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Victoria Falls

Our driver, Killer, drove us from Chobe to the border with Zimbabwe.  After obtaining visas, we walked across the border to Zimbabwe where we were picked up by another driver who took us to Victoria Falls.  We dropped off our luggage and went immediately to the helicopter pad nearby for a 15 minute ride over the falls.  The scenery was so spectacular that Pat, who hates to fly, especially in small planes, had her eyes open for the whole trip.

Upon landing we were taken to the Zambezi River for a sunset cruise.  The river is infested with crocs, hippos, and tour boats.  We had good seats until two men smoking cigars parked themselves upwind of our location.  We had to move.

The Victoria Falls Hotel is a vestige from the glory days of the British Empire.  The rooms are comfortable, the grounds immaculate, food good, and the service is impeccable.   Foreign guests have to settle their accounts in U.S. dollars, Euros, or S.A. Rand.

Our final adventure was a three mile walk at the falls.  Our guide Shedrick was very knowledgeable and gave us a lot of details about the history of the region and supplied us with a plethora of facts about the falls themselves.  Our stay in Zimbabwe was short but memorable.

This is a four seater helicopter.  Lew was co-pilot and Pat  sat in the back.	This was our first look at the Zambezi.	The bridge across the gorge connects Zimbabwe and Zambia.  It's only wide enough for one way traffic so long lines of trucks are the result.	THis aerial view is the only way to see the water flow downstream of the falls.	The somewhat scary view from the co-pilot seat.

Pat actually enjoyed the helicopter ride.	We flew over the Victoria Falls Hotel	Our pilot was very serious.	We enjoyed the local (actually from Namibia) brew on the sunset cruise.	A lot of other people had the same idea.

Hippos are vegetarians but they aren't above taking a piece of someone's hide.	Imagine the fear factor if you were swimming in the river and saw this sight.	Sunset on the Zambezi.	The courtyard of the Victoria Falls Hotel features a mango tree.	You could imagine Rhodesian gentry enjoying a cocktail at the hotel.

There were several restaurants on the property.  We chose this one for dinner and breakfast.  The tab for dinner was $7,700,000 Zimbabwe dollars.	Zimbabwe is  known for stone carvings.  We liked this whimsical hippo.	The start of our Victoria Falls hike featured this permanent rainbow.	If you presumed this was Dr. Livingstone you would have been right.	Shedrick carried an umbrella to shield Pat from the sun and the mist.

We were informed that the water flow was very low during this the dry season.  It looked like a lot to me.	The constant mist has resulted in the creation of a tropical rain forest.	The ropes suspended from the bridge are for bungee jumping.  We decided that the helicopter ride was the limit of our thrill-seeking.	Speaking of thrills, these daredevils are in a pool just a few feet from the falls on the Zambia side.	End of the line.  We had our own cabin on the flight from Victoria Falls to Johannesburg.