Zimbabwe- Victoria Falls

This afternoon around 12:30pm we arrived at the Zimbabwe Airport. When we left Johannesburg this morning we were advised to hurry off the plane upon arrival, because Zimbabwe Immigration writes all tourist visas by hand. We did hurry, and we were third in line. Thank God. It took twenty minutes to process the six of us. I can't imagine how long it took for those passengers who didn't get the memo and took their time getting from the plane to Immigration.

We flew from Seattle to New York to Dakar to Joberg--a 24 hour trip that left me completely exhausted and confused about where I was and what time/day it was. I collapsed at 7:30 in our airport hotel in Joberg and slept until 7 the next morning. We stayed at the Intercontinental Airport Sun in Johannesburg. I don't know anything about it other than that the beds were comfortable and they had a decent breakfast buffet.

Now, I'm sitting on a stone bench at the Stanley & Livingstone hotel at Victoria Falls. In front of me there is a clearing that's probably two acres in size. The land I'm looking at is a national park, and it contains two watering holes that I can see. The one closest to me is small, the further one is large. I've been sitting here on this bench for a few hours, watching. So far I've seen more than a hundred baboons, some impalas, some other deer I can't identify, and lots of birds. Everyone is headed to the watering hole.

The baboons all came out at essentially the same time, but they arrived in separate family groups. They don't socialize across groups, and I've seen several several screaming matches and fights already. The baby baboons are cute. They wrestle with each other and ride on their mothers' backs. They are playful and clumsy just like human kids.

The lodge is at about 50% capacity today, even though it's the height of the tourist season and the Stanley & Livingstone is one of the most popular hotels in the region. The receptionist told us they're not full because of the "current situation in Zimbabwe." The recent presidential election/self-appointment has caused many travelers to change their travel plans to exclude Zimbabwe. The U.S. state department issued a travel warning for Zimbabwe about 5 days before the election. To my knowledge it's still in effect, but regardless, no one is traveling to Zim.

You wouldn't know about the "situation" in Zimbabwe if you didn't pay attention to the news and came only to Victoria Falls. This place is quiet and peaceful--quite the opposite of what we hear about Harare on the news. It seems the tourist industry is one of the last intact pieces of the Zimbabwean economy, and everything possible is being done to keep it alive. The Zim Dollar is currently worthless, and tourists bring foreign currency with them.

I had some major ethical hesitations about coming here, given the "situation." When a country's politics and economy are commanded by a self-appointed leader in a manner that doesn't benefit the people, should a tourist patronize that country? There are arguments for and against traveling to a place like Zim, right? On the one hand, we are tipping the tourism employees and contributing thousands of American dollars to the economy. Everyone we've encountered here, from the porters at the airport to the staff here, has appreciated our tips. A single dollar goes a long way.

On the other hand, we're tipping less than 1% of the total money we're spending here. Where is the rest of our money going? To Mugabe's pocket? To his wife, to fund her shopping trips to Johannesburg (she'll arrive with two helicopters--one to carry her and the other to carry her purchases home). It's hard to believe our money is going to feed hungry people.

Ideally, we would have found an option that offered both comfort and ways to sustainably support the local industry and economy. Responsible tourism, it seems, is not as popular here as it is in other places I've visited. Sustainability doesn't seem to be a priority--immediate cash does.

So, what would you do?

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