14. - 13 AUG: flight from Victoria Falls to Chizarira

In the morning we transfer to the Vic Falls airport to board a private plane to Chizarira. We are welcomed by a serious looking blonde lady in her late twenties who is our pilot.

Our plane is a single engine Cessna, and the flight to our destination is the most interesting part of this day. Once we get there, it's a bit of a disappointment. During a long and bumpy drive to the lodge, ohe local guide tells us it's the dry season (we know, that's why we chose it) and therefore it will be hard to see many animals as here they do not set up artificial water holes like in the main parks. Makes sense, perhaps, but I wish we'd been told before.

Accommodation is fairly basic, there are no tourists (wonder why?) and our hosts are not especially welcoming. I feel like I am being treated like a stupid city person whose only reason to exist is to pay exorbitant fees to white owners of so-called luxury lodges. Food is alright, no more.

I decide to cut this short and arrange to fly back to Vic Falls the next day. There are tons more things to do and see there, no point staying here.

13. - 12 AUG: Victoria Falls Helicopter tour

The highlight of the day is a fantastic helicopter tour over the falls. To board the craft we have to walk over the bridge that spans across the falls between Zimbabwe and Zambia. Passport control, customs etc. but it's pretty straightforward as we have nothing except some cash and our cameras.

I am struck by some billboards in the customs house that advertise skin whitening creams! Apparently it's big business here, even though (as some other posters warn) they can be quite harmful to the skin! Just think of all the troubles whites go through to become darker, here they spend precious money to become paler.

The tour is great. The pilots swooshed back and forth between the Zim and the Zambian side of the falls. I asked him to fly lower, to get a closer look at the water but there are safety rules and he can only go down so much, and in any case it was not allowed to be lower than the top of the falls. Not cheap but highly recommended.