Walking along the trail opposite Victoria Falls, it’s easy to see why they call it “The Smoke that Thunders.” You can hear the Falls rumbling when you are in town, which is over a kilometer away. The smoke? The huge amount of mist that is generated by the Falls pouring into the chasm below.

We had arrived in the town of Victoria Falls the day before, after driving from The Hide Safari Camp. Following a quick wash-up, we were driven to the Zambezi River and a sunset cruise with cocktails. The river was beautiful, and we saw wildlife and a wonderful sunset. As we docked, we thought our entertainment was over, but it turned out to be just beginning. Our travel agent, Karen, had arranged a surprise alfresco dinner for us on the banks of the Zambezi – Three courses, of course washed down with much wine. During dinner, there was also musical and dance entertainment. It was a great way to start our time in Vic Falls.

The next day we visited the Falls themselves and they did not disappoint. Our friends, Dave and Bill, said there was a much greater volume of water during their previous visits, but I wasn’t disappointed. Cathy and I both spent time just staring at the Falls, watching and listening to it cascade below. We didn’t get drenched in water, but the mist was a nice cooling factor. One of the Seven Wonders of the World indeed.

We arrived back at our hotel, the Ilala, to find a note from Marty on our door. We were to meet at 5PM for Pink Gins at the old Vic Falls Hotel, followed by dinner at 7. When we first discussed this trip back in March, it was Marty’s description of drinking Pink Gins at the Vic Falls Hotel that clinched it for us going on this trip. I was pretty excited.

In the late afternoon we cleaned up and changed clothes. In the past, jackets were required for dinner at the hotel. They had relaxed the dress code, but collared shirts were required, and no jeans, or safari clothes were allowed. We walked over to the hotel and arrived just after 5PM. It’s a magnificent hotel that’s been there since 1904. We crossed out to the veranda and joined the others.

Pink Gins were ordered all around. Marty was right – it was a setting out of a book. We could see the Victoria Falls Bridge that crosses over the Zambezi River from Zimbabwe into Zambia in the distance, with a train stopped on it. To the left, the mists from the Falls themselves rose above the trees. Nearby, three warthogs with 5 babies crossed the lawn. As dusk turned to darkness, we ordered our second Pink Gins and candles were lit on the tables.

A little after 7PM, we adjourned to the Livingstone Dining room. There, we had a seven course meal, accompanied by a couple bottles of South African Shiraz. All of the food was excellent, but the dishes that really stood out for me were the Ostrich Carpaccio, and the Scallops with Pork Belly. Dinner finally came to an end, and we lumbered back to our own hotel, and bed.

We spent a couple more days in Vic Falls relaxing. We did some shopping and had other wonderful meals, including Kudu filet and Crocodile Risotto (I definitely need the recipe for that!). We also visited the 1,000 year old Baobob tree, just outside of town and had sundowners there. Marty told us of a close encounter he had with an elephant near the tree, a few years before.

While at the tree, we talked with some locals who were selling various items, and had a beer with them. As it got dark, they moved back to their wares and started hauling them into the woods. I asked what was going on and they said rather than carrying the items back to their village, they just hid them in the woods 50 yards or so off the road. No one would be crazy enough to wander around out there in the dark, with the animals in the area.

That night, Cath and I had our final dinner at The Three Monkeys. The next day, our group would cross into Botswana.

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This is the fifth in a series of short blogs about our trip to Africa in September and October of 2018. I’m not trying to be exact in detail, rather, I’m trying to give a bit of the spirit or feeling of the various parts of the trip. Read at your leisure. Or not.

Related Blogs about the trip to Africa:

First Safari Camp, at The Hide (Fourth blog about the trip) https://mnhallblog.wordpress.com/2018/11/15/first-safari-camp/

Fishing and Elephants (Third blog about the trip) https://mnhallblog.wordpress.com/2018/11/12/fishing-and-elephants/

The Drive to Lake Kariba (Second Blog about the trip) – https://mnhallblog.wordpress.com/2018/11/08/the-drive-to-lake-kariba/

Harare (First Blog about the trip) – https://mnhallblog.wordpress.com/2018/11/02/harare-zimbabwe/

Zimbabwe (Just prior to departure) – https://mnhallblog.wordpress.com/2018/09/20/zimbabwe/

Pink Gins (The Genesis)- https://mnhallblog.wordpress.com/2018/04/13/pink-gins/