7/4/19
Happy 4th of July!!
I decorated the bus with red and blue balloons and drew fireworks on our truck whiteboard. We were excited to celebrate Independence Day with so may (tyrannical) British passengers on our tour. Elisha and I dressed up for the day. I wore a blue shirt, red hat, and red bowtie with a silver tinsel boa. Elisha had a blue shirt, blue hat, red bandana, and silver tinsel boa.
We got up early and visited the Zambian side of Victoria Falls (One of the 7 Wonders of the World) for sunrise. It was absolutely stunning! We got to watch the sun rise and then the rainbows start to form as the light intersected with the mist. There were many nice viewpoints, including the knife bridge spanning a little canyon. We were, of course, in our full 4th of July outfits. Since we arrived to the falls so early, we were the only ones there, which made it special. After the normal viewpoints, we went off the standard route with a guide. We hopped across little streams to eventually stand right over the falls and look at it falling below our feet. It was very exhilarating!
From the falls, we walked to the border crossing on the Zambian side to stamp out of Zambia. We then got in the truck and dover over the bridge spanning the Zambezi gorge. At the Zimbabwe border I asked for a multiple entry visa since we would be leaving and coming back. But I was supposed to asked for a double entry (but I was not told this by our dragoman crew) because the visa I was given was for unlimited entry between Zambia and Zimbabwe, not between Zimbabwe and other border countries. I tried to argue with immigration, but no luck.
At the town of Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe, we set up camp and then walked around town and relaxed. The group went out to eat at a place that was $20/meal, but Elisha and I went to pizza that was a large for $7. We then went for drinks at a nice bar across from our campsite.
The financial system in Zimbabwe is really crazy right now. As you might know, they had crazy inflation a few years ago. Thus, they have currency notes from a few years back that are actually huge (ex. 500 billion, 1 trillion, and 20 trillion dollars), and even with those they would require a sack full of them to buy even a loaf of bread. They then switched to USD, but 2 weeks ago, the government officially gave up USD. They still don't have a currency! Currently, they are using paper notes that are bonds. On the note is says the government will pay you the equivalent of the bond whenever the currency comes out. Of course the currency is in wild fluctuation. So right now government agencies (e.g. post office) and other larger chains (e.g. grocery stores and gas stations) can only use bond, but luckily everywhere else still takes USD. But because, for example, gas is bought abroad with USD, but payment can only be paid in bond, which is too risky, petrol stations have closed down. When we talked to people, they said that the only way to fuel your car is to pay $35 USD to get into Botswana with your car and fuel up, and then $10 USD to come back to Zimbabwe just to fill up your car. You're not allowed to bring jerry cans of gas back either, but some people do hide some in their cars. Right now the official rates is 1 USD = 10 bond, but only locals can get bond for dollars from the banks, so if we want bond, we have to exchange it with a local on the black market, which is 5 or 6 bond for 1 USD.
In the afternoon we walked back to the border bridge to watch Danny bungee jump. We also ordered a taster paddle of microbrews at the local craft brewery.
7/5/19
Slept past sunrise for the first time in ages. We walked down to Victoria Falls (the Zimbabwe side). This side is maybe more dramatic and impressive (but also more crowded). Many of the viewpoints had mist falling on us, and others were downright downpours. In the local language the falls are known as Mosi-oa-Tunya (The smoke that thunders) because from a distance you can see the mist rising up like smoke. The falls are 351 feet tall and 5,698ft (over a mile) long. At full flood, water is falling along the entire length. We were visiting at the very start of the dry season, so there should have been quite a lot of water; however, it was a bad wet season (not much rain), so the river was flowing at dry season levels. Nevertheless, it is truly impressive! At the far end of the viewpoints was the "danger area" where there were no rails, so you could stand right on the edge and look down to the bottom of the gorge and the raging river below. There were also some views where you could see rainbows created by the mist.
After visiting the falls, Elisha and I had lunch at a very cheap local place. We then went to a local market outside of the tourist town. The tourist section of Victoria Falls town is so strange because it doesn't feel like Africa. It feels like a mix between Disney World and Moab. In the afternoon we did laundry. We then bussed to a fancy safari lodge that a couple people on are trip upgraded to and enjoyed drinks while watching the sunset. The rest of the group ate there, but we back to Victoria Falls town and went out to a tasty, but much cheaper place.
7/6/19
Today we rafted down the mighty Zambezi! It was a very fun, scary, and exhilarating experience! There were 19 named rapids (and other non-named rapids) with names such as "stairway to heaven," "devil's toilet bowl," "gnashing jaws," "the muncher," "overland truck eater," "washing machine," and "oblivion." We went through 3 class V rapids with most being class IV. The trip began with a very steep hike down the gorge that included some ladders. We were then at the base of Victoria Falls, which is where the rafting began. The trip was 28kms of a lot of adrenalin. At the finish we had a steep hike up to the rim again where we had a bbq and cold beers.
Back at Vic Falls town, we had some ice cream and then relaxed at our campsite. There is a marathon happening on Sunday, so there was a concert in the park adjacent to our campsite that had some good music. They were giving out schwag and prizes, which was funny because they were giving out things like cows, goats, and generators.
For dinner we had a brae (Southern Africa BBQ), which included worms, kudu stew, and warthog, impala, and crocodile steaks. Very delicious!
We picked up 10 new people joining the remaining 7 people from our last trip: Lewis, Luti, Lucy, Norbert, Jodi, Elisha, and me. We also got a new driver, Adam (UK) who is replacing José. The new people are Jake, Dan, Harry (UK), Michelle (Canada), Micky and Georgi (UK), Noah and Natasha (California), and Javier and Annie (Argentina).
The last group was being called the "Love Truck" because there were a few hook-ups on it. The guide Thomas hooked up with Amber in a fling. Lewis and Lucinda got together in something that seems more serious (Lewis is changing his around the world trip to visit Lucinda on her next journey in South America). And Norbert and Jodi have become a couple that seems pretty serious. Upon the end of the trip, Norbert had plans to go stay with Jodi for 6 months in Australia: "to work on my English" is what he said. haha.
Happy 4th of July!!
I decorated the bus with red and blue balloons and drew fireworks on our truck whiteboard. We were excited to celebrate Independence Day with so may (tyrannical) British passengers on our tour. Elisha and I dressed up for the day. I wore a blue shirt, red hat, and red bowtie with a silver tinsel boa. Elisha had a blue shirt, blue hat, red bandana, and silver tinsel boa.
We got up early and visited the Zambian side of Victoria Falls (One of the 7 Wonders of the World) for sunrise. It was absolutely stunning! We got to watch the sun rise and then the rainbows start to form as the light intersected with the mist. There were many nice viewpoints, including the knife bridge spanning a little canyon. We were, of course, in our full 4th of July outfits. Since we arrived to the falls so early, we were the only ones there, which made it special. After the normal viewpoints, we went off the standard route with a guide. We hopped across little streams to eventually stand right over the falls and look at it falling below our feet. It was very exhilarating!
From the falls, we walked to the border crossing on the Zambian side to stamp out of Zambia. We then got in the truck and dover over the bridge spanning the Zambezi gorge. At the Zimbabwe border I asked for a multiple entry visa since we would be leaving and coming back. But I was supposed to asked for a double entry (but I was not told this by our dragoman crew) because the visa I was given was for unlimited entry between Zambia and Zimbabwe, not between Zimbabwe and other border countries. I tried to argue with immigration, but no luck.
At the town of Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe, we set up camp and then walked around town and relaxed. The group went out to eat at a place that was $20/meal, but Elisha and I went to pizza that was a large for $7. We then went for drinks at a nice bar across from our campsite.
The financial system in Zimbabwe is really crazy right now. As you might know, they had crazy inflation a few years ago. Thus, they have currency notes from a few years back that are actually huge (ex. 500 billion, 1 trillion, and 20 trillion dollars), and even with those they would require a sack full of them to buy even a loaf of bread. They then switched to USD, but 2 weeks ago, the government officially gave up USD. They still don't have a currency! Currently, they are using paper notes that are bonds. On the note is says the government will pay you the equivalent of the bond whenever the currency comes out. Of course the currency is in wild fluctuation. So right now government agencies (e.g. post office) and other larger chains (e.g. grocery stores and gas stations) can only use bond, but luckily everywhere else still takes USD. But because, for example, gas is bought abroad with USD, but payment can only be paid in bond, which is too risky, petrol stations have closed down. When we talked to people, they said that the only way to fuel your car is to pay $35 USD to get into Botswana with your car and fuel up, and then $10 USD to come back to Zimbabwe just to fill up your car. You're not allowed to bring jerry cans of gas back either, but some people do hide some in their cars. Right now the official rates is 1 USD = 10 bond, but only locals can get bond for dollars from the banks, so if we want bond, we have to exchange it with a local on the black market, which is 5 or 6 bond for 1 USD.
In the afternoon we walked back to the border bridge to watch Danny bungee jump. We also ordered a taster paddle of microbrews at the local craft brewery.
7/5/19
Slept past sunrise for the first time in ages. We walked down to Victoria Falls (the Zimbabwe side). This side is maybe more dramatic and impressive (but also more crowded). Many of the viewpoints had mist falling on us, and others were downright downpours. In the local language the falls are known as Mosi-oa-Tunya (The smoke that thunders) because from a distance you can see the mist rising up like smoke. The falls are 351 feet tall and 5,698ft (over a mile) long. At full flood, water is falling along the entire length. We were visiting at the very start of the dry season, so there should have been quite a lot of water; however, it was a bad wet season (not much rain), so the river was flowing at dry season levels. Nevertheless, it is truly impressive! At the far end of the viewpoints was the "danger area" where there were no rails, so you could stand right on the edge and look down to the bottom of the gorge and the raging river below. There were also some views where you could see rainbows created by the mist.
After visiting the falls, Elisha and I had lunch at a very cheap local place. We then went to a local market outside of the tourist town. The tourist section of Victoria Falls town is so strange because it doesn't feel like Africa. It feels like a mix between Disney World and Moab. In the afternoon we did laundry. We then bussed to a fancy safari lodge that a couple people on are trip upgraded to and enjoyed drinks while watching the sunset. The rest of the group ate there, but we back to Victoria Falls town and went out to a tasty, but much cheaper place.
7/6/19
Today we rafted down the mighty Zambezi! It was a very fun, scary, and exhilarating experience! There were 19 named rapids (and other non-named rapids) with names such as "stairway to heaven," "devil's toilet bowl," "gnashing jaws," "the muncher," "overland truck eater," "washing machine," and "oblivion." We went through 3 class V rapids with most being class IV. The trip began with a very steep hike down the gorge that included some ladders. We were then at the base of Victoria Falls, which is where the rafting began. The trip was 28kms of a lot of adrenalin. At the finish we had a steep hike up to the rim again where we had a bbq and cold beers.
Back at Vic Falls town, we had some ice cream and then relaxed at our campsite. There is a marathon happening on Sunday, so there was a concert in the park adjacent to our campsite that had some good music. They were giving out schwag and prizes, which was funny because they were giving out things like cows, goats, and generators.
For dinner we had a brae (Southern Africa BBQ), which included worms, kudu stew, and warthog, impala, and crocodile steaks. Very delicious!
We picked up 10 new people joining the remaining 7 people from our last trip: Lewis, Luti, Lucy, Norbert, Jodi, Elisha, and me. We also got a new driver, Adam (UK) who is replacing José. The new people are Jake, Dan, Harry (UK), Michelle (Canada), Micky and Georgi (UK), Noah and Natasha (California), and Javier and Annie (Argentina).
The last group was being called the "Love Truck" because there were a few hook-ups on it. The guide Thomas hooked up with Amber in a fling. Lewis and Lucinda got together in something that seems more serious (Lewis is changing his around the world trip to visit Lucinda on her next journey in South America). And Norbert and Jodi have become a couple that seems pretty serious. Upon the end of the trip, Norbert had plans to go stay with Jodi for 6 months in Australia: "to work on my English" is what he said. haha.
1 comment:
Nice post. Thanks for sharing.
Wix
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