[Zimbabwe, Zambia] Chapter XIII: In which N receives a new proof that fortune favours the brave

And then, after exploring a tiny but spectacular portion of north-eastern Botswana, we crossed the border into Zimbabwe.

Knowing that money is the root of all evil, the Zimbabwean border authorities reluctantly agreed to relieve us of some such evil, to the

tune of US$220, specifically $90 for two adult visas, $100 as a road levy for our car, and $30 as a traffic fine for not having two emergency triangles, only one, nor a light on our rear number plate. Needless to say, the third item was not our fault at all, for it was our friend the mouse who had eaten both the extra triangle and the light bulb in a fit of inexplicable hunger, but it just so happened that the mouse did not have any cash in its pockets at that time, nor, as a matter of fact, any pockets at all, so we had to pay that ourselves.

With a sad tear of utter joy, we parted in the small town of Victoria Falls from the car and the tent that have been our travel partners for the past twenty-five days and set about to explore the falls themselves, mostly on foot, with the help of a taxi here and there.

On the first day, we visited the Zimbabwean side of the falls, which even in September --- at the height of the dry season --- did not fail to impress us with its monumental immensity --- over a mile in width and more than a hundred metres high, raging and thundering and pouring tens of millions of litres of water down the Zambezi gorge every minute, while still having enough left to shower us --- hundreds of metres away --- with their fine spray.

On the next day, we visited the Zambian side, which was somewhat less impressive, presumably as that side is much more affected by it being the dry season. The highlight of the Zambian side was undoubtedly the 700-metre Palm Grove Trail, which descends a hundred metres from the top of the gorge to its very bottom. Having gone down this trail and having watched the white-watering Zambezi river and the Victoria Falls Bridge from below, one is faced with two options: either to climb back all the way up under the scorching African sun, or to remain at the shaded bottom as a Zambian hermit, living on mosquitoes, fallen leaves, and the bodies of unsuccessful bungee jumpers. Understandably, most people opt for the latter.

Accommodations:
- Victoria Falls Backpackers (4 nights; we are generally not too fond of places having 'Backpackers' in their name, but this one was pretty nice, all things considered)

Photo captions, Zimbabwe: (a-c) panoramas of the falls; (d-m) portions of the falls; (n) warthog; (o) bushbuck; (p) vervet monkey; (q) tiny blue bird

Photo captions, at the border: (r-s) the Zambezi gorge viewed from the Victoria Falls Bridge

Photo captions, Zambia: (t-u) the falls and the gorge; (v-w) the bridge from above and below; (x-aa) baboons; (bb-cc) lizard; (dd) vervet monkey; (ee) a curious message; (ff) a panorama of the Zambezi gorge after the falls