‘Elephaaant!’
If my head could spin 360, in this moment, it would have. As I whip around, my hair bristles at the sight of an army of Africa’s most majestic creatures, munching leaves from the trees alongside their fuzzy offspring.
If you had told me I’d witness this while staying at Victoria Falls Safari Lodge the year I turned 30, I would have scoffed in disbelief.
There is so much world I have yet to explore, and yet here I am in Zimbabwe, feeling the spray of the iconic Victoria Falls after hiking to the peak. Eating dinner with one eye on the warthogs drinking from a nearby watering hole. Spotting hippos rising from the water on a cruise down the Zambezi River. Sitting in a safari truck as a herd of more than 30 elephants surrounded us in every direction.
My first time on safari in Africa is as magic as it looks in the movies.
Retracing treasured footsteps
Before I stepped foot on the flight to Zimbabwe, this trip already had deeper meaning for me.
My grandparents were intrepid travellers who visited over 70 countries; 25 years ago, they too went to Zimbabwe. Having the chance to retrace their footsteps a year after losing my Nana meant more than I can put into words.
We land to a warm welcome before a 20-minute drive brings us to Victoria Falls Safari Lodge, a four-star hotel just 4km from the eponymous waterfall. Cucumber mocktails are served on arrival.
Overlooking Zambezi National Park, the hotel – which marked its 30th anniverarsy in December – combines luxury with comfort, their beautiful rooms featuring plush beds covered by mosquito nets, Zimbabwean art on the walls, luxurious bathtubs and unreal views of animals traipsing around the lodge at all hours of the day.
We frequented two restaurants at the hotel during our stay: the Buffalo Bar for our daily breakfasts, and the MaKuwa-Kuwa Restaurant for several dinners, as well as The Boma for their famous drum show on an incredibly memorable final night.
While our itinerary was packed to the brim, we also had time to relax at the pool next to the club where we were staying. The MaKuwa-Kuwa Restaurant also had its own pool, while the spa – which offers massages, body scrubs, facials and beauty treatments – boasted another two, including one you were instructed to walk in for reflexology.
Exhausted from the 13-hour journey, all tiredness vanishes as we are treated to our first elephant sighting from the window of the MaKuwa-Kuwa restaurant. The sole elephant wandering into our midst during a tour of the hotel came as a huge shock, and marked the moment that reality finally set in – I was here, in Zimbabwe, on the trip of a lifetime.
A couple of hours after arriving, I cannot believe my luck.
Walking among wildlife
We quickly learn that here, being inches from warthogs, guineafowls and bushbucks – a type of small antelope – is commonplace. We are warned not to get too close, especially to mothers with their babies. But mostly, these incredible creatures are happy to hang out in harmony with us.
The hotel is a staunch supporter of conservation efforts in the area. The Victoria Falls Anti-Poaching Unit and the Bhejane Trust work tirelessly to protect Zambezi National Park and the animals who live there from destruction.
We spoke to Nathan Webb, who runs two conservation trusts based in Victoria Falls, including the Victoria Falls Anti Poaching Unit, which was formed in 1999 in conjunction with the Victoria Falls Safari Lodge, and the Bhejane trust.
Referencing the watering hole that we could see from the Buffalo Bar where we had out chat, he said: ‘Obviously that water hole [is a] huge attraction to animals, but by bringing animals in, you also increase the threat of unethical activity going on around those animals. Our main mandate is anti poaching in and around Victoria Falls.’
He continued: ‘Poaching is like any other crime. In fact, if you look at the wildlife trade on a global scale, it’s up there with drugs and human trafficking.
‘Poaching happens mostly at night. A week, 10 days ago, we had an operation – we were out till four in the morning.
‘Our biggest preventative measure at the moment is just a positive presence. I’ve got a team of 19 rangers that are out all day, every day, 365 days a year, day and night, just patrolling the bush. It’s not necessarily hidden. They’re quite visual, and that often acts as a big deterrent, just having a presence in the bush.’
On the day before our safari, we get to engage with the wildlife in remarkable way – sitting in the Siduli Hide, a small hut metres away from the watering hole. If animals amble for a drink, we are as up close and personal as it gets.
Apart from swatting away the insects that make a beeline for the refreshing Savanna cider we are served, it makes for a tranquil afternoon.
No ‘Big Five’ animals come our way, but we do spot a crocodile in the water trying, skulking stealthily along the shore. Later on safari, we spy a dazzle of zebras darting past us, and plenty of colourful birds before being wowed by the elephants.
Back at the hotel, I’m sure I hear a lion roar in the distance, and I’m told a leopard has been known to swing by the spa area with her cubs.
The wonder of Victoria Falls
There are several natural wonders of the world – and now, I can say that I’ve visited one.x
The second day of our adventure begins with a trek to Victoria Falls, one of the world’s blockbuster waterfalls that creates a spectacular border between Zimbabwe and neighbouring Zambia. In local Sotho language, this awe-inspiring wonder is Mosi-oa-Tunya: ‘the smoke that thunders’.
Scottish explorer David Livingstone, who has a statue erected in his honour on the trail, gave the waterfall its English name in 1855, after the reigning Queen Victoria.
As we walk across the bridge separating the two countries, we see water crashing down the cliffs on the Zambian side.
I can’t tear my eyes away from the rainbows that form as water cascades into the pools below. As we continue our walk, the landscape transforms into a rainforest, with the cover of trees above us keeping us cool in the heat on a day where highs reached 35 degrees Celsius.
It sounds trite, but no words can effectively convey how wondrous it was to see this spectacle in person.
Over on the Zambian side, we watch a group of tourists splashing in Devil’s Pool, a small body of water where you can lean over the edge of the precipice. Later, we see two daredevils doing bungee jumps off the bridge towards the mighty river below.
These adrenaline rushes are not for me, but simply being at Victoria Falls provides me with an obvious but important reminder: to live in the moment, because who knows when you’ll get to do something like this again.
A feast for the eyes, and the stomach
My eyes are treated to a feast beyond my wildest dreams in Zimbabwe, and the food at the Lodge is also better than I ever imagined.
At Buffalo Bar, we devour a delicious risotto with sea bream, freshly caught from the Zambezi River. When I tell you this was one of the best fish meals I’ve ever had, I’m not exaggerating.
Another standout is the guineafowl, which I savour while we are serenaded by talented singers at MaKuwa-Kuwa restaurant. Here, I also try gango, a traditional dish of meat, greens and sadza that you eat with your hands.
On the day we enjoy massages at the spa, I tuck into a refreshing salmon poké bowl which is as good as I’ve tasted. Later, I have a go at my first ever ostrich carpaccio – tough, but delicious all the same.
Not for the faint of heart, I throw caution to the wind and take on the mopane worm. While the initial crunch of the slug-like creature wasn’t too bad, it took a lot of chews to get the whole thing down.
It was also amazing to meet a couple of wood carvers who worked at one of the restaurants. They had been caught trying to poach wood from Zambezi National Park before being offered jobs at the Lodge. The elephant carving I bought for my grandfather 25 years after his trip to Zimbabwe, is something I’ll always hold dear.
A trip I won’t take for granted
Adventures like these don’t come around every week, and travelling to this part of the woirld is as much a time commitment as it is a financial one.
But travelling to Zimbabwe, and soaking up experiences I wasn’t sure I’d get to have in my life, has been an important reminder to prioritise my travel bucket list, and push myself outside my comfort zone.
Whether it’s the year you turn 30, or when you’re in your 70s, the world is at your fingertips, waiting to be explored.
Getting to Victoria Falls
For my journey to Victoria Falls, I first flew with Ethiopian Airlines from London’s Heathrow on a non-stop flight that took almost eight hours to Addis Ababa in Ethiopia.
After an hour and a half stopover, we continued from Addis Ababa to Victoria Falls airport, in a second direct flight that took four hours 40 minutes.
On the way back, we flew with Ethiopian Airlines again from Victoria Falls to Addis Ababa with one stop at Sir Seretse Khama in Botswana. In total, the journey from Victoria Falls to Addis Ababa including the stop took seven hours 35 minutes.
After a stopover of more than three hours, we boarded our second flight from Addis Ababa back to London’s heathrow, which took eight hours 30 minutes.
British Airways also offers flights to Victoria Falls, which include stopovers in locations including Johannesburg and Cape Town before changing to a different airline for the second flight.
Another cheaper option is flying with Kenya Airways, which includes a stop before arriving in Victoria Falls at Jomo Kenyatta International airport in Nairobi.
Sabrina Barr was a guest of Africa Albida Tourism. In the Victoria Falls Safari Lodge, between July and December, a Club room for bed and breakfast costs $555 (£440) per night, and a suite room costs $670 (£532) per night.
