Day 127: Zimbabwe
Today was a LONG travel day. We rolled out of bed at 5AM and hit the road, eating Oreos as our breakfast on the way. It took us 3½ hours to drive down the Caprivi Strip to the Ngoma border crossing into Botswana (during which time, we did not see a *single* elephant or buffalo – kinda disappointed). Leaving Namibia was easy, but as this border crossing was busier than the Mohembo border (which is mostly tourists), it was a LONG wait. It was especially frustrating to see two open counters with border agents *doing nothing* who refused to let us complete our car registration until our passports had been stamped…or, you know, maybe help out the Immigrant agent as she has a line of about 20 people? There was a suggestion box in the office – we considered giving them our advice and entertained ourselves with other outrageous suggestions like a welcome drink – but since we would need to reenter the country one more time, we decided against it.
Once we were in Botswana, we drove a short distance through Chobe National Park to the town of Kasane, where we would be leaving our car while we got a transfer to Zimbabwe (apparently the traffic police in Zimbabwe are *really* corrupt and the hassle of bringing a rental car into the country is just not worth it). We made a quick stop at the Money Exchange office to get rid of all of our Namibian dollars for USD. Why USD? Because that is the *official currency* of Zimbabwe! If you go to any ATM in Zimbabwe, it will give you AMERICAN DOLLARS. How crazy is that? Apparently their inflation rate went so out of control that 350 TRILLION Zimbabwe dollars equals USD $1. We were approached several times by hawkers trying to sell us 3 Trillion Dollar notes as “souvenirs” during our stay.
We arrived at the Chobe Safari Lodge (where we would be parking our car for the next three days) at 12 noon on the dot – perfect timing as our transfer van had also just arrived and was looking for us. We grabbed our bags and locked the car, and finally sat back and let someone else do the driving for a change!
At the Zimbabwe border, we got double entry visas (since we would be visiting the Zambian side of Victoria Falls as well) for USD $45pp, then walked across the border where we switched vehicles. About 2hours later, we were finally dropped off at the Gorges Lodge – a luxurious paradise where we discovered we had another all-inclusive package! All drinks, transportation, and two activities! Yay!
Sunrise on the Caprivi Strip – we’re already 30min into our drive
Two border crossings in one day! Into Botswana, then directly on to Zimbabwe
Welcome drinks and a fantastic view at the Gorges Lodge are welcome luxuries after a LONG travel day
Another ultra-luxury safari tent! Africa is spoiling us! J
We were so comfortable when we arrived, we had a lazy afternoon, enjoying the Wifi *in our tent*. We finally decided we had to do at least one fun thing before the end of the day, so we asked for a ride into town to see the sunset. Since the Gorges Lodge is located a good 40min outside of Victoria Falls proper, our driver told us we didn’t have quite enough time to catch the sunset, but he knew of another hotel nearby that had a bar overlooking a waterhole which would be perfect for sundowners.
Sundowner drinks at the Victoria Falls Safari Lodge bar, overlooking the waterhole
It was a stunning sunset, with a large herd of elephants at the waterhole. Once the sky started to darken, a sliver crescent moon appeared
Back at Gorges, and ready for a steak dinner and fine South African wine!
I absolutely love the Chobe Safari Lodge…what luxury and the sunset, dinner and fine wine oh my!!!!