Journey into Africa: Zimbabwe, Briefly

This article was written 10 years ago in 2013, so I ask you not to judge the writing of my youth too harshly! The text is as it was originally published.

The next morning it really was departure day, but Ursula and I wanted to have one final look at the falls, this time from the Zimbabwean side. It would also be the fortieth country I’d visit, so it was a nice milestone too.

We joined Bongi and Marc for breakfast, back at the truck, and also a few of the others from our tour who were carrying on the next leg - Jeanette, Alex, Matthias, Alex and Dione. We hopped on board and crossed over the border with them.

I’m glad we made the journey. As a Brit, it’s pretty expensive to do as the Zimbabweans like to charge us a considerable amount for the visa, but for me the falls were the entire reason for coming to Livingstone, and from what we had heard, the most impressive view was from this side.

What we had heard was not wrong, and we got an absolutely stunning view of the falls. Not quite as wet, we were able to get some good photos and it was beautiful to see the whole length in one go (as much as you could through the spray).

And so that was that. We had to make it back to the hotel before 10.30am in order to reach the airport in time. Kim, Pia, Martin and Ingvild made our own way there and said our final goodbyes before boarding separate aircraft. I actually very briefly ran into the Norwegians again in Johannesburg, but really the trip was up by now and I was quite looking forward to my own bed.

Africa has been a really awesome experience. I knew it would take a lot out of me, and I did indeed come back quite exhausted (and with the addition of an epic spider bite on my wrist, which has yet to yield any additional superpowers). However I can’t express how much I enjoyed the experiences and the people, and for all the energy required to achieve it, the beauty and wildness of the place can’t be underestimated. It’ll be some time before I return I expect, but of all the places I’ve been so far, it’s given me some of my strongest memories.

This post was first published on Sun Jun 16 2013 originally on justbeyondthebridge.co.uk, my former personal blog

The author

My name is Andy Higgs and I am a founder, product management & design leader, occassional surfer and travel enthusiast based in the UK.

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