From bread basket to basket case

The last country on my itinerary during this wonderful trip to Southern Africa is Zimbabwe; formerly known as the bread basket of the region but now a country devastated by a collapse of the farming sector, chronic shortages of food and fuel, hyperinflation and massive levels of unemployment. Tourism levels have also plummeted in recent years due to instability and violence, but as a humble blogger I will leave further political comment to the politicians, and simply share as always my travel experiences.

The previous journal left off in Livingstone, on the Zambian side of Victoria Falls. I farewelled most of the safari group, and went to the Zim border where I had to fork out a hefty 50 smackaroos in order to secure a visa for the country. Oh well, I lined up with a stack of workers who cross the border each way for work and was quickly processed into Zim. From the beginning I realised that these neighbouring countries have been turned completely upside down, everything Zim had been Zambia was becoming, and vice versa. Traditionally Victoria Falls (the town) is where everyone visits when coming to view this natural wonder of the world, yet now the town although beautifully presented (and far more built up than Livingstone) was almost deserted by tourists due to the current political situation. It was an incongruous feeling to experience the sudden turnaround in the two countries' fortunes. Nevertheless I checked into a nice hostel with a bar (very often a bonus feature in African hostels) and headed off to the mighty Victoria Falls on the Zim side.

The Falls are astonishing to see from both sides, and the Zim side gives an overview of this natural phenomenon that shows the power of mother nature in all her might and glory. There are great trails to be walked on the Zim side also and I had an excellent day exploring. This was my first day as a solo traveller in over three weeks, so when I returned to the hostel for the evening I employed my tried and true plan... to prop up the bar. Once again readers and out of the blue I had one of those incredible nights that only travelling seems to regularly provide. I twisted the top to blow the froth off my first brew by 6pm, little knowing that I would still be at the bar at 2:00am and then embark on an impromptu wildlife safari in my mate's 4wd, but that's a story for another time. On second thoughts ... oh what the hey, may as well share a nice travel yarn with you all now to pass the time!

The hostel bar was great fun that night, there were some white Zim girls there for a party (from a rapidly decreasing white minority who had thus far decided not to flee the country) and I met an immensely interesting Afrikaaner who was in Zim for business. The beers flowed, the conversation flowed. I think I learnt more from this character about the waxing and waning fortunes of Zim vs Zambia in one night than I could possibly learn from a book. Absolutely fascinating! I remember at around 2am my phone went off and I ducked out of the bar and away from the music to answer a call from a very serious sounding real estate agent in Sydney. Totally surreal! So my mate figures we should go for a drive. OK, and we're off into the bush and into the night. I'm looking at him out in the middle of nowhere (a pretty big character) and said I was feeling scared but he reassured me I wasn't going to be murdered as we ploughed around the bush in his 4wd looking for wild animals. He then took me to a waterhole in a 5 star hotel, the staff let us in no worries. Later we saw some big elephants right on the side of the road maybe 20kms from town and he said they used to walk right into Vic Falls but the rangers were forced to shoot in order to shoo the elephants away. I had, all in all ... a big and memorable night dear reader.

The next day I was joined for the final time (on this trip) by my German safari mate and also an Aussie couple from our group. We visited the famous Victoria Falls Hotel for a quiet beer to celebrate the end of our time together and went out for an absolutely scrummy Indian meal. I enjoyed my time so much in this beautiful continent, featuring the magnificent animals and friendly people of Southern Africa, but had to get a wriggle on so farewelled my friends and the next day was on a flight back to Jo'Burg. I stayed in an excellent hostel not far from the airport, and strolled around some that evening before a meal at a restaurant and a quiet drink at the hostel. The next morning as a final example of African hospitality my hosts drove me to the airport including numerous side trips to points of interest along the way while providing me with ongoing commentary. This lovely couple really seemed keen to dispel the bad reputation that Jo'Burg suffers from, and I appreciate their kindness. A visit to Victoria Falls in Zim was a great experience and overall my trip to Southern Africa one I will always cherish,............ basically all of you should be here now!

Here ends the final entry of my retrospective travel journals so until next time ... and the first of my real time journals, it's signing off for now

Tom

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