The last day of our amazing 3 day trip up to Victoria Falls started out with an early cup of coffee in bed with the last of the biscuits. It was so great that they got replaced every day and not one day did we ever try the same flavours. I remember getting up every morning and both Luch and I deciding who would prefer what biscuit. Sometimes there was so much indecision that we ended up sharing them both.
We then really took our time before heading out to breakfast, mainly it was because I didn’t really feel like packing our bag again; but partly it was definitely because the sooner we went to breakfast, the sooner our train journey would be over. Needless to say, neither one of us wanted that. We had never stayed in any luxurious hotel where we got treated as well as we did on Rovos. It literally outdid our expectations and if you knew my boyfriend and I at all and how fussy we really are, then you would think this was a miracle.
Unfortunately, we eventually succumbed to hunger and walked to the dining car. It was 9 am and our journey would be ending approximately at 10. We pretty much swallowed our food whole, as where we wanted to spend the end of our journey was calling to us. We knew we just wanted to sit at the back of the train again with a drink in hand. Not really realising that the back of the train had actually become the front of the train overnight. So when we went out to what used to be the quiet and unassuming observation car, it was full of the loud noises of the engine and a few people travelling with us taking photos with the engine.
We still sat for a while and thought about what a wonderful experience it had been. Then, before we knew it, we were arriving at the Victoria Falls station and were hurried off the train by all the other people who had transfers and taxis to catch. It was chaos as we all tried to find our bags in front of the hotel and then tried to find our collective drivers. I felt like it was anti climatic as I didn’t even get to say goodbye to any of our new found friends.
Luckily our driver was already waiting for us and we were quickly shunted into our car and off to our hotel. I had asked for an early check-in because I assumed we would be tired after 2 nights with very little sleep. I had packed the following day full of activities in the Vic Falls area, so I really didn’t feel bad about taking the afternoon off to watch TV, order room service and just relax.
We sat in one of the lounges with aircon blasting on our faces, checking our emails, Instagram accounts and Facebook (for the first time in days) while we waited for our room to be ready. I have to say, after a 5 star luxury experience with such amazing service, I was incredibly disappointed in the service we received at the 4 star hotel we had booked into.
The room wasn’t bad, but considering it had big holes in the mosquito net hanging over the bed, I was wondering what the point was in even having the net in the first place. We also looked at the room service menu only to realise that apparently Vic Falls was only made for tourists. With simple things like a toasted sandwich being 15 dollars (about R225 at the time), we kind of figured we were going to starve a bit in the next 2 days.
I had booked ahead for a sunset cruise on the Zambezi and was so looking forward to it. Only problem was, the driver decided to be 40 minutes late. So we literally all sat around outside the hotel waiting for him to arrive and then rushed off to our cruise. When we got there, it was apparent that there weren’t enough tables for everyone getting on the boat. We had to stand a huge queue just to get a gin and tonic each and then tried to walk up the rickety stairs to the top deck where we asked a couple (who clearly couldn’t speak English) if we could join their table, as they were the only 2 chairs left.
The cruise itself was lovely. It was so beautiful to see elephants on the banks of the Zambezi and a few hippos surfaced while we were floating along. We stupidly forgot about the no ice in drinks rule, since we didn’t really want to drink the water and they had put a ton of ice in our glasses. So Luch, the gentleman that he is, decided to drink both our drinks at top speed, so that the ice wouldn’t melt. I did try to help him, but I just can’t drink that fast without getting sick. The next drink I was smarter. I just got a warm glass of red wine and felt better about the whole situation while I sat next to a giggling 3 year old named Luch. Needless to say, he didn’t need any more drinks after those first two that were gulped down in 2 minutes.
The food was dry and really a minimal amount, but it was included in the cost of the boat trip, so of course we were going to eat it. That was our dinner. We were incredibly miffed with our travel companions who couldn’t speak English, but decided the food was inedible without even trying it first. If we had known they were going to waste it, Luch would have gladly eaten it for them. As it was, he had one of my kebabs as well, so he didn’t starve.
Watching the sunset over the Zambezi was incredible and worth putting up with all the other snotty tourists who wanted to take a group picture at one stage. Why would I want to be in your group picture? You’re going to get home and be like, who is that? Really!
After the cruise, it was back to the hotel and down to the Restaurant. Turns out the snacks on the boat weren’t enough for Luch after all. I ordered a tiny starter for 10 dollars and Luch ordered a main for 25 dollars.
Our first day in Zimbabwe was disappointing and expensive, but we went to bed with the intention of sleeping at least 10 hours in preparation for 3 major activities the next day. One just happened to be a helicopter flight over the Falls, so I was very excited and apprehensive, with my fear of heights very firmly in tact.
