Back from Victoria Falls (now in Cape Town)

(Elke) So, here we are again. We were in quite a remote area for the last three days, and it is quite unbelievable to finally have wireless internet back. The last three days we spent were in Zimbabwe. Whenever you tell somebody in South Africa you go to Zimbabwe, they start to tell you how bad the situation is over there. Indeed, near the capital Harare the situation seems to be difficult with inflation going to levels of 20000% under the regime of Mugabe. However, we spent our time in Victoria Falls which is a point where four countries meat and basically on the border with Zambia. At the beginning we were a bit suspicious because you really can see the poverty and certain things are underdeveloped, but after the first "shock" we were delighted to be there. We were in a very nice lodge viewing the Zambezi river and got treated well. Also the game viewing was spectacular. I let Francesco talk about that.

(Francesco) This time the safaris were more about experience than photos ... why? Most of the great stuff happened at night and there is no magic there for photos. No camera could do anything if not with infrared (flash not allowed). During the day we saw also some nice things like a giraffe drinking, which needs them to really open their legs. Gosh! Their 'design' is faulty at drinking. Lots of baboons and crocodiles. And an amazing herd of 300+ buffalos, not to mention the one of 15 giraffes. So what made it spectacular at night ... we followed a herd of 60 elephants. Beautiful animals, we met and followed 3 lions ... and yesterday we enjoyed seeing a group of 5 lion where the mother was teaching her kids how to hunt! That was great! They tried to sniff and catch things like baboons and antelopes ... and did not manage. Every time under the scrutiny of the mother who would not help (since they need to learn) but who would play with them (especially the males) after a failure.

(Elke) Of course, a visit to the Victoria Falls had to include the Falls as well. This was just spectacular. Off course, the falls are not at the wettest (and we felt that!) and the strength that came out of that was really impressive.
(Francesco) Yes, the falls were really nice .... to conclude, the trip to Zimbabwe started suspiciously but ended really nice. One thing Elke (and I) will never forget is the noises in the night ... and this time it was not me but the hippos. They are really noisy!!!
I was almost forgetting .... We tasted wine from Zimbabwe!!! Yes you read correctly ... and it was not too bad. Light and fruity, but better than what produced in some well known countries ...