Got in an uneventful evening boat trip on the Zambesi before or last night in Vic Falls.
The usual suspects were about
Dinner was ad hoc at the only restaurant on the main drag. Everyone says that even 5 years ago this place was hopping with tourists. Now it is deserted. As Vic Falls, the town, has collapsed Livingston, across the Zambesi in Zambia has boomed. (This explains why the Canadaian couple got married there instead of Vic Falls)
But not all is good in Zambia. The all knowing president recently released 5000 poachers from jail and announced that the animals in the national parks were fair game. Hungry people and big game is not an ideal recipe for conservation.
After another excellent breakfast (this place has an excellent kitchen) we say good bye to Vic Falls Safari Lodge
with its biobab tree
and hello 525 km of police harrasment. Exactly 6 police checks and 2 "toll booths". Each police check was to ensure we had the two safety triangles, the reflective vest, the fire extinguisher, the red reflective stripe across the rear bumper and the white reflective stripe across the front, the TIP (temporary import permit) and finally a valid driver's licence.
I tried to photograph one of these random checkpoints but got caught and had to delete the photo. Geoff claimed this was a good thing as they were less likely to conduct an illegal shakedown if they thought we had their mug shots.
Its a long fairly boring drive to Bulawayo and our goal was some 50km passed there at Big Cave Camp. Bulawayo is big time compared with what we have seen so far but as it is Sunday everyone is in church in a zionist group sitting on the road side, dressed in white and being sermonized by the
preacher.
Further evidence of economic collapse, if any is needed, is the fact that there was no restaurant between Vic Falls and Bulawayo.
Big Cave Camp is set in the Mapopo Hills noted for their large rock formation. In fact the Camp is built into the rocks.
our room
We took the drive to Lightning Rock for sundowners with Roy, the guide
Excellent dinner, with fellow guests, the indian doctor couple and the german couple with their guide who had already shelled out $400 in fines to the random checkpoints.
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Location:Motopo, Zimbabwe
