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The 16 hour flight from NYC to Johannesburg was, surprisingly, not too bad. It went by rather quickly; there was a very decent selection of movies; and the wine was flowing. Fortunately the flight was not full so we had some space to spread out, stretch, and nap.
After a quick layover in Joburg we were off to Victoria Falls. It was a small airport so the customs line was quick and painless. We received a Visa at customs in exchange for $30 USD. And we were on our way. We were met at the airport by a driver who would take us to our campsite. It was very humid out and quickly began to rain. Fortunately we were staying in a "chalet" that night and would move into our tent the following day. We had a couple hours before we were to meet our group so we explored the small town. There was a warthog wandering around town - which was our first official animal sighting.
At 5:00 we wandered around the campsite until we found the truck that would be our home for the next couple weeks. We met our guide and fellow
travelers. We received a very brief explanation of our trip and what to expect and were sent on our way with plans to meet at camp for breakfast the next morning.
We opted to do a morning elephant back excursion. We quickly dropped our belongings in our tent the next morning and set off for the elephant sanctuary. After tea & biscuits and informational meeting we got to meet the elephants. There was also a cheetah at the camp which they introduced to all of us. We were then all allowed to pet Sylvester and take photos. I am a little uneasy with all members of the feline family I kept my distance. Amanda however was very comfortable and Sylvester was starting to get antsy. He ended up swiping at Amanda and she has 2 claw marks on her arm to prove it. Cheetah attack on day 1... this may be a bad omen!
After a 2 hour elephant ride we got to feed the elephants. Trunk down - you shove pellets into their trunk. Or trunk up - you toss pellets into their mouths. Quite entertaining. Only the warthogs were scavenging for dropped
pellets. Little buggers.
After the excursion we were dropped off at Victoria Falls. Luckily we all brought our ponchos with us - the falls are in full force and you basically get rained on the entire time. The water volume is so high that the mist is thick and you can hardly see the falls at times. We braved the walk all the way to the end where you really just get dumped on. But it was hot out and the "shower" was a nice relief.
The kiwi couple on our tour mentioned that the Victoria Falls Hotel offers high tea. We decided to check it out. The hotel is beautiful and were starved when we got there. We opted for lunch and cocktails instead of high tea. The meal was great and the cocktails were delicious. The dining patio overlooks the Victoria Falls Bridge. The bridge runs over the Zambezi river and connects Zimbabwe and Zambia.
On our walk back to the campsite we stopped in town for bottled water. We ate dinner at the restaurant/bar at the campsite as we were advised not to walk around town after dark.
We attempted a shower at the campsite bathrooms - there was barely a trickle of cold water. (Apparently the water supply fluctuates, sometimes it's strong and sometimes it's nonexistent). That night there wasn't enough to water to even flush the toilets. Joy. We finally retreated to our tents and were fast asleep.
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