A Taste Of Victoria Falls

Writer: Sarah Kingdom Photography: Individually credited

My first visit to Victoria Falls was almost a quarter of a century ago...and when I put it like that, I somehow feel rather old! I had visited, with my parents, when I was about 12 and revisited when I was working in Livingstone aged 21, but since then I had barely set foot in Zimbabwe for 15 years. Now, all these years later, I was returning with my own teenage sons to see what had changed. But first we had to cross the famous Victoria Falls Bridge from Zambia and get through the ridiculously lengthy queues at the Zimbabwean border post; it was the Vic Falls marathon the following day and the queue of runners crossing from Zambia was horrendous! Finally, just as we were wilting and our tempers fraying, we got our passports stamped, various paperwork for the car completed and were into Zimbabwe and on our way to Chundu Island.

Accessible only by boat, Chundu Island is a tear-drop-shaped island in the Zambezi River, 21 kilometres upstream of the Victoria Falls, in the Zambezi National Park. At just over a kilometre long and about half a kilometre wide, the camp is spread out amongst huge mahogany, acacia and water berry trees and was the perfect start to our Zimbabwe visit. We reached the island as the sun had nearly set, and the stunning red skies above and the inky black waters beneath our boat made for a surreal and magical arrival.

Woken at dawn by a friendly knock on the door and a delivery of tea and coffee, it was a challenge to drag ourselves out of warm beds; however the mist over the water outside our room was spectacular. After a light breakfast around the fire we were on the boat, crossing back to the main section of the Zambezi National Park and setting off on a three-hour safari on foot. Zambezi National Park covers an area of 56,000 hectares and is home to elephant, lion, buffalo and leopard. In addition, sable, eland, giraffe, kudu, waterbuck and impala are found here; along with plenty of smaller game and over 400 species of birds… clearly we were only going to be able to cover a tiny fraction of this on our walk!

Our guides Paul and Blessed were full of information and we learnt about the traditional uses of much of the local plant life. We ‘got wind’ of a herd of over 60 zebra up ahead, who fortunately had not yet ‘gotten wind’ of us and Paul was able to guide us silently towards the herd. We quietly crept to less than 40 metres away before a few individuals finally noticed us, by which stage our tummies were rumbling and it was time to head back to camp for brunch and a siesta.

My post-lunch nap on our verandah overlooking the river was disturbed by a persistent ‘barking’ noise. Initially mistaking the sound for a baboon, I looked up into the trees, before realising the noise was coming from a bushbuck just metres away. She was intensely curious about me, and kept up her one- sided ‘conversation’ with me, until I abandoned the verandah and headed out for a peaceful afternoon’s canoe trip.

Next stop on our trip was back to the Victoria Falls. At 1.7 kilometres wide and with up to 550 million litres of water a minute cascading up to 108 metres into the chasm below, during the peak flow, the Falls are truly a sight to behold. Wandering through the rainforest area of the Falls, amongst trees such as fig, mahogany and date palms, and dashing through the spray to see the Falls from some magnificent viewpoints, left me looking like a drowned rat.

Photo credit: Africa Albida Tourism Photo credit: Ilala Lodge

Ilala Lodge in Victoria Falls is just a stone’s throw from the Falls themselves, so close in fact that you can see the spray from the Falls without even having to get out of bed! There were two definite highlights to our stay at Ilala. The first was a fabulous family of banded mongoose who had made the grounds of the hotel home, their antics providing much entertainment. The second was the hotel’s Palm Restaurant, where we were spoilt for choice, with warthog, crocodile risotto, stuffed kudu, ostrich fillet and a tagine of blesbok shank all on the menu… I made each member of my family order something different, so I could sample a little bit of them all… delicious!

A sunset cruise above the Falls is an essential part of any visit to Victoria Falls, and we did ours on the Ra-Ikane, a small luxury cruise boat, named after one of the guides who had led David Livingstone to the Falls. With only 14 people on board and fitted out with period décor, you really got the feeling of a bygone era. We travelled up the river as the sun went down, spotting bee-eaters, half-collared kingfishers, huge crocodiles and a nursery of baby hippos… and of course nibbling tasty snacks and sipping chilled wine...a perfect afternoon.

Lunch the next day found us at the seriously funky Zambezi House. Constructed from old shipping containers on the banks of the Zambezi, the quirky retro décor, great vibe, riverside location and good food all combine to make this a ‘must visit’ place. After a few hours break—for a bit of digestion— we were off to the Victoria Falls Hotel for high tea.

Built by the British in 1904 and one of the oldest hotels in Africa, the Victoria Falls Hotel was originally built as accommodation for workers on the Cape to Cairo railway. Now a luxury hotel, high tea on the verandah of the hotel, with its dramatic views down the gorges to the Falls and the famous bridge, is an institution. Threetiered cake stands appeared on the table, full of scones, cucumber sandwiches, macaroons and more... we were almost defeated by the quantity, especially coming so quickly after our lunch. Loosening our belts one more notch, we valiantly worked our way through the feast.

Last, but not least on the day’s food epic in Victoria Falls, was dinner at the MaKuwa-Kuwa restaurant at the Victoria Falls Safari Lodge. The restaurant, open on three sides, overlooks the lodge’s waterhole and is an ideal vantage point for watching wildlife while you eat. We felt lucky to see two hyenas, a leopard and numerous elephants— all while we ate our dinner. The restaurant is part of The Victoria Falls Safari Lodge & Suites, where we were spending the final night of our trip. The Safari Suites were a lovely place to end our journey and we drank our final morning’s coffee whilst watching bushbucks and warthogs on the grass outside our room.

A week after we had crossed into Zimbabwe it was time to head back across the bridge into Zambia and home. It had been a wonderful visit and we enjoyed every moment of our journey.

CONTACT BOX

Chundu Island: www.chundu.co.za Ilala Lodge: www.ilalalodge.com Victoria Falls Safari Lodge & Suites: www.africaalbidatourism.com Zambezi House: www.zambezihouse.com Victoria Falls Hotel: www.victoria-falls-hotel.com