Hear about travel to Victoria Falls as the Amateur Traveler talks to Nir Ben-Dov about his trip to this spectacular falls on the border of Zimbabwe and Zambia.
This was Nir’s second trip and his wife’s first trip from their home in Israel to this famed set of falls in southern Africa. They flew into Johannesburg and then were easily able to get a package trip from there to the falls.
Of the 3 biggest waterfalls in the world (including Niagara Falls and Iguazu Falls) Victoria Falls is the highest. You can get very close to the falls, around 100-150 yards. “You actually see rain going upside down” because of all the water that is going over the falls. Nir tells of the falls, the local people, the wildlife and caps their trip with the sundowner cruise on the Zambezi River.
“We elected to fly to Zambia because politically and fiscally they are a much more sound country than Zimbabwe. ” Zimbabwe’s currency has had such bad inflation that one guide told Nir that “we are an international currency, we take any currency”. Any currency, that is, besides their own. Once you have to print a 100 billion bill, you might as well give up.
Nir warns that inoculations are a must (including yellow fever) when you travel to this part of the world. Both the airline and immigration checked their vaccination record that they carried with them. You also do need a visa and will want a waterproof camera.
right click here to download (mp3)
right click here to download (iTunes version with pictures)
Show Notes
Victoria Falls: Zambia Tour Guide
Hyperinflation in Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe Visa
Zambezi Sun
Bungee Jumper Survives
Victoria Falls National Park
Helicopter Flights Over Victoria Falls
Botswana Tour
Sundowner Cruise
Livingstone Museum
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Community
Jim on Travel to Fort Worth, Texas β Episode 370:
My wife’s comments: he didn’t give the name of the place where the rodeo is held (Will Rogers Coliseum) and he needs to go to the Science Museum.
My comment: you will probably have to take American Airlines, which has 85% of the flights in and out of DFW Airport, and be prepared to pay. Fortress hubs are expensive. But everything else around North Texas is much less expensive than the East or West coast, including hotels and car rentals. Avoiding summer is a really good idea. I was at the Fort Worth Botanical Garden on Thanksgiving Day and it was beautiful. October and November are really nice. July and August are just too hot.
Velvet on Travel to Bucharest, Romania β Episode 369:
“Loved the episode on Bucharest – I was there in the mid-1990s and had the same initial impression as most people – big, blocky, imposing city. Now, I’d love to return with the new knowledge that there is so much more hiding beneath the surface!
Thanks for all your hard work putting together the podcast and website!”
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3 Responses to “Travel to Victoria Falls (Zimbabwe, Zambia) – Episode 371”
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Tags: audio travel podcast, podcast, zambia, zimbabwe
Thomas Dembie
Says:May 11th, 2013 at 1:40 pm
We visited Vic Falls (Zimbabwe side) a few months ago and really enjoyed it. The helicopter ride over the falls was the highlight. There were no issues staying on the Zimbabwe side. You basically get shuttled from one tourist spot to another, and the area seems somewhat isolated from the rest of the country. In terms of the currency, Zimbabwe abandoned their dollar in 2009 after hyperinflation. We picked up a 100 trillion dollar note as a souvenir!
Global Nomads
Says:June 18th, 2013 at 6:14 pm
We were there, too, by accident. We were looking for a bus in Livingston to get to Crocodile Greek to meet your hospex host and the touts shoveled us into a bus that ended up to Victoria Falls. So we saw the place but there was no time for photos because the bus left back to Livingston almost right away. Eventually we got to the right place after a nice hike through the Zambian jungle.
chris2x
Says:June 19th, 2013 at 7:20 am
At Victoria Falls by accident. Now, that’s a new one. π