South Africa’s northern border, Zimbabwe
Flying into Livingstone Airport, the plane was crammed: there was a corporate group from South Africa, probably Johannesburg, Cape Town or Durban and foreign tourists from various parts of the globe. Crowds are literally pouring into this part of Zambia. Competition between the towns of Livingstone and Victoria Falls as gateways to exploring this must-see natural wonder has always been stiff, but the former seems to be winning these days due to Zimbabwe's negative economic climate and the Zambians upping their game in recent times.
Today, Livingstone has seen several infrastructure improvements from roads to new shopping centres and hotels. But we were not here to visit the Falls; our destination was across the border and onto Zimbabwe's Hwange National Park. I was assigned to photograph a new camp that has been refurbished here, and I was intrigued to find out how this iconic southern Africa wilderness area is doing.
Once through all the border formalities, the Zimbabwe side of Victoria Falls seemed subdued by comparison yet the locals we spoke to remained hopeful for a change. I was surprised to learn that tour groups from countries like the United States, China and Japan still stop over on a regular basis. In my perhaps biased opinion Victoria Falls is a much prettier town, and now offers better value than Livingstone, probably being off the regular traveller's radar. Cetainly for visitors from South Africa.
After a scenic drive over to the Vic Falls airport, we made our way to a Cessna 206.
'You will definitely see elephant'
The porter accompanying us to the plane was not shy to share his opinions on life or to where we were going. "You will definitely see elephant - many of them", he told us. Our pilot, Tawanda Maruza, proceeded to taxi the plane over to the fuel pumps to fill up, while the porter chatted to us as if this was the normal mode of operation. "We had an unscheduled change in aircraft," he announced casually.
Eventually airborne, the clouds of floodwater spray from the Falls at this time of year (June) created a pretty backdrop to the town itself. Flying over the landscape, I was looking out for any apparent signs as to the problems that have plagued this country. At 5 000 feet, everything looked normal: peaceful-looking rural homesteads, the Hwange power station still operational and the odd car winding on the tar road far below. Tawanda enthusiastically pointed out landmarks while casually chatting to us over the headphones.
He has been a pilot for eight years, and his love for flying was apparent. Entering Hwange airspace, I kept a lookout for animals: giraffe towered out from the bush as a vulture whizzed by us.
Many Lion’s fans are expected in South Africa to support their team. ”Coupled with the IPL Cricket which ends on 23 May, the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup in June and the ICC 8-Nations Champions’ Trophy in September, South Africa is certainly expecting thousands of fans for the upcoming top level sporting events,” notes Robert Wilson. CEO of travelinsouthafrica.net . “Fans can easily take off a few days between matches to explore Zimbabwe,” he said.
Martin Benadie AOL Travel
