Botswana & Zimbabwe Safari

Gorges Lodge, Victoria Falls - Kariba

2 - 15 July 2001

• Shindi Camp
  Okavango Delta
• Machaba Camp
  Moremi Game Reserve
• Muchenje Safari Lodge
  Chobe
• Gorges Lodge
  Victoria Falls
• Tamarind Canoe Safari
  Lower Zambezi

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Gorges Lodge, Victoria Falls

In a word - gorgeous. The lodge clings to the rim of the Batoka Gorge about 20 k's downriver from the falls, high above and between rapids 19 and 20. For spectacle it is difficult to surpass, and it is far away from the noise of 'planes, microlights and choppers that seem to be part and parcel of the new falls experience. It is a CAMPFIRE project, owned and staffed by the local tribe, while the concessionaires built and operate the lodge.

Here we spent two delightful days. Absolute highlights were meeting the people, guests and staff, and the long evening dinners around the heavy wood dining table on the dining deck, with the Zambezi roaring far below. There were:

• Rob and Sue, the managers and recently dispossessed owners of Senkwe River Lodge on Kariba. It seems that any land agreement with the state is precarious at best.

• Morgan the barman who likes John Grisham's books. He took time to explain the customs of the local Nambian people, apparently the original inhabitants of this region.

• An American professor in comparative education and her daughter, Celine, from Hokkaido, Japan. A Japanese kid in a Caucasian body. She's been everywhere, speaks almost any language it seems. Never have I had as interesting a discussion with a fifteen-year-old; well, I asked questions and listened mostly. She gave new meaning to the term "worldly".

• And then there was Aubrey. Madala, as he prefers to be known, was ending his stint as relief manager. Raconteur, sometime professional hunter, successful businessman, safari guide, San rock art expert and guide, radio personality, eats-everything-with-selfmade-peri-peri, Hwange elephant guru, conservationist, ladies' man, Madala has packed a lot of living into his seventy-two years. Not many have had the privilege of guiding Sharon Stone around Hwange... We hit it off with him in a big way. He remains a fond memory of our time in Zimbabwe.

We did make the obligatory trip to the falls as Marion had never seen them before. Unfortunately, signs that Zimbabwe's tourism and related industries are in crisis are everywhere. Vic Falls' population ballooned during the recent boom years, but now beggars and informal money changers dog every step. People are desperate and businesses are hanging on. A few years ago the town was bursting with tourists; now its relatively quiet. More adventure companies chasing fewer customers. Let's hope that the madness passes soon...

Despite this, the falls are still wondrous to behold, a rafting trip down the gorge an adrenaline rush to savour.

And so on to Kariba courtesy of Air Zambezi. This was a fascinating flight along the full length of Lake Kariba. I had never realised what a massive body of water it is. The pilot gave a dry, humorous safety briefing, laced with oblique references to Czech-speaking people. The penny dropped when I finally realised that the 'plane is a Czech-built turboprop. It was remarkable for the ridiculous toilet in the rear, a retractable device resembling an industrial vacuum-cleaner. Impossible to use, it seems as if it has never seen action - and never will.

Kariba has an unusual feel about it. Sometime in the '60s and '70s it may have been the rage to position it as a Mediterranean-like or sub-tropical resort town. And then you notice the bushveld slopes. Many of the hotels date from those halcyon Rhodesian days. We stayed at the Lake View Inn - its name suggests its unique selling point. The Kariwa restaurant's grilled bream was truly excellent; the view across the moonlit lake as good. It also served the best tea we had on safari. The waiters were friendly and efficient. At current prices there can be no better country to visit restaurants in than Zimbabwe.

Tamarind Canoe Safari...