After customs we got our bags and took a rather expensive taxi to the pathfinder bus station and bought all four tickets we would need to get us through all of our stops and to the final destination of Victoria Falls. With a few hours to waste Anne and I went and sat by the holiday inn pool enjoying some sandwiches and eventually an ice cold Zambezi beer. Eating and drinking were interrupted by frequent bouts of eye drooping and head bobbing as we battled to stay awake. Once the time came to board the red double-decker bus we headed towards the station ready for a chance to doze.
The bus was massive and fairly clean and provided snacks and drinks. For entertainment we had "Remember the Titans" playing on the aisle tv's in addition to a chunky cheeked little boy learning the basics of peekaboo. The ride to Gweru took about 4 hours with one 10 minute stop. Upon arriving in Gweru we were met by a native Zimbabwean man (he was white, don't think in stereotypes) named Gerry, I think, who shuttled us to Antelope Park. He briefly mentioned having his family farm taken away by the government around 2001. This was a common theme with white Zimbabweans we would meet along the trip. (At least so far)
The first night at the park was led off by a delicious buffet barbeque followed by a few beers by the river. The night was an early one as we were both drugged up from the flight and ready to turn in. Before we could crawl into our separate mosquito-netted bed, we each had to shower. The separate showers, while clean and comfortable were over run by bands of mosquitos. Like Brotherhood supporters on a Friday morning, they came in droves, produced an unending drone and would not leave whether they believed the battle to be won or lost. When one went down, two more blood suckers were there to take up the martyrs cause. Luckily I brought a piece of a mosquito coil which produced an uneasy cease-fire as would come with the fog of war.
The night was filled with the sounds of lion calls in the near distance but nothing to the point of waking me from a dead sleep. The morning began with an elephant ride through the park. I've had the chance to pet one off these thick skinned massive creatures before and been intimidated just being near them. Riding them though was a pretty cool experience. While riding 12 feet of the ground I was lucky enough to spot a few giraffes, ibex or antelope and a juvenile lion. The elephant behind me had learned the trick of picking up items to give to a handler in exchange for a treat. For lack of a better term it was pretty cute and impressive to see this massive creature trying to hand you a random fist-sized stone or length out a twig in exchange for a few feed pellets. I didn't necessarily keep the half brick sized sandstone, but appreciated it nonetheless.
Following the elephant adventure and some pictures we headed off to Great Zimbabwe, a massive prehistoric structure and the largest south of the Sahara. The site consisted of a large cliff monadnock that was reinforced with stone walls. In the valley below were circular walled enclosures for the populace with walls over 4 meters thick and still standing standing strong with no mortar. The cliff site had a great vantage point to keep an eye on any invaders while the ground structures were built sturdily enough to protect the residents. The drive to and from was about 6 hours roundtrip, but worth it.
Day three began at 615am with a lion walk, which is exactly as it sounds. A group of six of its plus two handlers and a guide took a male and female lion out for their morning walk/hunt. We crossed the nearly dry river on a short wooden bridge and entered the game enclosure. After waiting about two or three minutes in a predetermined spot, we got our first glimpse of the beasts. The lions appeared from the haze near the river and their deep purring as they picked on each other was audible for about 50 meters or more. The pair were 15 months old and came up to about my waist. I've seen taller dogs, but nothing with such muscle, and with paws the size of dinner plates. The two nipped at each other and wrestled like any young kitten or pup, but in the back of my mind was how easily they could "play" with me and use my limbs as chew toys if the mood changed. As we walked the lions would rub against us as if asking for affection. Soon we became comfortable enough to scratch their backs and even stroke their tails as they strolled ahead of us. As the morning warmed up, the lions seemed to get lazier, making for quite a few photo opportunities. We became one of the pack as we progressed and they didn't treat us like a snack at all but as more of a partner. At one point we were fortunate enough to see the pair stalk an antelope but it was already too far away. Zebra were spotted on a different hill with a separate pride following them. Unfortunately for the juvenile lions, the zebra stallion was too strong and protective to let one of his group become breakfast that morning. Despite my lack of interest in seeing fresh blood, there was something exhilarating about watching the siblings spread out and hunt. Apparently they had been successful in a few recent trips, but ours was not one of them. Even without the thrill of a kill, I would say the hour spent walking with the lions was one of the coolest things I've ever done.
Too follow this up we filled our faces full of a pork laden breakfast and went to see the lion cubs. We entered the enclosure which housed four females of about 5 months. One was older but did not care for people. They all lazily sat in the shade battling both the heat and the incessant flies which caused their ears and eyes to twitch sporadically. None were in a playing mood but two allowed us to pet them and rub their bellies. The socialization is part of a greater project to breed the lions and eventually introduce them back into the wild. They want them to be comfortable with humans to facilitate lion reproduction and make them comfortable being around people on the way to introduction into the wild.
The next part of the journey took us back to the bus and on to the Hwange National Park for some safari-ing. The bus ride wasn't too bad, but this time it was a single-decker and they played 'Pitch Perfect' and a crappy local movie full of slap-stick comedy. We waited at the Hwange Lodge and had a cold beer while watching large animals meander up to the watering hole for an evening drink. Our ride picked us up after a drink or two and took us to our new accommodations at Miombo Lodge. We stayed in a small fan-only room with an awesome and huge outdoor shower and tons of mosquitoes. The first evening we had an awesome steak dinner, some South African wine and a pretty warm night without AC. Luckily for us, we were upgraded to the honeymooon sweet for the second night. More on that later.
In the morning, we woke up before sunrise, had a quick breakfast and hit the road for our first safari. Before we'd even been out of the lodge for 5 minutes, we came upon our first giraffes and elephants on the side of the road. The park was really amazing. Everywhere we turned there were buffalo, elephants, giraffes, zebra, warthogs and tons of stuff with horns. The watering hole with elevated viewing deck was surrounding by well over 50 elephants, some hippos and a couple crocs. We did 3 safaris through the park and were even lucky enough to see a pride of lions just after a kill. Although I didn't get to see rhinos or leopards, it was still a great experience seeing so many of these animals in the same place. The honeymoon sweet we got to stay in for the second night had 2 showers, a huge bathtub overlooking a small watering hole despite being a permanent tent-type structure with huge 4-post bed. The wind made it kind of loud at night but the comfort of the bed definitely made up for that. Our final day was spent with one last morning drive through the park and some relaxing beside the pool waiting for our ride out to catch the bus towards Victoria Falls.
Vic Falls had been the main reason that I was so interested in Zimbabwe. It's the largest waterfall in the world (while being neither the tallest or widest...) and if I had a bucket list, would be on it. We arrived in Vic Falls relatively late and were just exhausted. As the exciting couple that we are, Anne and I staggered to the restaurant/bar at our accommodation to grab a quick bite and beer before we both passed out. A valuable lesson was learned on this trip: AC is very valuable in Zimbabwe in October. In the morning we were picked up early and driven to the border with Zambia. We crossed the border across the Zambezi river and made our way to our pick-up point for the Devil's Pool trip. This was the #1 thing I was looking forward to on our trip. The Devil's Pool is a small pool of slow moving water over looking the edge of Victoria Falls. As you can see from the pictures in the slide show above, you really are right on the edge. It was amazing. The feeling of being that close to the edge was exhilarating. The water that got faster and faster the further we went out of the pool was terrifying. Luckily our guides showed us exactly where to go so we didn't have to worry about being swept over the edge. Laying over the edge of the falls looking straight down at the clouds of mist being spewed back up towards us was another image from this trip I'll never forget. In addition to the falls, we did a big ride around town so we could see what the local (non-touristy life was like and drink a Scud) and climbing (illegally to the edge of the falls from a different area) and went on a crazy whitewater rafting trip down the Zambezi. Our raft on the trip must have flipped 6 or more times in the 20 rapids. Every level 5 we flipped and one 4 turned us upside down as well. Anne supposedly got stuck in a whirlpool for a few seconds and I was lucky enough to swim with crocs, even though I was not made aware of this until I climbed back into the boat. The trip was finished with an exhausting climb up the side of the gorge to our awaiting BBQ and ride back. After the falls we snuck in a little trip to see the falls from the opposite side and I purchased a ton of old money from some street kids.
Leaving Vic Falls was tough. Not just because we both loved it, but because we decided on the super cheap sleeper train that barely had bathrooms, did not have food and had no water available. Luckily be brought sprite and wine, which were the only things we could drink for the 12 hour trip. Our room on the train was straight out of the 50's and had not been updated since then. The beds were made up and were relatively comfortable, all considered. I took a sleeping pill to help, but that train must have stopped a few dozen times through out the night, picking people up in the middle of nowhere.
After the train and another bus, we made our way back to the the airport and caught our flight without issue. (Well the only issue was that neither of us had taken a shower in 24 hours or so, but thank god for some detol wipes.)
Hands down one of the coolest trips I have ever been on.