From Kasane/Chobe, Botswana, we got a 1+hr transfer to Vic Falls through the Botswana-Zimbabwe border. Vic Falls - the town - is in Zimbabwe (although there is a lot of lodges on the Zambian side as well in response the to economic situation in Zimbabwe.) Zimbabwe...never thought we'd be here... Clearly Vic Fall was a once-thriving and now-struggling place. The economy has recently been 'dollarized' due to insane inflation ... it was pretty strange seeing the old dilapidated dollars on the street. People were pretty aggressively trying to sell us information, crafts, old Zimbabwe money, anything. We bought a few trillion and billion dollars notes for a few bucks. OK...and some bracelets too, sure. We ended up camping at the "rest camp" in town. Surprisingly nice, quiet and calm and within walking distance of restaurants, town stuff and Vic Falls/park. We could hear the falls from the camp - pretty cool.
When we first arrived, we walked the gauntlet (past guys selling stuff) across the Zim/Zam border bridge to see one part of the Falls. Awesome site! We watched some bungee jumpers from the border bridge, saw a dozen tourist helicopters, safari trucks...lots of tourism (but it seems for only a few outfits).
We went inside the Vic Falls National Park and walked the trails overlooking the falls. Amazing amazing amazing views! Surprisingly hot here so the falls spray/drenching on the trail was very nice. Went back to our shady hammocks at camp...sooo glad we brought the camp hammocks!
We're now 11K north of Vic Fall sitting here in a coffee/espresso shop in Livingstone, Zambia. Clearly a much better economy in Zambia - amazingly clear. Grocery stores are 10x more stocked, people are friendly and say hello/offer to help with information. In Zimbabwe we learned to avoid eye contact or say hello for fear of getting hassled every 10 feet to buy carvings or bracelets or old money. They have to work really hard for their money in Zimbabwe. We were a little tired of that scene so coming here to Zambia was a relief. As a visitor, it feels more calm/relaxed in Zambia.
(We're heading to Lusaka tomorrow and onto the express train (46 hours) to Tanzania next...)
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