Victoria Falls

 "Scenes so lovely must have been gazed upon by angels in their flight." - David Livingstone (explorer)

David Livingstone

Arriving at Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe:

From the airport, it's about a 30 minute drive to Victoria Falls town, which is right next to the falls. There are taxis and shuttles, we took a shuttle associated with our hotel for 4 people for $30 (Sheppy Shuttles, he was great). We had initially wanted to stay at the A'Zambezi Hotel, which was right next to the Zambezi River, but my mother had mistakenly booked a hotel room that was too small to fit the 4 of use, so we ended up switching to Rainbow hotel, which in the grand scheme of things, worked out even better because it was within walking distance to the Victoria Falls Park entrance (30 min) and town (5 min). In general, it's not necessary to rent a car because everything is pretty close especially on the Zimbabwe side, and there are either hotel shuttles or cheap taxi's. 

Pumba!

Baby vervet monkey getting some milk

The first day my family was really jet lagged, but I dragged my brother out to Victoria Falls park anyways. We walked to the Gorge Restaurant just to check it out and there we found the location for gorge swing and swing & slide. We were pretty amazed by the gorge, but unfortunately, you can't view the actual falls unless you pay to go inside the park.

You can see the string hanging down on the left for the gorge swing.

The next day we took the hotel shuttle to Victoria Falls Park ($30/adult, $15/child, $25 for SADC).  The park was very well organized and touristy, so there was a specific cement path that you take with about 20 viewpoints. The whole thing took us about 2 hrs to go from one end to the other including stopping to take pictures and mess around. But be warned, at various viewpoints, the water was sooooooo misty that it was like taking a shower. By the end we were all soaked. Some people had poncho's, but since it was a hot summer day (February), we enjoyed the shower.

First scenic view: Cataract Falls

Cataract Falls

 The first viewpoint on the west was Cataract Viewpoint, that was so named for one particular fall on the west. It was also the first place David Livingstone saw Victoria Falls and couldn't believe his eyes. Unfortunately, because we went when the water was super high, it was very misty and you can only see part of the falls from any one viewpoint.

Brother trying to take in some mist

At some points it was so misty you can't see anything

The rest is obscured by the mist. At some areas it was difficult even to see the falls on the very opposite side just because of how misty it was. One tourist even said we came on a good  day when it wasn't so misty. Yikes!

Open pasture view of falls

Rainbow falls area of Victoria Falls

Zambia side of Vic Falls

Danger Point view point

There were so many activities we could have done, but my family decided on some of the tamer things: Lion Walk/Encounter and Livingstone Island/Angel's Pool. Here's a more comprehensive list of activities: Shearwater Victoria Falls. Unfortunately a few companies dominate here so the activities are pretty pricey.


Livingstone Island/Angel's Pool:
During the high water season, access to Devil's pool is flooded and the current is too high, so the typical Livingstone Island visit is transferred to Angel's Pool, which is pretty much the same concept of getting into a pool right at the edge of the falls, but maybe two feet back.

Can you spot the hippo? Hope it doesn't go farther or else it's certain doom down Vic Falls!

The tour started at the Avani Hotel on the Zambia side (our tour included transport from our hotel), and we took a boat to Livingstone Island. After passing a hippo, we came to the island where we had a chance to change, and then the guide took us to the pool. We were amazed that he was hopping along the rocks on the very edge of the falls! It was a rather quick dip in the pool, but the guide took a lot of pictures and a video of our dip.

Then to our horror, he jumped off the edge! But then a few seconds later, we see his head pop back up, and we realize there is actually another pool a few feet down that we can't see unless we are standing closer. Wow, what a crazy guy!

We then walked along the edge of the pool (farther back) to another view point where guide pointed towards Devil's pool and showed us how it was completely flooded. We then took a few more pictures of the beautiful rainbow created by the falls. 

Zimbabwe Side Vs. Zambia Side:
We mostly spent our time on the Zimbabwe side because we heard it was where you can view most of the falls, whereas the Zambia side was where the water came down (so you were on top of the falls). It's not entirely correct, because the Zambia side you can actually see 1/3 (almost 1/2) of the falls if the water is high. So it's all season dependent:

Zambia side: just crossed Knife-Edge Bridge, so I was SUPER soaked.

View of Danger Point on Zimbabwe side.

High water season: I'd recommend going to the Zambia side because you can have a good view of the falls without as much mist obscuring your view (not as much water here), and you can experience knife-edge bridge, boiling pot hike down to the gorge, and Livingstone Island/Angel pool (Devil's pool equivalent for high water time).

Panaroma of the Zambia side. You can see the Zimbabwe side on the left.

Beautiful yellow flowers in the summer (February).

Low water season: I'd recommend going to Zimbabwe side because otherwise a lot of the waterfall that you can see from the Zambia side is dried off, and it's difficult to appreciate the grandeur of it without seeing the fall from the opposite side of the gorge from where the water falls down.

On the way down to the boiling point, we encountered some road blockage.

The bridge connecting Zambia and Zimbabwe

The Boiling Point - so named because the water here swirls like a boiling pot. Bridge connecting Zambia and Zimbabwe on left and you can barely see Vic Falls on the right.

On the Zambia side you can also do a short 1hr round trip hike down to the gorge called the Boiling Point (see pics).  There's another hike down to the bottom of Vic Falls, but in high water season (about Feb-July), the water is too high to safely go on that guided tour.

Maliba Lodge

Maliba Lodge (T'selanyane National Park):
We had a one night stay at this national park, mainly known for its five star hotel, Maliba Lodge. It's mainly for enjoyment of the beautiful comforts of this western hotel but since we didn't feel like shelling out $200 plus, we decided to camp. But we still got to enjoy the views and toilets at the lodge!

We got there in the afternoon, took about 3 hrs from Maseru. We decided on a shorter easier hike, so we did the Upper and Lower trail loop that goes through the Black Pools (3 hr round trip). We started from our campsite/river huts and up to Maliba lodge, then continued to walk along half way up the mountain, between some beautifully green, lush mountain peaks. There was an option for a scramble to the top of one of the peaks, but we didn't have the time or stamina.

The hike was very easy overall with mild elevation change, mostly in the first 500 meters. The black pools were a series of pools formed by a small river. We tried to get in the water, but only got our feet wet as the water was freezing cold! Refreshing none the less. The hikes back crosses a few streams as well, and mainly followed the river in the valley back to the river huts.

Afterwards we decided to go for a nice hot dinner at the lodge we didn't realize we were in for a full 3 course meal with a palate cleanser too! It was a meal fit for a king. But then afterwards, we had to go back to our tent. The contrast was too hilarious. ...

Sani Pass and Durban

 Drive to the north east part of Lesotho. Not a lot to do here, but there are amazing views down to South Africa. You can see how Lesotho ended up being a country within South Africa - because it's so elevated compared to the surrounding landscape in South Africa. 

Road up Sani Pass on South Africa side.

Durban

Haha, there's a Beverly Hills in Durban S africa

And a Sea World!

Super nice lady invited us to her home and gave us saris!

Sehlabathebe National Park, Lesotho

Beautiful, and one of the most isolated places I've ever been.  Really a must do if you are in Lesotho and have the ability to go across the country, but it's quite a drive. 

Kind of an insane trip in a very short time: 3 days, 4 hours on paved road, then another 4 hours on dirt road (partly b/c we went the wrong way for 30 min). Considering we didn't have reception and we were in the middle of nowhere, we were very blessed to not have gotten into car trouble! 

We couldn't get a room at the hotel at the Lesotho Sehlabathebe Park headquarters, so we had to camp the first night. It rained, so it was a bit uncomfortable. But we managed with our canned tuna and bread. 

The hotel

Prehistoric rock paintings

The next day, we got 2 tour guides to lead us to the cave that people usually sleep over in. I didn't realize they were leading us to the hole in the fence between Lesotho and South Africa! We climbed over, and then they pointed us in the general direction of the cave, and we parted ways. 

Our guides

The Cave

We found the cave ok, and decided to leave our things there to explore. But we were afraid there were monkeys that would take our things, so we covered our bags with rocks. As we were hiking down the mountain, we noticed some guys on horses going towards the cave. We were suspicious, so we went back to the cave. We found that one of the guys had actually taken C's bag/sleeping bag! He was South African park ranger, and claimed he was taking it b/c he thought someone left it there. We weren't really supposed to be there, so when he asked what we were planning to do, we said we were just exploring and we'll be heading back soon. They believed us fortunately they left. They never found my bag b/c it was so well concealed in the rock pile. Haha! 

After they left, we explored around the cave some more. And we didn't see another human being until we went back to the headquarter. 

Sunset from the cave

We took the most memorable showers ever: with water dripping from the top of the cave. 

In the evening, it was very windy, but we managed to make a fire and keep ourselves warm. Ate more tuna and bread. After admiring some stars, we went to sleep on the straw "beds." (People in the past had laid down stones with straw in the middle). 

We woke up before sunrise, went to the edge of the earth - well, actually just cliff looking down to South Africa. And we watched the amazing sunrise. 

On our way back to Lesotho, we explored the interesting rock structures. 

View of the Three Bushman: 

There was interesting flora:

And rock shelters where people used to live:

On the way there, it was all foggy, and we didn't realize we were driving on the side of a cliff! Also didn't realize we passed within 10 feet of the South Africa-Lesotho border control. 

On the way back, we decided to try a different route: go to South Africa, and come back to Lesotho on paved road. Longer drive, but much smoother. Was it faster?...not sure. At least we didn't get lost! 

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Sehlabathebe is part of the Maloti-Drakensburg World Heritage Site, within the Maloti Mountains in Qacha's Nek District, Lesotho.  

The way from Maseru, Lesotho is the most common route, but there are ways from Sani Pass, and a 3 day way on foot from there: 

More information about visiting, hiking, wildlife, etc: 

https://www.visitlesotho.travel/explore/national-parks-and-nature-reserves/sehlabathebe

Lesotho: the Good vs the Not-So-Good

The Good:

• People are really nice. You'll get greeted everywhere you go. 
• People are generally pretty chill too - except on the road - there is road rage everywhere.
• Beautiful, beautiful outdoors - mountains for miles and miles and great hiking. 
• Nice malls that have nearly everything you could need/miss from the US (things of note not here: mac and cheese, specialty hair/beauty products, sanitizer). 
• New house to myself (2 bedroom, 1 bathroom, 1 large kitchen, 1 living room). But granted, the other residents who came were not so lucky and had to choose between an old run-down place or a share with another person the equivalent of my space. 
• Relatively stable electricity, internet, running water. Occasionally there are outages of all of those, some places longer than others. Max at a friend's place was a few days without running water. My electricity was out max couple of minutes I think.
• Getting housing, electricity, internet, water paid for. 
• US dollar to rand exchange rate is very favorable now. (1:16)
• I get to have a housekeeper for an affordable price. She is so awesome - cleans my house, the dishes, does my laundry - even irons all my clothing.
• You can get a functional car for $3000-$4000, and because cars don't depreciate much, you can sell it for about the same. 
• There are regular activities you can participate in weekly: Salsa lesson, terrible tuesday hill run, hash (hiking group), trivia night wed. 
• All different types of restaurants: Chinese, Portuguese, Indian, Middle Eastern, American, Pizza, Ethiopian...
• There is a Chinese store that's pretty close by (there used to be 2, but one seem to be closing down). And I get to cook Chinese food more in Lesotho than back in Houston.
• English is the official language (although most people speak Sesotho to each other, and rural people speak only Sesotho).
• The clinic months have set 8am to 5pm hours.
• Being able to transfer really sick patients to Bloemfontein in South Africa
• Hospital: having a radiologist, a cardiologist, ENT, ophthalmology, surgery, orthopedics.  Having a CT scanner and ultrasound for echocardiograms. 
• Getting to try some exotic fruits: guava, passion fruit
• ...

The Not-So-Good:

• Things moves at an insanely slow pace - like 10x as slow
• People can be pretty unmotivated- sometimes if you request something, and it's a little out of the way, they may just tell you it's not possible when in fact they just don't want to get up and do it. 
• If you want something done right away, you have to do it yourself. 
• Road rage plus really bad driving. Lights and stop signs are suggestions, so is driving on the left side of the road. 
• Not completely reliable internet, electricity, running water (though fairly good).
• City has one of the highest homicide rates - this is especially in the industrial areas and for personal reasons. 
• A lot of bugs - some even get into the house especially since I don't have screens. 
• The winters get wicked cold, and the summers can get pretty hot. Only space heaters, no general heaters or AC in the house. 
• Super loud church worship music (although the sermons are pretty good)
• Not always having a warning about things. 
• Taking forever to submit to IRB to approve research projects. 
• The hospital months (every 2 months): emotionally draining because you are acting similar to an attending, making more decisions, and having to live with the results of those decisions. A lot of deaths - nearly every day. Having to do blood draws and IVL insertions yourself. Lack of a sense of urgency even when there are sick patients. Lack of resources in general - occasionally running out of 22G needles, alcohol swabs, small syringes, even gloves. Reading own X rays. 
• Having to go through the greetings before you get to ask any substantial question. E.g. on the phone: "Hello 'Me" "How are you?" "I'm good thank you"...
• Starting every social event an hour late if you are lucky (most of the time it's two hours late).
• Having a refrigerator for a house - or so it feels like it in the winter. 
• Asking hospital personnel to do something, but you see they've been sitting and chatting or on their phones for the last hour and the task has yet to be done. 
• People walk at a snail's pace.
• ...