We took off from Cape Town in a small Kenya Air aircraft, landing in Victoria Falls Airport in Zimbabwe. Victoria Falls, one of the seven natural wonders of the world, sits right on the border of Zimbabwe and Zambia. As we landed we saw bush country for as far as we could see. Lisa and I are now on our own. We said farewell to the rest of the group in South Africa.
Our guide and driver for the week was named Charles. Charles is native to Zambia and was eager to tell us about his country. Zambia is a landlocked country in southern Africa. It was a British colony that gained its independence in 1964. The primary industry is agriculture, but, it has an abundance of copper so mining is also a major source of revenue and employment to the country. Finally, with Victoria Falls on its southern border, tourism is the primary industry where we stayed.
Our first impression upon landing as we crossed the border from Zimbabwe to Zambia was the large number of people walking and riding bicycles laden with goods. Charles explained that there are significant price differentials between the two countries. So, with the high unemployment rate in traditional industry, many residents of both countries will cross the border each day to buy goods that are more expensive in one country than the other, effectively arbitraging the difference in order to generate a profit.
For example, Coca-Cola costs 80 cents a bottle in Zambia but $2 a bottle in Zimbabwe. So, Zimbabweans will cross the border (which is quite the process) to buy Coke and carry it back home to sell. Flour, rice, corn meal, sugar, and many other products are more or less expensive in each country so this process occurs with a plethora of goods. Imagine supporting your family by carrying heavy loads for miles each day.
Interestingly, the men rode bicycles while the women walked. I’m not sure why that is but I’m afraid to raise the topic with Lisa.
The tourism industry in the area seems to provide much good employment both directly and through ancillary businesses. Being a guide is one of the most sought-after jobs. It requires a good command of the English language (the primary language spoken here), strong knowledge of the history, flora and fauna, and geography of the region.
Our trip consisted of a mixture of activities to learn about the culture and history of the region and partake in fun tourist activities. We’ll give you a sampling of both.
Victoria Falls is fed by the Zambezi River. Our resort sat right on the Zambezi looking west into Zimbabwe. Called Sanctuary Sussi and Chuma (Dr. Livingstone “discovered” Victoria Falls on his explorations. Sussi and Chuma were his guides), the resort consisted of 12 elevated huts that they called treehouses. We got around by walkways that were 8 to 10 feet off the ground. With the wild animals in the area, we had to be escorted to our rooms at night just like we did on safari in South Africa. The place is beautiful and we highly recommend it should you come to Zambia.
Not only is this a stunning resort with amazing service, they are also tremendously supportive of their local community. We had a chance to visit the nearby village of Nakatindi. Sussi and Chuma along with Abercrombie and Kent have provided assistance to the education, health and economic well-being of this 3000-person village.
Our first stop in the village was the commerce section. There they had a barbershop, fruit and vegetable stands, a bike shop, jewelry store and other miscellaneous stands. Having good friends who are in to cycling (that’s you Mike and Chris), we decided to walk in to the bike shop. This shop gets used bicycles donated to them from the US, Australia, and Great Britain. They fix them up and sell them to locals. They also donate a bike to each child in the village who graduates eighth grade. The high school is several miles away so the bikes help them to further their education.
We went next to the jewelry store. The artisans here crush up empty glass bottles , melt the glass and form it into beads, hearts, and other beautiful pieces of jewelry. Lisa, of course, decided to support a local business and will be coming home with a few nice pieces.
Sussi and Chuma resort helped both of these stores with training on how to run a business, financial support to get started, and, they even sell the jewelry in their own store.
The village seems to do a great job of self-governing. They have elected village leaders, a neighborhood watch program, and they regularly work with the federal government for support even though they don’t seem to get much help from that source. Crime isn’t a major problem in the village. They have worse issues with elephants trampling through town, eating vegetables and making a mess.
Their most recent addition has been a health clinic, again supported by Abercrombie and Kent and our resort. HIV is a serious problem in Zambia, orphaning millions of children and driving the country’s average life expectancy down below the age of 50. The clinic as staffed by nurses with an on-call doctor who visits periodically. The clinic allows people who are sick to get immediate treatment; it provides health education, including sex education for teens; and, dispenses needed medication. The HIV problem is improving meaningfully because the clinic is here. And, people are getting better health care overall.
The children were delightful with several following on our tour asking for their picture to be taken, looking for high fives, or jumping into our arms to be hugged. The last major area of support from Sussi and Chuma was the school. They provide support to give free lunches to all the children so they can focus on learning, not their empty stomachs.
As we left the village and drove back up the road to our resort, a herd of elephants came charging through the bush, running straight at up and across the road both in front of and behind our car. It was quite a sight.
Victoria Falls flows from the Zambezi river into a deep gorge. Unlike Niagara Falls, it flows at varying strengths depending on the time of year. During the rainy season in January, for example, it is roaring across its full length of 1.25 miles. We were here in the dry season so the flow is far less with much of the cliff dry and exposed. Nevertheless, it is an incredible sight. We looked at it from both the Zimbabwean side, which flows all year, and the Zambian side that is dry this time of year.
After visiting the falls from the, um, general viewing area, we decided to get up close and personal with the falls. We went for a swim in the Devil’s Pool which is a natural pool at the top of the falls. One can only visit Devil’s Pool when the water is low as it is today. Otherwise the volume of water would sweep one over the falls. Getting there required a boat trip out to Livingstone Island, a short hike to the falls, and a swim out to the pool. While the height certainly got our attention, we were more concerned for our guides who had no problem walking out to the edge and leaning out so they could get just the right angle on a photo for us. Oh, and Lisa really didn’t care for the small fish in the pool that nibbled on our feet (see our Vietnam blog on her fish pedicure). All-in-all it was a fun, exhilarating experience.
Here we are before swimming out to the pool on the edge of the cliff where the falls are dry today.
And, here we are at the edge of the roaring falls.
And, finally, here we are hamming it up in the pool.
On our final evening we took a river cruise with our resort guide, Junior. The boat ride was essentially a safari on the water. We saw an elephant crossing the river, hippos both in and out of the water, monkeys, a herd of elephants on the bank, and many exotic birds. It was one of our favorite activities.
Zambia is an exotic, friendly, beautiful place to visit. We are so glad we visited. We’ll be back someday.
Lisa and Brad's Travels 