Carly's Ramblings Blog - Style

Day 21, 22 & 23 - Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe

Blogging Circle of Friends: DAY 3506 May 23, 2024

Our last day in Africa...


Having been to South Africa virtually before, I decided to travel on my own to Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, instead of going to Johannesburg and Morocco. I'll catch up with you all in Lisbon.

I made my way to the small own of Victoria Falls on the Zimbabwe side of the falls. I opted to stay at the Elephant Camp. It is set in a national park just 15-minutes’ drive from the Victoria Falls. I wanted a proper safari feel - one that would allow me to keep one eye on buffalo at the waterhole, while marveling at the backdrop of spray from the majestic Victoria Falls. Surrounded by nature.

It was a peaceful yet impressive location, with panoramic views over the park towards the Batoka Gorge. The hotel was a tented structure with uncluttered décor. We still had air conditioning and WiFi. For extra peace of mind, there was a discreet fence ensuring that larger animals couldn't wander into camp uninvited.

Large animals, however, were very much on hand at the adjacent sanctuary for orphaned elephants, where I was able to meet, touch and even feed these gentle pachyderms. So cool.

I was able to explore the national park and see the Falls. So much bigger than Niagara Falls, and just as impressive.

In the evening after my adventures, I was able to have a chat with other guests around the firepit as darkness fell. I really felt that I had been to Africa after this experience.
https://www.expertafrica.com/zimbabwe/victoria-falls/the-elephant-camp/our-pictu...

https://www.expertafrica.com/zimbabwe/victoria-falls

I made sure to do a guided tour of the falls.
https://www.tripadvisor.ca/AttractionProductReview-g293761-d19709230-Victoria_Fa...
First we stopped at Mosi-oa-Tunya / Victoria Falls National Park, Victoria Falls 10101 Zimbabwe

Guided Tour of The Falls - We started our amazing day with a guided Tour of the magnificent Victoria Falls, one of the 7 Natural Wonders of the World. It is a 3 kilometer long and 100 meter deep wall of water that drops an astonishing 500 million cubic litres of water every minute into a chasm whose spray shoots up some 200 metres into the atmosphere to 'rain' a cooling vapor on a warm morning that soaked and refreshed me.

Then we went to Victoria Falls Bridge, Livingstone Way, Victoria Falls Zimbabwe

After the Guided Tour of the Falls, you enjoyed lunch and rested at the Rainforest Cafe then got to tour the famous Victoria Falls Bridge that goes over the Zambezi River linking Zimbabwe to Zambia.

We proceeded on to the Big Tree after the Bridge Tour. It is an amazing 2000 year old Baobab Tree with a girth of over 22 metres and over 24 metres in height. It has the original 164 year old inscription by the famed adventurer David Livingstone on it.

Next we took a tour of an authentic African Crafts Market where I found a variety of beautiful hand made African Curios. My haggling skills were not too great, but a few other tourists helped me manage to secure some fine Crafts from the salesmen there.

We got to take a Sunset Cruise on the Zambezi River in the evening. I got to savour the panoramic African sunset and wildlife. I took so many photographs!

My last adventure was a Boma Dinner, Dance & Drums. This was the most authentic African Dinner, Dance and Drum Show. I got to sample a wide variety of freshly made authentic African meals, then sit back to watch the famous Matebele Traditional and War Dancers put on a fabulous show. I even got to participate in the Drumming show where I beat my own drum until my fingers tingled.

Then next day I also took another opportunity to shop and took this tour:
Elephant's Walk Shopping and Artist Village. It was a vibrant mix of local artists, retailers, artisan studios, all working within in the cool tropical garden courtyard. The funky Africa Cafe served delicious light meals and drinks whilst the Nam Tok Restaurant upstairs offered afro asian traditional foods. There was a museum which showed the material and visual culture of the peoples of the region - and the entry was free. I saw some Crocodile Cage diving but did not take part. I also got to visit with out local Nyanaga (witchdoctor). It was lovely to just sit under the palm trees and watch the world go by!

This was such a wonderful trip and I look forward to sharing my delights with all of you when we reach Lisbon.