Traveling Through Zambia & Zimbabwe

As the natural border between Zambia and Zimbabwe, Victoria Falls pulls millions of visitors from around the world and is the most visited site in Southern Africa. No doubt the falls are impressive. The largest waterfall on the planet and the seventh wonder of the world, Victoria Falls (Mosi-oa-Tunya,” the smoke that thunders) is hidden behind a veil of mist after the rainy season when the Zambezi River is full. For better or for worse, we arrived to the town of Livingstone, Zambia during the dry season, at a time when the falls are at their lowest. However this period is also the only window during the year that people are allowed to swim in the outrageously scary Devil’s Pool, a pool that is directly at the edge of the falls.

We crossed the border to Zimbabwe the next day, to the town of Victoria Falls, where the view of the falls is better.

The next day our group (which had grown in size to include Ricky (American) and Fenner (Canadian)) set out for a tour across Zimbabwe. Our first stop was Hwange National Park, one of Africa’s largest national parks and largest elephant herds. We were all hopeful to see some predators, and after a day of driving and a night of camping, we came across two male lions lying just meters from our car.

From Hwange we continued southeast to Matopos National Park, a beautiful park in the Matopo Mountains.

The park is also to a healthy population of rhinos. After a two hour (unsuccessful) walking safari looking for rhinos, and a two hour (again, unsuccessful) game drive, we decided to check the park again that evening to try and spot them. We got lucky that night and saw not just one rhino, but six and a baby. If there’s anything more peaceful than watching the sunset while rhinos gently graze in the foreground, I haven’t found it.

The next morning we made our way east to Great Zimbabwe, one of the few ancient cities in Africa that achieved a high level of civilization. Great Zimbabwe was a religious and political capital of 10,000 to 20,000 whose power reached throughout Zimbabwe and neighboring Botswana, Mozambique and South Africa. First occupied in the 11th century, Great Zimbabwe’s path is not unlike any other ancient civilization (and surely, someday, our own), and the city flourished in its own wealth, but inevitably collapsed, due to the environmental impacts of too many people, too many cattle and too many natural resources depleted. We study history to learn from the mistakes of the past, right?

The next stop was the pristine wilderness of Chimanimani National Park, on the border of Mozambique, in the Chimanimani Mountain Range. No cars are allowed in the park, so it’s hiking only. After a beautiful and steep three hour hike to the mountain hut (our accommodations for the night), we went out to explore the areas waterfalls, pools and caves.

We had one last stop in Zimbabwe, an overnight in the capital city of Harare. We went out to a bar with good live music and lots of well educated locals.

Driving through Zimbabwe was an interesting experience; about every 50 kilometers there is a police checkpoint where they stop you and try to figure out how they can fine you. They check your lights, brake lights, turn signals. They check to see that everyone is buckled in, they question where you’re going, why you’re going and what you’re hauling. They pour over the driver’s information and the car’s registration looking for inaccuracies. We got several tickets, including one for “off roading” by a severely intoxicated member of the military who took a liking to grabbing his AK47 to emphasize his point. Some of this was surely done because we’re white tourists, but the police checkpoints seem not to discriminate, but rather to prove to everyone who is really in charge. Zimbabwe is one of the most corrupt countries in the world, and the police are merely a reflection of this, and they’ll take advantage of any opportunity to remind the citizens that Mugabe and his government owns Zimbabwe.

The next morning we began one of the most grueling parts of the journey across two borders with more problems than I thought possible.