Harare - Pessimists are often left with egg on their face when they visit places such as Victoria Falls. The general efficiency in Victoria Falls probably matches that of any other small town in the world. It’s the kind of efficiency that will surprise those who still see Zimbabwe through the prism of the last decade where the wheels had come off.
Zimbabwe has moved on from the days of hyper-inflation and product shortages when people had to cross borders to buy items such as soap or cooking oil. Today all you need when visiting Zimbabwe is your bank card.
At the five-star Elephant Hills hotel, where I stayed during a recent visit to Victoria Falls, a bus would drop a dozen or so tourists roughly every two hours. And this in an off-peak month.
A staff member at Elephant Hills took me on a walk around the hotel’s golf course and, trust me, to walk the length of the course takes some fitness. By the time we returned from the walk I was ready to call it a day, except that our group was to go on an afternoon cruise on the Zambezi. I’m told it’s pointless to go to Vic Falls and not do the “sunset cruise”. During the cruise, elephant and buffalo on the edges of the river had our contingent in a camera frenzy.
Dinner at the hotel’s restaurant catered to all tastes: meat eaters enjoyed the starter of beef fillet trinchado, pescatorians loved the Zambezi bream fillet with roast potatoes, and vegetarians relished the mushroom and mixed vegetable-stuffed cannelloni in a herbed parmesan cheese sauce. For more adventurous eaters, there was diced crocodile tail in a white wine and mushroom sauce. Less exotically, there was a “makhaya chicken” (home cooked chicken) with vegetables.
Said executive chef Leonard Nyathi: “We stock locally where we can, things like vegetables and fish. For the exotic stuff we order from Mozambique and South Africa.”
He said the build-up to the UN World Tourism Organisation summit in Victoria Falls had started. “We are busy training extra staff for the event.” The summit is scheduled to be held in August.
There are a number of other well-known establishments in the area, including hotels such as the Azambezi, Ilala Lodge and African Sun’s Kingdom Hotel where the town’s casino is located.
But the main selling point for Vic Falls, on Zimbabwe’s border with Zambia, is its world-famous falls on the Zambezi River. The falls can be viewed from the Zimbabwean and Zambian sides.
Most people I asked said the Zimbabwean side offers the best experience of the falls. I guess it depends who you ask. Which Zimbabwean would ever advise you to visit Zambia and not Zimbabwe?
There is a high level of tourist traffic at the Vic Falls Aquarium, ranging from local schools to overseas travel groups.
Once inside the aquarium, you can explore the falls from different spots as you walk along winding paved walkways on your own or with a tour guide. The walkways, among green bushes, are easy to navigate without a guide and they lead you to within metres of the falls.
Although it was a sunny weekend, some visitors brought rain coats because when you get close to the falls, it turns into a surreal situation where the water from the powerful falls turn into a drizzle. A rainbow is a permanent feature at the falls. Explaining the how and the why of this magic of nature is best left to scientists, but what you experience is something even 21st century technology can’t replicate.
A few minutes’ drive from Elephant Hills is the Boma restaurant.
A genuine effort is put into entertaining guests at this place. No matter how big a group you are, each and every guest receives a traditional cloth wrapped around their shoulder as a welcome gesture.
Now feeling truly African, guests are led to their tables. On the menu is buffalo, crocodile, mopani worms, springbok and the usual restaurant offerings.
Everyone gets half a cup of umqombothi (sorghum beer). I saw a few people squint after tasting umqombothi, but they drank more nonetheless.
We were also challenged to each have at least one mopani worm. “You eat one and you get a certificate,” said one Boma staff member. Some took up the challenge and were not too impressed with the taste – but they were proud of their certificates.
A sangoma was also available to enlighten guests on their future. One young lady was told that she was “strong like a man” and that she would bear three kids. She could not help but tell those at her table about this prophecy a number of times.
After dinner it was time for a drumming session, where everyone got their own drum for a quick drumming lesson. Led by a professional drummer standing at the centre of the outdoor venue, the place was turned into a festival, with everyone playing drums. I think the UN World Tourism Organisation delegates can look forward to an exciting week in Vic Falls next year. - Saturday Star
l The writer travelled to Harare and Victoria Falls courtesy of 1Time.