16. - 15 AUG: Victoria Falls - rafting - ULM

Full day of activities in and around Victoria Falls.

In the morning I go for a white water rafting tour down the Zambezi. You can do this for half a day, a full day, or several days. All things considered half a day is a good appetizer, I'd like to do more. But our program is already quite full, so there you go. Some of the rapids are quite easy, after one or two it almost begins to feel boring. But then we get a really steep one, and then a really terrifying one that make it all worthwhile! All the staff are local blacks, except one person who is white. I talk to to him and he is Italian! He says he's been living here a long time, and feels African. When he speaks English he does have a heavy African lilting accent! And especially striking, he has picked up that special African laughter!

In the afternoon I book an ultralight flight over Vic Falls. I miss flying my glider, and I have never really flown a motor plane of any sort. Paul is a young Zimbabwean pilot who makes some money taking tourists around. I meet him at the small Vic Fall airport and off we go. He even wants to let me fly it but I am not so sure this is the best place to try so I regretfully decline. Paul is white, so I asked him about black pilots and he says there are not so many, with a tone in his voice which means there is none really. No money, no education...

We fly over the falls, much lower than we did the other day with the helicopter. Can hear the noise of the water crashing down, the people walking by the walkway. We also fly over my cliffside hotel, I can see people sunbathing by the pool, and my room just a couple of meters from the cliff, facing south over the mighty Zambezi.

We then fly over Zambia, at the other end of the bridge that spans the two countries. We are quite low over a village and I can easily make out the huts, the people and the cattle. My pilot tells me he should not really fly so low, it is not allowed because it might scare the animals and disturb the people. But he does anyway because the tourists like it and the locals have ho telephone to call the authorities anyway. I am rather stunned and a bit irritated to be part of this but say nothing.

As we proceed to fly back to the airport, just before sunset, an airliner, a Boeing 737, is on its final approach to land. Of course we give it right of way! But we are on the ground right behind it, and I can't avoid being rather amused at how here a small ultralight can land or take off right next to a big commercial jet!

15. - 14 AUG: Flight back to Victoria Falls

We get up fairly early and have a good breakfast. After saying goodbye to our hosts we head back to the airstrip with our pilot. The blond lady checks her plane all over, then puts our bags in the hold and invites us to embark.

Pleasant flight back to Victoria. We fly at low altitude, less than a thousand meters, so we can actually enjoy a detailed view of the savannah below us and not a few wild animals.

We reach Victoria Falls, and after taking leave from our pilot we are picked up by the driver sent by our hotel.

He is a really nice person, speaks to us about the situation in the country and complains he does not make enough money to take care of his family, especially now that his daughter is ill with heart disease and needs expensive treatment by a cardiologist. One visit costs 2000 zim, some 50 USD, a small fortune.

Back at the hotel we relax by the pool and make plans for the following days. After the helicopter flight, I'd like to take a flight over the falls in an ultralight and perhaps also over the surrounding savannah. They tell us it should be possible, though not cheap.

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.