Victoria falls - Bulawayo

 Victoria Falls as seen from the Zambian side (Livingstone)...It is the dry season in September so there is little water on the Zambian side.

I was in Victoria falls on Monday 26th September. Life in Zimbambwe is all about dollars (US). The falls from the Zim side are spectacular. Amazingly the gate personnel to the park believed it when i told them that Kenya was part of SADC and therefore i paid only 10US dollar to access this wonder of the world. I don't remember if i had mentioned this ealier but, Zambia side of the falls is sham. Dont be conned. Just cross over to Zim and access the falls from that side.


While in Victoria falls, i met prince( I doubt whether thats his real name) whoo initially tried convincing me to trade my adidas jogging shoes for his handicrafts. Prince effectively became my tour guide in Vic falls.


Vic Falls is a small but ver decent town.Its a tourist town and most of the activity is tourism. After doing one loop around town, Prince took me to the village, where he and other local people stay. Life there is simple but currency is dollars. Sadza(Ugali) and chicken goes for 2 US. 4 beers cost US3. Zambezi is the Zimbambwean larger but i noticed most young guys preffered carling black label.I had lots of fun at the pub and mixed freely with the local people who are quite hospitable.


I left Vic Falls in the evening using train which leaves daily at 7PM. First class is US12 and the train is very cormfortable but very slow. We arrived in Bulawayo at 1100hrs in the morning and i effectively got into the streets looking for accomodation. Accomodation in Bulawayo was had to come by but luckiliy i ended upp at Bulawayo Polytechnic school of Hospitality and tourism. They got decent flats and again i managed to get a flat for myself at US20.

I hanged out at Sporty bar on 6th Street. I met Charles a guy in his 50's but have lived in the UK and SA. He had a radical opinion of politics but overall was a good drinking buddy.He recommended pub la Gondola and Safari Lounge on Robert Mugabe way.
I left Bulawayo on Wednesday at 1400hrs North-East bound to Harare.

The City of Bulawayo as seen from the Train when arriving from Vic Falls

Zambia might rip-off your wallet

All my posts submitted today are actually from Victoria Falls town of Zimbambwe.


 After my drinking sprees in Lusaka and Livingstone, i realised that Zambia is one hell of an expesnsive country. So a caveat emptor at this point to any travellor to this beautiful country will suffice. Beers cost ZK8000 to ZK20000. A pack of Cigarettes cost ZK13000.

Remember there are no BAT brands this side of the world. So i had to do with Dunhill. Food cost ZK25000 - 35000. They serve Nshima (ugali) and a range of game meat (Buffallo, Warthog, zebra, Tigerfish) and a host of vegetables. i found Okra ( i'm not sure if thats the correct spelling) to be quite a pontent syrup. Its made vegetables and tastes like code liver oil...or pehaps worse.

Lusaka has two serious shopping malls. Manda Hill mall is like Sarit Centre in Nairobi. They also got Arcades shopping area which looks like Nakumatt Nyali, only that its a department store.

Lusaka also has a vibrant night life. I never expected girls in Zambia to be that good looking or that fashionable. While in Livingstone i hanged out at "The Rite" bar and grill. A decent place but very small in size. Taxi fares within Lusaka cost ZK 25000 while in Livingstone they go for ZK 10000. A bus ride from Lusaka to Livingstone Costs ZK120000. I suspect i burnt USD 300 within Zambian borders and this was modest me.

                                                             Lusaka's skyline

HUSH!!...........Donchi Kubeba!!...Hush

You must be wondering why i went quiet all of  a sudden.Its because i was using Safaricom roaming internet, which could only extend to Tanduma (Tanzania-Zambia) border, and also the fact that data services were expensive(i ran out of airtime) and my phone being a non-living thing, died on me.(This is Kenya speak for dead battery charge).

Anyway, we got to Kapiri-Mposhi on Thursday at 1300hrs.(Zambians have this peculiar habit of telling time in hours). The town was deserted, and one could not help but sense the tension in the streets. A taxi ride from the station cost 20,000Kwacha (20pin), which is the equivalent of 4USD. By this time i was in the company of one Korean girl, One Japanese dude and an American.

The Matatu ride from Kapiri to Lusaka costed K35000 and just as in Kapiri, we were greeted by Ghost streets.We checked in at Flinstones backpackers (formerly known as Ku-Omboka backpackers).

Dorm fees were 50000Kwacha per night. I paid for three nights but my friends left for livingstone the following morning.

                          An optimistic Zambian still in a celebratory mood after Michael Sata's victory...(blame it on  tugiri giri)

Dar - Ifakara - Mbeya-Kapiri Mposhi.

 The TAZARA in Mbeya District Tanzania

Im writing this, five ndovus down. We left dar at 4pm an-hour-late which was rather unfortunate because it meant getting to selous game reserve past 7pm, therefore no viewing of game.I booked first class on cabin C2 room C6. The compartment had 4 sleepers and was in the same compartment with tito, david and kianga....we arrived in Kisaki at quarter to 9pm where David(a tanzanian mzungu) alighted. We arrived in Ifakara at 20mins to midnight where tito alighted and was left with kianga who hadnt been in the compartment for the better part of the journey. The food in the train's restaurant was of fair quality and a plate goes for tshs. 3500. Beer goes for tshs.2000. The train itself is not in a very good condition but the crowd/passengers in the train bar compensated for this handicap. I cannot remember at which station tito alighted but i recall it was at 3am.

Kilifi-Mombasa-Tanga-Dar es Salaam

I left Kilifi at 5am and caught a mombasa bound matatu at exactly quarter past five. Travelling by road from Kilifi to Mombasa relatively takes an hour and costs ksh.130. As expected the matatu oversped and overloaded and luckily it arrived in Mombasa at 6am in good time for me to book a ticket with Tawakal bus on Mwembe Tayari road. Tawakal departs for Dar es Salaam everyday of the week at 7am. I have used it three times on this route and in all those three times it has departed on time. It was smooth sailing at the likoni ferry and the bus arrived at the Lunga Lunga border point at 9am. Being a monday and midmonth the queues at the immigration office were shorter and within no time, and after walking a distance of 300metres we were at Horro Horro border point for clearence to enter Tanzania. Most passengers were caught unawares of the new immigration requirements which require visitors into Tanzania(Kenyans included) to have a yellow fever and small pox vaccination certificates. These two vaccines were being administered at the border point at a cost of kshs.1200,a high price to pay for budget traveler. Being a librarian an a man naturally pre-disposed to informatin, i had prior knowledge to this changes. Another thing worth mentioning about Tanzanian immigration is that they are much more strictier despite their not-so-authoritative uniform and mannerisms. We stayed at the border for one hour partly due to the vaccine issue and also due to 6 Pakistani men dressed like muslim cleric whose papers were counter checked like three times. The road from Horro Horro to Tanga is still in the Work-in-progress status but it wont stay like this for long and future users of this road will have delightful driving. I arrived in Tanga exactly at noon and since i was using pwani Tawakal the bus stopped at their offices where the conductor announced that passengers were allowed 15mins lunch break at an eatery situated in the office premises. There is no much variety as far as food is concerned at this eatery and the menu comprises of the usual suspect(swahili dishes) that is pilau,biriani,mshikakis. They also got sima(ugali) beef/fish and chips chicken. Every meal costs the same, that is, 4000 tshs.The food quality is not great, but still good and i have never had problems after consuming it. The bus left Tanga at half past noon and arrived in Dar es Salaam at 6PM. I checked -in at Akubu paradise resort located on Msimbazi/magila street. Hotel Rates for a single room are Tshs. 27000 for local guests and USD 27 for foreigners. Yes, you guessed right, i paid tshs. 27000.Dar was quite quiet for  a weekday and after looking at the tourist guide, nothing was in offer as far as night life is concerned. I took dinner and went to sleep anticipating the 3day train journey to Kapiri Mposhi - Zambia.

Preface

Welcome to "Been there" my travel blog.I hope you will enjoy and learn from my adventures as i traverse wide and long....



Alex Maina