Zambia, Day 2: A walk to Zimbabwe

Crossing the border into Zimbabwe

 On Tuesday, we all woke up rearing to go.  After a nice breakfast in the campsite’s dining room of poached egg and toast, we geared up to head over to Zimbabwe, where we would hike in and around Victoria Falls.

If you look at a map, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia all meet in a small corner.  Zambia and Zimbabwe’s borders share the Victoria Falls, and so you can walk on either side of the border to see the beauty.  We had been told by Gareth to walk to the Zimbabwe side, where you can see the falls facing you, and then after our hike we should head to Victoria Falls Hotel, a very colonial British hotel and have lunch. 

So that was what we did.  It was a particularly hot day, and the walk to the border was probably about a mile away from the parking lot/customs office.  From there, we had to walk another mile or so until we hit the entrance to the Victoria Falls.  But it was so worth it.  Because once we made it to the Falls, we were embraced by mist from the waterfalls (there are actually several falls that make up the Victoria Falls) and our noses and eyes welcomed the humid atmosphere.  Since this is still Africa, and the air is hot and dry, this waterfall is an oddity in that it provides green vegetation all around it from the mist it gives off year-round.  During the winter months, the rain comes to Zambia and threatens to flood the area as the falls get higher and higher.  During the summer months, the falls erode and the water level drops, but there is always a rush of water coming from most of the rocks.  And even in this dry time of the year, it was gloriously wet and cool.

Zambezi River from Victoria Falls Hotel

After we walked around a bit, we made our way toward the Victoria Falls Hotel and had a delicious lunch and a few drinks to wash away the heat.  At this point, we were coming up on around 2pm, and we had to head back to the campsite to meet our driver who was to take us to the Zambezi River where we were going on a sunset cruise. 

It was so beautiful.  I’m not sure if you’ve heard about the sun in Africa, but it seems to be a completely different sun from what we see in any other part of the world.  Sunsets in Africa are simply breathtaking; big and orange and bold.  And to see a sunset on the Zambezi River while sipping wine, spending time with your good friends, and seeing a hippo or two in the water is an experience that is just awesome. 

 All in all, not a bad first day in Zambia.  I think I’m going to like it here.