The Smoke that Thunders
Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe
November 09, 2011
We were able to sleep in until 7:00, but woke up at 6:30.
Had a lovely buffet breakfast at Jungle Junction, another patio restaurant where the sun is shining in over the tree tops & off in the distance we can see the mist from the falls. We had omelettes, smoked salmon, croissants, sausage, cheese, Weet Bix & fruit. I think I am going to have to work off a few lbs when I return home!
We met Bryson, Esther & a group of Americans in front of the hotel. We are departing for our walking tour of Vic Falls. Along the way we picked up the 2 younger European couples at another hotel that had been on the cruise last night
Statue of Livingstone @ Victoria Falls
.
Esther took the Americans for a tour & the Europeans, Bill & I went with Bryson. We had a brief lesson from Bryson about the 2 flags out front. One is for the National Park, the other is their National flag. The colours of the flag are green is for agriculture, gold for minerals & natural resources, red is for the blood that was spilled by many women & men who fought for independence, black for the native people, white for the caucasian people, the red star is for their Chinese friends & socialism, & the bird is the fish-eagle who is strong & has sharp vision - which they aspire to.
Victoria Falls is one of the 7 natural wonders of the world & we are about to find out why… From the Zimbabwe side we are able to see the Devil's Cataract, Main Falls, Horseshoe Falls, Rainbow Falls, the Boiling Point, Cataract Island & Livingstone Island
.
Along the way to the first viewing point there was an animal display where Bryson explained that elephants grow 6 sets of teeth, one set every 10 years. He also explained that the visible length of tusk is the same length of tusk inside the elephant's flesh. He also pointed out that the blood in an elephant's ears is 5 degrees cooler. He also mentioned that animals on the intelligence scale are primates, then cats, and thirdly elephants. The Big Five are: elephants, lions, leopards, buffalos & rhinos. the Little Five are: elephant shrew, ant lion, leopard tortoise, buffalo beetle, & rhino beetle.
The first viewpoint was the Devil's Cataract
. This used to be a site of sacrifice. People thought that any misfortunes that they had were because of the devil. So, if they had a little bad luck then they would sacrifice a chicken. If they had a lot of bad luck, then they would sacrifice a goat. They would perform the sacrifice by throwing the bird or animal into the water at the top of Devil's Cataract, then the water would carry their troubles far away. A negotiation was conducted to find an alternative to dumping animals over the falls because it caused a bad smell for visiting tourists.
At the viewpoint there was a statue of Dr Livingston. He was from Scotland & came to Africa as a missionary. When he arrived at the falls he determined that it was a spot that everyone in the world should see. He began promoting the area and learned several native languages.
Bill really enjoyed viewing the falls
. He really liked viewing the falls & the gorge from the ends where you could be a better perspective of the height of the falls & the volume of water going over.
Along the path during our walk we saw fig trees, avocado trees, aloe vera plants growing on the rocks (used to treat burns for animals & people, also for digestion), asthenia (used for stun fish while fishing), elephants toothpick, fireball lilies, mopane trees (butterfly shaped leaves & attracts the mopane worm that I had for dinner last night), warty, vervet monkeys & amarula trees that drop fruit that make the elephants drunk (the roots are also an aphrodisiac which men who have many wives need).
The one path on the way to Danger Point was dry today, but during high water level season the path is covered with 2 inches of water due to the mist from the falls. During high water season (April-June) the mist is so strong along the top of the gorge that you can't see the falls at all, yet apparently people still try to take pictures and regularly get them ruined by the water - Bryson does not think most tourists are very bright… I don't think I would attempt to climb up on the rocks for a closer look when they are wet
. The rocks are smooth and get covered in algae which makes them even more slippery. We able to walk around, sit down & take lots of photos. We were also able to see the rafters at the beginning of the trip down the river.
The views were really incredible from Zimbabwe, from the Zambia side you would really not be able to see very much.
On the drive back to the hotel Bryson showed us where the curio shops & local market was located.
While I had a nap when we returned to the hotel Bill checked email, loaded photos & charged batteries. He walked over to the casino, but it does not open until 8:00 in the evening. When I woke up I put on my bikini, shorts & a top to go down to the pool to wait for Bill
. As I passed through the main balcony I hear "Tree!". Bill had arrived back already & was sipping a Zambezi. I joined him & we ordered lunch, a chicken caesar salad & a crocodile salad. Both were good, but the croc salad was better. I tried a cocktail from the menu that had mango juice & chili peppers. It was very sweet & very spicy, so much so that it gave me a headache, so I switched to sparkling water. Bill tried a David Livingstone cocktail, which was also very sweet. He switched back to Zambezi afterward.
We enjoyed the beautiful views & warm weather on the balcony while we got caught up on the blogs for an hour or two. Then we headed up to the room to collect our bartering items & walked to the market. As soon as we leave the hotel grounds we have young men trying to sell us small carvings & jewellery. We said "no thank you" & "no business today" to the guys & walked over to the market
Victoria Falls Hotel from the Patio
.
The market is a wooden frame with a corrugated roof. Men have a booth where they display their stone work, jewellery & wood work on the dirt floor covered with large sheets of paper. There is a salesman at the front of the shop that is numbered or labeled with names like "Calvin Klein" Or "Criss Rock". Bill & I stopped at each shop to select the items that we want to purchase from each shop which took us approximately an hour.
The second time round we headed straight back to Simba's shop which he dubbed the Canadian shop when he learned where we were from. He had a nice selection of jewellery that will make good souvenirs. I picked out 17 items & the first offer he presented was $65. After a long negotiation we ended up giving him $15 & my pair of Under Armour flip flops that are uncomfortable for me
. I was able to take some photos of Simba & his mates working which he was really happy about. He has an email address & a Facebook page. He gave me his information because he would like me to send him the photos.
The second shop we stopped at had the baobab trees that we liked. I think we spent too much there, he initially asked for $40. It cost us $13, 1 hat & one hair band. Along the way to a shop near the start one guy tried to sell me two wooden carvings of a man & a woman. The man was standing with a finger to his mouth & the woman was carrying a basket on her head. I asked what she was doing, then what he was doing. I then asked him why the woman was working & the man was not. He said that women here are strong. So, I asked him if the men here were not strong & he said, "no".
Along the way it became a bit of a blur, but we went back to the one shop near the entrance to buy some wooden bowls
. Bill purchased three bowls for $15 & hats.
One guy was asking me for food, so I gave him the apple from my purse, a pen & $1 to purchase food in return for a stone elephant. We also purchased some paper necklaces & I wanted a few more, but the prices seemed unreasonable & I was becoming too hot, too tired, too thirsty & too hungry, therefore also unreasonable. I told Bill that we had to leave NOW. So, we left the shops, but since everything works on Africa time, it took us a while to actually leave.
3 guys followed us back to the curios shops wanting to sell us a croc bracelet & some Zimbabwe dollars. Their money is worthless due to hyperinflation in the mid 2000's, so now their country now uses USD. Bill & were able to make a deal with all three for $10 to purchase the bracelet & some of their money
. The largest banknote that we saw was $5,000,000,000.
We landed back at the hotel 3 plus hours after we departed & pulled everything out of the bags to see what we had actually purchased. It was then that Bill realized he had give one guy $5 for 3 more paper necklaces that I was supposed to select, but was unaware of, so we did not have them. UGH! That is frustrating after all of our bargaining. I guess that is why they swarm you at the end, to cause chaos & mistakes on our part.
We headed down for dinner, but since it is not 7:00 yet, the buffet at Jungle Junction is not open yet. So, we had a bowl of fruit & Zambezi to quiet our stomaches. We worked on the blog & tried many times to unsuccessfully connect to the wifi.
After a bit we went to Stanley's bar at the end of the balcony. It has a beautiful wood bar, zebra skins on the floor & weapons on the wall. We had a couple of drinks here before going to the show at Jungle Junction.
The show was in progress when we sat down for dinner. We enjoyed some traditional performances with a brief explanation for each. At the end show the host requested donations for the group of entertainers. I only observed one other gentlemen providing a donation while the several other tables of very wealthy elderly individuals remained firmly planted to their seats. I guess the trip up & back to the buffet has worn them out!
For dinner we enjoyed grilled croc & bream, roast beef, chicken & beef kabobs, beans, carrots, ostrich curry, something like wheat pops with a bit of a kick, & guacamole. For dessert Bill had vanilla ice cream & an individual apple pie.
Bill popped over to the casino at the hotel next door to try his luck, I stayed behind to keep working on the blog. I was pretty tired, so I headed up to the room around 10:00 bumping into Bill on his way in, he was the only one in the entire casino and only played long enough so he could say that he had been there and get a chip for his collection. He had to sneak the chip out as it is not allowed to remove them from the premises.
We went up to shower & start packing. I surrendered & went to bed while Bill watched TV, loaded photos onto the blog & posted 5 new entries.