Zip Lining and Vic Falls

After a terrible sleep due to my parent’s snoring and one of the biggest storms I have every experienced I woke to a hot and humid morning at Gloria’s B&B. We enjoyed our breakfast and I arranged to do a zip line ride before heading to the falls. The zip line included free transfers and meant that we wouldn’t need to pay for an additional transfer to the falls from the b&b.

I had originally expected my parents to participate in the zip line but unfortunately the wrong company was booked. I wanted to do the zip line at the Victoria Falls Bridge where we put on a harnesses, sit and then let go and zip line down to the bridge. Instead I was taken to another operator where after harnessing up you need to run and launch yourself off the side across a large gorge. Still a great experience but too much for my parents to endure so it was just myself who launched over the edge three times. Great footage especially the superman style which I would have to say was a little nerve wracking and definitely not flattering with how the harness was fitted.

After my exhilarating adrenaline rides we went off to see Victoria Falls. I had calculated that by arriving around midday we would have the sun coming out and it would allow us to enjoy the experience better. Weather during February is very intermittent with mornings normally cloudy and the strong chance of rain. Midday and afternoons were normally nice with breaks in the weather and strong sunny periods. Thankfully this turned out to be true and after paying our entrance fee we put on our waterproof jackets for our next adventure. The falls were not as full as they should have been for February but the spray was certainly in force. My parents were astonished at how wet they were getting and needed to take things slowly as they made their way around. The spray limited our view from a number of the vantage spots and prevented most photo opportunities except from my waterproof GoPro.

We spent 90 minutes walking along the top tracks of the falls and speaking with other tourists at different spots. We then decided to walk down to the Victoria Falls Bridge to dry off and to watch the bungy jumpers launching themselves from the bridge. It would also provide some good photo opportunities with the resident baboons and allow mum and dad to put a “foot” into Zimbabwe. We endured plenty of people offering us lifts in either local taxis or on tricycles. We were happy to walk and dry off but the insistent locals were a problem considering there was very little tourist traffic.

We enjoyed an hour watching the daredevils launch themselves into the abyss of the gorge from the Victoria Falls Bridge, took advantage of photo opportunities by having a foot in both Zambia and Zimbabwe and of course were offered billions of Zimbabwean dollars for only US$5 from the touts along the bridge. We made our way back to the falls car park and encountered the local baboons who were all behaving nicely. Certainly not like my last visit.

We caught a local taxi back to the city center from the entrance to the falls where we enjoyed a late lunch at Ocean Basket before heading back to pack our bags for our departure the following day.

Zip lining – US$50 but due to being the only guest I was given 3 rides

Victoria Falls – US$20 per person. Poncho rental is 8 kwacha and is ideal if you are carrying a backpack with valuables.