Farewell Zambia, welcome Zimbabwe. For such a short day, distance-wise, it began early, at 0700. Five of the group, plus Maryke, undertook the trip to swim in The Devil's Pool, a natural bowl of a lido on the very lip of the falls. It's an adrenalin swim opportunity which has to be closed when the flow gets too fierce: one false move and over you go. 110 metres the swift way down. No point me going. With lenses out, I'd be over before you could say Geronimo. The health & safety controls, even down to asking if one could actually swim, apparently were conspicuous by their absence.
By the time the group was back, showered and packed, it was 1030. We left shortly afterwards. The border was just ten minutes down the road, and was very much a 'monkey zone'; as soon as the truck engine was switched off, all windows had to be tight shut. Sure enough, within seconds they were on the roof, trying the roof hatches. Not TOO slow at the counter, back into the truck, and across the bridge into Zimbabwe. This is the bridge, begun 1903, which enabled Rhodes' dream of a rail line from Cape Town to Cairo.
Entry visas into Zimbabwe on the other side of the bridge were $55, the dearest yet, but apparently the last visa charges of the trip. The campground was only 15 minutes away, actually in the town of Victoria Falls. We are to visit the falls, from this other side, tomorrow morning, so the afternoon was spent strolling the streets of town. Some of the craft work is stupendous.
Susanne's flights worked perfectly. She arrived right on time. We are nine.
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