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Victoria Fall, Zimbabwe: an unexpected but awesome destination

At the tail end of our trip to South Africa, we spent 3 days in Zimbabwe, visiting Victoria Falls and surroundings. We had heard of Victoria Falls for a long time, and we figured that we wouldn't come back to Africa for a while, so it was now or never.

The flight from Johannesburg was quite convenient, so we were able to tag on a few days at the end of our trip. Victoria Falls didn't disappoint. Actually, after a somewhat disappointing safari experience in South Africa, we loved seeing the wild life in Zimbabwe.

We stayed at the beautiful hotel Victoria Falls Safari Lodge. It was Amazing! The hotel has a beautiful view of the savanna below it, with a nice water hole, and you could spend all day watching the wild animals coming and going to the water hole. It was such a nice show right in front of us.

View form the terrace at Victoria Falls Safari Lodge

The lodge also organized a very traditional evening of local food and dances. It was interesting to say the least. We got to try the local delicacies that included meat dishes based on game meat and Mopani worms. Yes, we ate grilled worms, even the 4-year old (note: I am glad I did it once; but I will not miss this dish at all!). The dance demonstrations were fun and we enjoyed beating the beat with the different drums they distributed to the audience. It was a nice event!

Learning to drum the beat before the show

Mopani Worms

The following day, we went to visit the cute little town of Victoria Falls (the hotel is a little bit of a drive away) and the Falls themselves. The falls are impressive and worth the long hike. It was so cool to see Zambia from the other side of the falls, so close, yet so hard to reach. Be warned that you will get soaked as you get closer. We didn't take seriously the merchants that were selling rain gear along the way as it was a beautiful warm weather. But we came back wet and shivering; after rushing on the way back (which means we didn't enjoy the hike as much as we should have). Other than that, it was a beautiful place.

Beautiful Victoria Falls

We spent the evening on sunset cruise on the Zambia river, and saw wild life plus a beautiful sunset. We finally felt that we were enjoying a nice, relaxed vacation.

On our last day, we got up early to go ride on elephants, which was a highlight for the kids. We also learned a lot from our guide about the local culture and some of the challenges of Zimbabwe, hidden behind the Victoria Falls touristy display. 

Treats for the elephant after a nice morning ride

This was our last adventure in Africa for a while. In the afternoon, we flew back to Johannesburg, and started our long trip back home with a red eye. The last 3 days of our trip, added a little haphazardly turned out to be the best. We really loved it at Victoria Falls and felt really welcome. 
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