The week of Jun 5, 2017 – Jun 11, 2017
Zambezi River safari holiday with Helga …
Monday: First morning at Zambezi Sands.
Short game drive to get us to the start of a game walk. Besides some urgent scrambling up a hill to get out the way of a herd of elephants, it was a peaceful relaxing walk. A very pleasant post lunch afternoon spent reading my book in the communal lounge with a view of the river and a breeze through the door.
An afternoon game drive, we saw lots of animals, and had sundowner drinks looking across the Zambezi. The red sky above the black silhouette of the tree tops was a beautifully memorable sight.
Dinner was pea soup, beef wellington and lemon meringue pie.
Tuesday: Second day at Zambezi Sands.
Morning rafting on the river. Short, just a few kilometers, but fun and peaceful. There was one short section of substantial waves but otherwise it was just just coasting. Got to see king fishers hovering and diving. We then had a surprise bush breakfast on the river bank. Reading, lunch and then more reading. A few Zambezi lagers.
Another sunset cruise, even more enjoyable than the first. Only on board were hosts John and Nadine, Helga and myself. We got to see two elephants, a giraffe and a fish eagle. A magical experience.
Dinner was a mushroom starter, lamb stew and a malva tartlet.
Wednesday: Last morning at Zambezi Sands, and arrival at Little Gorges.
Went on a morning game drive, but it was too overcast to see any game. Still fun though. We got collected at the “hub”, and transferred to Little Gorges lodge by guide Richman who would take us everywhere from then on. The lodge is quite different to Zambezi Sands but quite wonderful too. Fantastic outlook over the 200m deep gorge. We had a fascinating black eagle viewing and information session with snacks and drinks.
Dinner was butternut soup, sirloin steak and creme caramel.
Thursday: First day at Little Gorges: Probably the most touristy day of my life. Starting with a gorgeous sunrise over the gorge.
Visited Victoria Falls in the morning and did the rain forest 2km walk. Incredible vistas, constantly wet from the mist, a wonderful place. Lunch at the Three Monkeys restaurant. Nice to be driven around with everything planned, all the stress taken out of it, arrangements made for us – the way to travel.
Visited the Victoria Falls Snake Park outside the restaurant. Quick stop at the Victoria Falls Hotel just to see it. It has a similar colonial feel to the Mount Nelson Hotel.
Helicopter flip over Victoria Falls. Very worthwhile. Spectacular seeing the falls from above, probably even more so than from the ground.
Then a quick drive out of town on the way to the river where we unexpectedly saw elephant and impala at the side of the road just outside town. We stopped at the 1000+ year old and very big baobab tree that David Livingston himself saw.
Then a big highlight was a very very pleasant sunset cruise on a twin hulled large vessel having about 10 tables with drinks and snacks. We shared a table with Steffi, also a guest at Little Gorges. We saw a group of hippos basking on an island. The mist rising from the waterfalls enveloped in a rainbow as seen from the river is another memorable sight.
The width of the Zambezi River never fails to amaze. Islands that are so long that you think they’re banks of the river whereas they’re only banks of very wide channels.
Dinner was potato and leek soup, roast pork and apple crumble.
Friday: Second day at Little Gorges.
Reading on the tent veranda, calm and peaceful, overlooking the gorge, sun on my back, sounds of birds, sounds of the river. Windy but tranquil. Churning waters below. The gorges lodges an oasis in ancient topography. Started wondering if I know how to embrace the moment. Not sure if I do. What is the difference between taking the time to embrace the moment and just sedentary inactivity?
Imvelo is the parent company of the two lodges, as well as others. They have a social upliftment project with the community, and this is the reason they sponsored the prize for the Hwange Schools Project fundraiser. We visited the Chisuma school and a typical homestead. The school I was impressed with, the poverty of the homestead was sobering. This less fun activity did pacify my guilt somewhat. I felt guilty at having this all-expense paid luxury holiday in the midst of absolute poverty and at lodges that were far from fully booked.
Back at the lodge we walked along to the main Gorges lodge. Very impressive, more established, and very attractive. Stone apartments instead of tented rooms. Met Sjaan from Imvelo head office.
Climbed down the gorge to takeout point no. 19 with guide Mike. Easy climb, pleasant time at the bottom.
Dinner was butternut soup, sirloin steak and malva pudding.
Saturday: Final morning at Little Gorges.
Said goodbyes and left at 10.30am. At the airport I bought a Zambezi lager t-shirt as homage to the beer I’ve been drinking all week. Also finished reading Any Human Heart by William Boyd. Changed planes at Jo’burg. Turns out that Vida e Caffe’ do in fact sell beers. Arrived home 9.15pm.
Comparison of the two lodges: Meals were excellent at both, far more gourmet at Zambezi Sands than at Little Gorges, but always good, frequent and plentiful. I preferred the accommodation at ZS, both the rooms and the communal areas, but the view at LG can’t be beat. ZS is the winner of the two for me. Both have it that you’re entirely dependent on the lodge for entertainment. You can’t really wonder off by yourself. LG is much windier than ZS and a bit more wild. Lots of geckos and wasps at ZS, and lots of small squirrels at LG. The accommodation is called tents, but really the only similarity with a traditional tent is that they have canvas sides and roofs. They have solid partitions, pictures hanging on the walls, four poster beds, bathrooms, cupboards, chairs, trunks, etc. The tent sites flap slightly in the wind to remind you you’re not actually in a solid walled room. All the guides and bar staff we encountered were so pleasant and friendly. Not sure if that’s a Zimbabwean thing or a just a matter of them being employees in the tourism sector.
Animals we saw included elephants, hippopotamuses, giraffes, warthog, impala, a lioness, bush buck, water buck, baboons, banded mongoose, genette. Birds we saw included fish eagle, vultures, African hawk eagle, kingfishers, and many others. Trees we saw included Zambezi teak, jakkalberry, winterthorn, mopani, acacia, marula, baobab, sausage tree, combretum, paperbark tree.
Sunday: Back to reality. 121 emails waiting for me. Wrote Trip Advisor reviews (here and here) and thank you letters to both Imvelo and Hwange Schools Project for the prize. I seem to have a plumbing pipe issue, the flat below has damp beneath my geyser. Grocery shopping, gym, ironing. Watched the Canadian formula 1 but fell asleep halfway through.
What a week! A holiday of a lifetime.
Podcasts listened to this week: Tim Ferriss 243; CppCast.
