Zimbabwe – billrider2013

Walking across the border into Zambia

May 8, 2016May 28, 2016billrider2013Leave a comment

I have mentioned that when I crossed from Botswana into Zimbabwe, I paid for a ‘double entry’ visa. The reason I did this was so that I could go across into Zambia when I was in Victoria Falls.

Border Fetish

I have to admit to having a bit of a ‘border fetish’. I suspect that this is probably due to being born and spending most for my life on the ‘island continent’. Naturally we do not have a land border with another country. This can also be said for the other place where I have lived for some time- the UK.

I have been across some interesting borders.

Remembering the Border between East and West Berlin

A very interesting border was between East and West Germany in the divided city of Berlin. I first made that border crossing in 1983. In October 1984 I went to East Berlin on a Department of Foreign Affairs trip.

I stayed in hotel near to the ‘Wall’ on Friedrichstraße. I did not like the food in the ‘East’. I decided that I would eat as often as possible in the West. This involved crossing the border at the Friedrichstraße train station. After eating a good meal, I would return across the border at train station or at Check Point Charlie.

Leaving Zimbabwe

The road to the border is quite busy up the point where you enter the Victoria Falls National Park. After that it is quite quiet. There are not too many people making the crossing.

Getting through the Zimbabwean border control was uneventful.

The Bridge

After passing through the border crossing, it is not far to the bridge over the river.

The bridge was the brainchild of Cecil Rhodes and is part of his grand and unfulfilled Cape to Cairo railway scheme. It was constructed by the Cleveland company. They built the Sydney Harbour bridge and the much smaller bridge over the Tyne river in Newcastle in the north east of England. That bridge is the same design as the Sydney bridge, but one eighth the size.

They also built the arch for the new Wembley stadium in London.

Given its age and the lack of maintenance, there are strict limitations of the use of the Victoria Falls bridge by trains and heavy vehicle. Most of the crossings appear to be by foot or bicycle.

The falls are very close to the bridge.

Into Zambia

Getting through the Zambian border control was quicker than the Zimbabwean side.

Boiling Pot

I didn’t have too much time available. I had thought about taking a taxi into Livingston, but I didn’t have enough time to do that.

I decided to walk down to see the famous ‘boiling pot’. It is the point in the ‘Second Gorge’ where the Zambezi River Gorge makes a sharp right turn and has carved out a deep pool which is about 150 metres across. Check out the video. It is amazing.

It is quite a steep walk down to the ‘boiling pot’. The return climb added to my Fitbit floors.

Victoria Falls Hotel

After crossing back to Zimbabwe, it dropped into the Victoria Falls Hotel. It is very up market and super expensive.

Flickr Link

https://flic.kr/s/aHskAD9zLg

About the Bridge

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victoria_Falls_Bridge

Zip Line at Victoria Falls

May 7, 2016May 26, 2016billrider2013Leave a comment

There are a number of activities on offer at Victoria Falls. These include ‘high-wire’ activities. These are: bungee jumping, bridge and gorge swings, zip line and flying fox.

The place is, of course ideal for these activities. It has the iconic Rhodes Bridge which links Zimbabwe with Zambia. There are also the series of gorges that zig zag away from the falls. These ae very deep with the Zambesi river flowing at extreme speeds below.

I booked myself in to do the zip line. I was told that it was half way between do the flying fox (very lame) and the gorge swing. The Swiss Nurse in our party booked herself into doing the gorge swing. The English bloke and the young Canadian girl booked to do the bridge swing.

I arrived at the Lookout Café at the appointed time to do the zip line.

Norwegian Girls Argue

The taking off points for the zip line and the swing are a short walk from the café.

When I arrived someone had just jumped into the gorge on the swing. Their friends were watching. They turned out to be a group of Norwegian girls. When the ‘swinger’ emerged at the top of the gorge there was lot of excitement and animated discussion in Norwegian.

The girl who had just done the swing was shaking like leaf. She told me that “that was just so scary, but so good”. She tried to stop her hands from shaking by holding them together. It was to no avail.

Next to swing were two of her friends. They were doing a tandem swing – tied together.

There was an awful lot of carry on before they finally jumped. Their screams could be heard above the sound of the water.

It takes some time before the ‘swingers’ are brought back to the top of the gorge.

Even before they were at the top of the gorge the voices of the girls could be heard. They were clearly having an argument.

As they were being unshackled, the argument continued. Their friends were standing next to me and were in hysterics. The ‘swingers’ walked to towards us and switched from speaking Norwegian into English: “we were supposed to jump at the same time….it was your fault the we didn’t… no it was your fault…can’t you count to three?…..”. It went on and on.

Apparently because they didn’t jump at the same time, they immediately started to spin and could not stop spinning. Not only did they have a 120 plus metre free fall drop followed by the swing, but they were also spinning like a top.

After they had calmed down, I asked them “why did you switch to speaking English. They told that they I assumed that I would be able to understand English and that it would have been rude to keep speaking Norwegian.

It was all very amusing

My Turn on the Zip Line

Next it was my turn to do the zip line. It is like a flying fox, but drops down into the gorge and up the other side.

I was told by one of the operators that I would be travelling at 80 kilometres per hour.

The photos and the video show what happens.

It is a bit of thrill, but not nearly as scary as the swing.

The video shows how quickly it is all over. It does however understate how low to the water the line goes.

You can see from the photos and the video that one of the operators came to collect me. Some people who have seen the photos assumed that something went wrong and I was being rescued. That was not the case. It is simply how the thing works.

Swiss Nurse Jumps

Next to do the swing was the Swiss Nurse from our party. As I have previously noted, she is a very assuming girl. Some of her comments before and after the swing were priceless.

There is a great shot of her on Flickr at the start of her free fall.

There is also a video of her reaction after the jump.

French Bloke is a Show-off

After the Swiss girl had jumped, it was the turn of a French bloke. He had booked to do the two swings, the bungee jump and the bridge and the zip line.

He was clearly a serial jumper, having done these sort of jumps around the world. He asked me to take a ‘slow motion video’ of him leaving the swing platform using his Apple Phone. To my amazement I actually did a good job of taking the video.

Flickr Link (Videos)

https://flic.kr/s/aHskzTozur

Flickr Link (Photos)

https://flic.kr/s/aHskA7NAzk

Wild Horizons Link

http://www.wildhorizons.co.za/

Helicopter Ride over Victoria Falls

May 7, 2016May 26, 2016billrider2013Leave a comment

Victoria Falls Helicopter

In the evening of our first night at Victoria Falls we had dinner at the camp. Our guide and driver, David confirmed that he is also a really good cook.

An Upsetting Song

After the meal a group of blokes in ‘native garb’ appeared. They danced and sang some songs – some in the local language and some in English. The last song was “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot”. I know that this is an American negro spiritual song, but it is also sung by English Rugby supporters. This can be very upsetting for a Wallabies supporter.

Wake up for the Helicopter Ride

One of the activities that had booked to do in Victoria Falls was a helicopter ride. My cousin Julie had sent me an email telling me that is a ‘must do’.

A mini bus picked me up at the camp gate we headed to the heliport.

Remembering a previous ride

This was to be my second ride in helicopter. The first was when I was working for Caltex. The company operates a pipeline that runs from the Kurnell Refinery through Silverwater and up to Newcastle. Part the environmental conditions for the operation of the pipeline is that it has to be subject to periodic visual checks. This done from the air. I had opportunity to take a ride in the helicopter than performs the checks.

We flew from Bankstown airport across the harbour and up the coast to Newcastle. I can recall that the helicopter we incredibly noisy. I also remember that it was quite a different experience to flying in light plane.

Buying an Upgrade

The mini bus arrived at the heliport and we taken into a building. The other passengers, and Swiss couple and French man and woman, had arranged to have ‘up-grades’. It was explained that this involved an extended flight that would include flying over the gorge downstream from the falls and a trip up the river.

It decided to take the upgrade.

The flight

Once the payments we made for the up grade were made, we were off.

We headed straight to the falls. It was an amazing experience. You really get to see the falls in a different perspective than you experience on the ground. You see the wide river leading to the falls, the spray billowing into the sky, and rapid flow of the water through the tight gorge zig zagging downstream.

We made a couple of passes over the falls before following the path of the river down the gorge.

The last part of the flight involved flying up the river. We then headed slightly away from the river to see some herds of Zebra and elephant. At various times the pilot made some very sharp turns and swooped down so we could get a better view.

Unfortunately, my photos and videos probably don’t do this part of the trip justice.

Good Tip Julie

To sum up: cousin Julie was right. The helicopter ride was great.

Flickr Link (videos)

https://flic.kr/s/aHskA1kVBp

Flickr Link (photos)

https://flic.kr/s/aHskwPHHpr

Getting Wet at Victoria Falls

May 6, 2016May 26, 2016billrider2013Leave a comment

After crossing the border from Botswana into Zimbabwe we drove to past the Victoria Falls Rest Camp where we were to stay.

Souvenir Sellers taking a Risk

We drove down a dirt road to see a large tree. It was fairly interesting. However, what was more interesting was a group of blokes who emerged from the bushes. David our guide explained that they were “illegal souvenir sellers”. Apparently anyone wanting to sell souvenirs in the official markets in the town has to pay a high fee. These characters get around this by plying their wares in this road.

David explained that using this location comes with risks. Firstly, they ae liable to be caught by the police and secondly they run the risk of being attacked by a wild animal. David told the in the last month one of the sellers was attached and killed by an Elephant.

After seeing the tree, we returned to the camp. Selous has ‘permanent’ tents set up in the camp. This saved us having to pitch our tents.

Lots of Activities on Offer

Over breakfast our guide David explained a bit about the town of Victoria Falls. He said that it “was very safe”. There are a large number of police and they are “looking after the tourists”. He also said that, like the rest of Zimbabwe, there are a lot of ‘secret police’ informants’ basically spying on the people and looking out for critics of the government.

After having breakfast, David introduced to a representative of Wild Horizons, a travel and ’experience’ operator in Victoria Falls. There was a bit on offer: river cruise, helicopter rides of the falls, bungee jumping, zip-line, flying fox and bridge and gorge swings. Each of the party bought something to do.

Victoria Falls

Once we had our ‘activities’ sorted, it was time to see the falls. We walked through the town to the entrance of the National Park.

We paid the fee and entered the park. There is a display giving details of the falls and comparing them with the other big falls – Niagara and Iguassu. These comparisons are also at the link below. There are lots of ways to determine which are the biggest falls.

Spectacular

I was with the German speaking girls. The Swiss nurse was very amusing the whole trip. She was in good form this day.

There are a number of lookout points (I think 16 in all). Each gives a different perspective of the falls. You can see the river prior to the falls, one of the gorge falls and the main falls).

At a couple of the view points for the main falls, you get very wet. Check out the Flickr video.

Statue of Livingstone

There is a statue of the ‘European’ discover of the falls, David Livingston. He named the falls after Queen Victoria. She must have more places (e.g. the State of Victoria), streets and parks etc. named after her than anyone else in history.

The Bridge

At one point in the park, you get a very view of the famous Rhodes bridge that crosses the Zambezi River and links Zimbabwe with Zambia.

Very wet

I was still saturated when we left the park. I took the short to the Gorge Lookout Café for lunch. It was the most expensive meal I have had for months. Having to pay in USD made it a double shock.

Being offered Million Dollar Notes

On the way back to the camp after lunch, I was approached by numerous characters want to sell worthless Zimbabwean bank notes.

These notes are from the period of hyper-inflation up until 2009, when the country switched to the USD.

There is now talk that Zimbabwe will introduce ‘bonds’. These will be tied to the USD and will come in paper form. They will effectively be money. They have already introduced small denomination ‘bond’ coins used in giving change.

I suspect that the paper ‘bonds’ will result in the high levels of inflation again.

Remembering my Trip in Mid 2016

As I walked along, I remembered my first visit to Zimbabwe in 2016. This was part of a Foreign Affairs trip that took in London, Lisbon, Madrid, Lagos, Nairobi, Addis Ababa and Dar Es Salaam.

I was due to return to Australia after Dar Es Salaam. However, before I was due to leave, I received a cable instructing me to fly to Harare. There had been a fraud committed at the High Commission.

I didn’t see much of the city apart from the inside of the hotel, the High Commission and the residences of the staff. However, I meet some ‘white’ locals and was able to walk the streets.

This was the early days of the Mugabe regime and the place was yet to fall apart.

Another memory of that trip was trip a precipitous fall in the AUD that followed Paul Keating’s ‘Banana Republic comment. My recollection is that the AUD was worth USD 0.75 when I left and got my Travel Advance. After the comment which was made when I was in Addis Ababa it fell to USD 0.53.

Flickr Links (photos and videos)

https://www.flickr.com/gp/twwilko_photos/76816U

About Victoria Falls

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victoria_Falls

Keating’s Banana Republic Comments

http://www.theage.com.au/news/business/20-years-from-keating-what-price-a-banana-now/2006/05/14/1147545209134.html

Victoria Falls Days 1 and 2

May 4, 2016May 24, 2016billrider2013Leave a comment

After the Kruger Park part of my tour I stayed in hostel on the outskirts of Johannesburg. There was some discussion with Eugene in the Selous Safari office as to when I would be picked up for the trip to Victoria Falls.

The owner of the hostel confirmed my thoughts- “Eugene is a dill”. The owner told me that “he has never old him the correct numbers to expect to be staying at the hostel – surely that can’t be difficult”. It seems that Eugene finds most things difficult, including telling the time.

Anyway, it was finally agreed that I was to be picked up a 5.00 a.m. The driver, David arrived 10 minutes early.

We headed into the Maboeng Precinct to collect some more passengers. They turned out to be an English Bloke in his early twenties who works for Transport for London, a young Canadian student, a Swiss nurse and German dental technician.

Off to Pretoria

We head out of Johannesburg for Pretoria. Once into the city, it immediately reminded me a bit of Canberra.

We went into the suburb where a lot of the embassies are located. Our next passenger was German bloke who is an Economics Professor. He was in Pretoria delivering some lectures at the university. He was taking advantage being in RSA to do this safari.

Long drive

With all the passenger on board we headed north towards the Botswanan Border. It was a very long drive. The journey was broken with meals stops, comfort stops and a stops, short of the border, to buy some supplies.

Crossing the Border

Crossing the border was uneventful, however I did notice that the window for the Diplomats was also where the ‘Retirees’ were processed. I guess these two groups have similar characteristics.

Rhino Sanctuary

It was late in the evening when we arrived at the Khama Rhino Sanctuary where we were to stay the night.

David checked us in at the office at the main gate. We then drive on a very sand track to the camp ground, which turned out to be over 3 kilometers from the main gate.

We had to pitch our tents. This was a bit of a slow process in the dark. Once that was done, David cooked a meal. This was a great effort considering he been up since before 2.00 a.m. and had driven all day.

Wake up to be the Animals

We were woken up before dawn.

One of the park Rangers arrived in 4WD. We were off to see some rhinoceroses at other animals. It was quite a long drive through quite dense low trees and bushes before we emerged in to an open area.

The Ranger pointed out a rhinoceros in the distance. He said that we would see it later and we drove on. We came across some Zebra and lots on antelope.

As we continued on we came across some wilder beast. One much to the amusement of the Swiss nurse decided to relieve himself. This was a very long process.

We turned back to the where the Ranger had spotted the rhinoceros. Has had fully grown horn. There is no need to take the horns off in the park, as there is no poaching. The Ranger told up the “the military deal with poaches”. I think we can guess what ‘dealing’ means.

As we moved on we came across a herd of springboks. At various times they would suddenly start to run in one direction, leaping into the air as they went. They would then turn and head back to where they had come from. The Ranger explained that they were “teaching the young how to run and jump. This is how that they escape from lions and leopards.

We then came across two young rhinoceros. One was on the ground. The other was nudging it. The Ranger said the one on the ground was a female and the other, a male, was trying to get her to stand. It was funny to watch.

As we headed back to the camp, we crossed lots of different tracks. It would be very easy to get lost in the park.

Back at the camp, David had cooked breakfast. It was really good.

Heading further North

After breakfast we were back in the bus and heading north. It was another long day of driving.

We stopped for lunch at a shopping centre. The most popular place to eat seemed to be Wimpy. This was because it had internet Wi Fi , not because of the food.

Elephant Sanctuary

Our camp this night was at the Elephant Sands resort. This is a fairly flash place. We had a meal in the restaurant. It was very good food.

The main entertain was a ‘Bush Baby’ a.k.a Gagalao – tiny monkey. It was very tame and played with the guests.

Very Early Start

We had a very early start in the morning. David explained that he wanted to get to the Zimbabwean border as soon as possible to avoid being delayed.

As we approached the border, we came across a large number of trucks. These trucks were headed to Zambia. The Zambian border is very close. David explained that trucks the trucks have to wait up to a week to cross the border as there is no bridge and there are delays on the ferry.

Border Crossing

The border crossing into Zimbabwe turned out to be relatively painless. You are required to purchase a visa in USD. There ae a number of prices, depending where you are from. Surprisingly Australia is in the cheapest category. The UK and EU citizens pay the mid-range. Much to the horror of the Canadian girl, there is a special higher price for them. Somehow the Canadians must have upset Mugabe. I suspect it was Harper.

I bought a ‘double entry’ visa. This would enable me to cross over to Zambia while we were in Victoria Falls.

Once from the border we were soon at Victoria Falls.

We had breakfast and we ready to head off to see the falls.

Flickr Links

https://flic.kr/s/aHskwNWfSj

Link to Khama Rhino Sanctuary

http://www.khamarhinosanctuary.org.bw/

Elephant Sands

http://www.elephantsands.com/

Bush Baby

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galago