Trip to Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe and a little Zambia

Found this photo online, good depiction of the falls

This past weekend Mark and I had the rare opportunity to go on vacation by ourselves without the kids thanks for Mark's parents for babysitting.  We decided to visit Victoria Falls and the Chobe National Park as we are unable to do this with kids due to the malaria risk and I am finally not pregnant or nursing.  We knew it would be a short trip, only 4 days, as we did not want to leave the grandparents with the kids in a foreign country while we were in another foreign country for too long.

Customs line at the tiny airport

On the first day we flew out that morning to Zimbabwe to see the falls first. Victoria Falls is the largest waterfall in the world, twice the size of Niagara Falls.   We stayed at Victoria Falls Safari Lodge and really enjoyed the accommodation.  They had a free shuttle to the falls so 10 minutes after arriving we hopped on board and 10 minutes later we were at the falls.  Paid our $30 US to get into the area and made our trek along the 16 viewpoints to see the falls from all angles.  August is approaching upon the dry season so it was nice that we did not get soaked needing a poncho for any of the viewpoints.  A light mist was all we felt at some spots thankfully.





I was surprised that it only took about 2 hours to see the falls from each viewpoint and then back again.  The last few viewpoints did not have a railing (not that the ones that had railings looked so safe) but being able to get right up to the edge was actually kind of terrifying.

this was the "fence" that protected you from falling into the Falls

 I guess my fears of death have increased over the years and I am not as adventurous as I used to be.  We took some gorgeous pictures of the falls and the many rainbows that appeared.  It was an enjoyable walk through the rain forest and I am glad we made the trip up to see it.



We had some extra time so we made sure to cross the bridge from Zimbabwe into Zambia  to see the bungee jumpers and take a look at the view from the bridge.  Before making it into customs to get our free "bridge pass" in Zimbabwe Mark was accosted with men trying to sell all sort of carved goods and no longer used Zimbabwe currency.


 I would just trail behind and laugh as none of them would approach me until they realized Mark was not going to buy anything from them.  I just pretended not to speak English and that worked pretty well.




It took about 15 minutes to walk over the bridge and we enjoyed a drink at the cafe on the Zambia side.  There were very few tourist in general but most of them were actually Americans.  It was nice to hear the American accent and I was able to help a few understand the locals who's accent is not as thick to me as it once was.  We did not take part in any of the adrenaline packed activities but there was a steady stream of people lining up to bungee jump.

Evening was approaching so we headed back to the hotel and enjoyed a quiet dinner that was not at 5pm for once.  We enjoyed vacation without the kids and being able to do what we wanted when we wanted to do it.  No need to consider nap times, eating routines or whether the activities were child friendly.

The next morning we checked out and went from Zimbabwe into Botswana and back out again to Namibia, all on the next blog.

  

I know I have lived in South Africa long enough when...

I was thinking the other day about all the aspects of South Africa that no longer seem new or surprise me any more.  Of course there are several things that I can't get used to, but others are second nature now.

I started writing down all the things that make me feel like South Africa is not new anymore.

1. For instance, when people say "shame" I no longer think they are being passive aggressive or condescending to me.  Although when I say "shame" it probably sounds just that way.

2. At restaurants I now ask for a card machine when I ask for the bill to save the server a trip, and of course I no longer say "to go box" but say "take away" instead.

3. I don't hear the Hadedas anymore, those annoying birds just seem to blend in with the surroundings.

4.  I bring my own shopping bags even to the malls so I don't get charged for plastic bags.

5. I am not annoyed at the different options for electrical plugs and having to find an adapter even for items I have purchased in South Africa.

6. I have become extremely good at preparing for load shedding (electricity company shutting off power to an area so the power plant does not get overloaded)  and have a good back up list of things I can make for dinner without electricity.  I even back my car out of the garage when I get notice that load shedding is about to happen so I don't have to deal with manually lifting the garage door.

7. I now laugh at slow customer service and having to spell everything out over the phone.

8. It seems quite normal to change my clothes several times a day in the winter, freezing in the morning, step outside at noon and I have to change for the 30 degree increase in heat, and again at 5pm when the sun goes down I change again.

9. I have become quite good at swerving around pot holes and it does not bother me that they never seem to get filled.

10. It is second nature to check for wifi at places and to make sure my phone is connected to our wifi at home as phone plans don't have unlimited wifi and I hate to burn through it.

11. I am well versed in pool maintenance.  When we moved here I was annoyed at learning all the chemicals and dealing with the creepy crawler but now I troubleshoot like a pro.

12. I make sure to carry an extra R200 ($20 US) when traveling on the highway just in-case I get pulled over and need to use it as bribe money.

13. I don't even bother to go to malls/stores on the weekend, as I now just figure they are not open or it's super crowded.  If my shopping can't be done between 8-3 Monday-Friday, it has to wait.

14. It feels quite normal that we can bring our own wine to restaurants and only have a corkage fee of R30 ($3 US).

15. I now know that if I have to visit a government office to plan for a full day there with my own food and entertainment in tow, with plans to return again in a week to repeat the same process because someone does not do something right.

16. It no longer bothers me that businesses can't get their own bank account straight and even if I deposit money straight into their account, I still have to email proof that I did it, and probably have to answer a few phone calls or text messages about the account that they show is unpaid despite being paid in full weeks ago.

17.  Now I seem to fully trust the parking guards to back me out of my parking spot and rear view/side mirrors go unused.

18.  I now find small coins useful (including the gold ones) and find myself paying with certain bills at stores just to get some R1, R2, R5 for tips. ( 10cents, 20cents, 50 cents US).

19. I no longer talk in US currency or even bother to make the equivalent to US prices when talking about the cost of items here, it's Rand all the time.

20. I still have no idea what "now, just now, and now now" mean, but I pretty much figure whatever it is, it's not going to get done in a timely manner.

21.  Opening and closing door/windows/curtains when the sun comes up and goes back down no longer seems like an annoying chore, but just something that has to be done.

22.  I no longer worry about turning left on red or speeding as I never see a police officer in town.

23.  Now when I see people waiting outside our community gates looking for work, I look at some of them and thoughts actually go through my head about hiring them for the day and what I would have them do.  For example, "That guy looks nice, maybe I could shut off the sprinklers and have him just water the lawn for money to give him a job".  I have never acted on these thoughts, which I am sure Mark is very thankful for.

24. Lastly, I know I have lived in South Africa long enough when I refer to it as home and going to America is a holiday (or vacation as they say in the US).