| THE VIC FALLS WEEKENDER |  | | |
Maplanga Africa exhibits at many travel and adventure shows in South Africa, the Getaway and Outdoor Adventure Shows spring to mind, The most common question we get as tour operators is: “Zimbabwe - is it open?” Other common questions of concern are: “can I go there?”, “is it safe?”, “is there petrol and diesel?”, “will my loot go to Bob’s cronies?”
The answer is yes to all of the above - except the loot of course. This goes to the hard working Zimbabweans that have kept it all going through the recent bad times. In December last year, we did a self drive (see BIG ADVENTURE story above) during the worst of the worst, and as you will read, we had a great time and it was safe. | | This most recent trip (18th – 20th April) was to look at the other option, the quick two night up market fly-in package. So after a crushing cricket defeat of South Africa by Aussie (buggers!), we found ourselves crawling out of our Jo-burg beds and off to OR Tambo, or ORT as it’s commonly known. Wow ! We truly have an airport that is world class and better, having been to Heathrow and Gatwick recently, I can confirm that ORT is way above and now with the added advantage Gautrain soon to be arriving directly into international departures area, we have it all!
British Airways and South African Airways are the only airline carriers arriving at Livingstone/Vic Falls from South Africa; flights are daily. This time around we invested with “Queen and country” and BA whisked us of to Livingstone an hour and a half later. Why arrive in Livingstone? Well the Victoria Falls (Zim) flights were full and Livingstone Airport is in fact closer to the main Zim-side hotels than Vic Falls International Airport. A quick hop, skip and a jump through the border we were at our destination - the majestic and stunning “Grande Dame”, The Victoria Falls Hotel. | | THE VICTORIA FALLS HOTEL |   | | The hotel is situated with a view of the main bridge and gorge. Combine this with the spray you get from an “all time water level high”, the hotel's position is hard to beat. The rooms are a combination of Victorian style with modern facilities such as the well hidden bar fridge and TV (if you really want it). The king-size bed was perfect for a tall bugger like me, so all good. Our room was number 55, which had the perfect view of the Vic Falls Bridge, gorge and spray. Perfect.. |
| DOING FUN STUFF | Not a family to sit and wait for God, we arranged a Zambezi river cruise on the classic river boat, Ra-ikane. This is a smaller boat than the usual fare and is aimed at the more discerning customer.
Drinks are served out of crystal glassware and snacks are a delectable assortment of sweet and savory. (Croc tail, chicken pies, scones, florentines - delicious)
|  | It was good to see that the bitterly cold Zambezi’s came from the can and the taste and quality are back to pre bugger-up standards. After the cruise it was back to our hotel and time for a long awaited dinner at the majestic and regal Livingstone Room. The food was superb and service up to any international hotel standard.
Sunday dawned, our plan was to take a casual stroll through the gardens and out to the main entrance to the Falls for a walk-about. The Falls running at this massive water level have one small glitch. Believe it or not, there is too much water! The spray sometimes obstructs the view, so to get the big picture it is advisable to add a helicopter flip as a “must do”. |  |
| WHOA...down into the gorge | | Our next activity was to experience the BIG Three from Wild Horizons. This is a cable adventure half day that has three main elements: - Flying Fox – a “superman” horizontal body flight across one of the gorges. It is not for the faint hearted… - Zip Line – the worlds fastest “foofie slide”, down the gorge, to end up suspended above the raging waters. Also not for the faint hearted, but hell its fun! |  | Nat and I did a tandem slide. She was terrified pre slide and ended up relaxed and whooping with exhileration afterwards.
- Gorge Swing – 75m free fall followed by an adrenaline swing, you will kak in your pants. Brilliant.
Having lived in Johannesburg since 1980, you may think that we have experienced our fair share of adrenalin. Well imagine all of that adrenalin stuffed into a Coke bottle and then swallowed all at once. You may be coming close to the rush that you get on each of these three, it was awesome and you feel ALIVE!! Do this activity or shut up and grow old…
|
| FLIGHT OF ANGELS & GORGE TRIP | | Quick lunch back at the hotel, then off for more adventure - a 25min “flight of angels”, the famous helicopter flip over Victoria Falls. Yawn, “been there, done that” you may say, but wait! I said 25 min flight not just the Coke and Bun usual trip. This was to be the Vic Falls normal flip combined with a gut wrenching “Vietnam style” twister through the gorges; just meters above the raging torrents of the mighty Zambezi, DO THIS! |
Our last activity for the day, was a serene, no adrenalin, no adventure game drive through the Chamabondo Game Area which is situated near to Victoria Falls Town. Sadly the game was scarce but we did see Sable, Zebra and Impala however due to good water availability - and we are lead to believe, some poaching, it was not the numbers we have seen in the past. The poaching is being dealt via the Victoria Falls Anti Poaching unit, (along with all the other problems Zimbabweans face) and the game will return to this part of Zimbabwe.
Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe has to be done and done and done again. This is a multi visit destination. It's closer to Jozi than Cape Town and in my opinion better than the mountain, dude…. But that is my opinion and half cents worth …. | | | | YES, Zimbabwe is getting better every day, tourists are starting to come back, prices are falling, and it’s all coming together nicely as we had all hoped for. They now need you to come back and be part of the new Zimbabwe. They need your loot and now that Zim$ are a thing of the past, your Rands (or any foreign currency) are readily accepted and used as common currency. In return, Zimbabwe has a lot to offer the traveller from genuine safaris to the BEST adventure in the world. The food is good and varied, the shops are full and petrol is available. Add safety to this mix and you have an unbeatable destination. It is our duty as Southern Africans to throw our weight behind this stunning country. Sure there will set-backs, we too had them post apartheid, but they will “get there”. |
If you would like to experience any of the above, please give one of our consultants a call, no call centres, no need to enter your info online, just good old fashioned service, advice and some of the best deals anywhere.
| | SPECIAL THANKS TO: | Andrew Nightingdale - African Sun
Brent Williamson – SafPar Zimbabwe
Cornelius Mpofu – SafPar Zimbabwe
Jane – Ra-iKane
Ryan Dhana – Shearwater Adventures
Shane White – Wild Horizons
We are holding thumbs for you all! | |  Chris Wood - 21st April 2009 - advertising@maplanga.co.za
|
|
|
