shots from me.

The falls were smaller than I was expecting - both in terms of height and the volume of water passing over (certainly at this time of year - part way through the dry season).  In these respects, the Iguazu Falls in Brazil / Argentina are the more grand by comparison.  However, these Zimbabwean / Zambian wonders of the natural world are very special and I'm pleased I detoured down to this corner of the country to visit them.

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Victoria Falls - the town - and neighbouring Livingston surround and serve the tourist attraction.   Together, they give the area a reputation as Africa's adrenaline capital: a rival to New Zealand's famous thrill centre Queenstown.  In other words, here you can find tremendously tall bungee jumps; jet boat rides, elephant rides, lion-walking, helicopter flights and, of course, white water rafting on the mighty Zambezi River.

The latter takes my fancy, then mugs me for $160 for a raft ride and the movie footage they took of us.  A picture paints a thousand words, so click and enjoy the accompanying footage [Ed: to come!] - it's a thrilling ride down the rapids, and I can barely move my arms 24 hours later; the paddling did for me!  And yes, we did 'flip'.

After sharing the latest travel talk and news with Martin, it's time to say our au revoirs.  Will we meet next in the UK or US, we wonder?  The road is calling so we head out on our respective paths to find out.   I'm always a bit sad to leave the friends I meet (or re-meet), but I'm glad to be leaving the thump and pump of what has proven to be the town's most popular bar - it's only 30m from the tenting area, so getting an early, peaceful night was impossible.

I'm a bit groggy as I head towards the border, with a long ride ahead.