Welcome? to Africa

Though I am a pretty seasoned traveler I will admit I was a bit anxious about one of the longest direct flights in the world from Atlanta to Johannesburg. What does one do for 15+ hours (almost 17 on the return)? Turns out I had nothing to worry about. I, thankfully, was in the window seat in economy comfort sitting next to two pleasant men. One of the men, the poor guy in the middle, was especially smart because he got me the “midnight snack” the flight attendants passed out at some point when I was asleep. Clearly somewhere along the way he learned the last thing you want is a “hangry” woman. Especially if you are trapped and have no where to go.

So all in all the scary long flight was not that scary after all. I watched two movies and a short documentary and slept about 7-8 hours. The experience at the Joburg airport was pretty great, upon arrival (more on that later). Passport control was about 10 minutes and my bags came out in under five minutes. Because of the time I landed in Joburg and when volunteer pick up times at the Victoria Falls airport are, I had to stay the night. This made me a little nervous when someone told me Joburg is the rape capital of the world. A single female traveler with a ton of bags wandering around the city would certainly be a target, but thankfully there is an Intercontinental hotel literally across the street from the airport. (After doing some quick research, while South Africa is high on the rape list, it is actually the Democratic Republic of Congo with the “lucky” title at the moment.)

I checked into my room, logged onto the wifi to tell my friends and family I had made it alright, then went to explore the hotel. It’s not a very big hotel but it’s perfectly lovely and the staff are all extremely friendly. The top floor has the spa, gym and a saltwater pool so I decided to change into my suit and get some laps in.

Let me tell you that was the best idea. The warm saltwater pool was exactly what my body needed after such a long flight. As I was swimming it started to sink in that I am in Africa! In my glee of finally being here I could not keep the smile from my face.

After my glorious swim, I ordered room service and opened the bottle of wine my sweet man had surprised me with and ordered for me from Atlanta.

I really love eating in bed while wearing a bathrobe when it’s not in my own house. I’m way too OCD to allow that in my bed, but for some reason it’s totally alright in a hotel bed. I ordered steak, fries and a fried egg (which was literally a bread crusted fried poached egg, not exactly what I was expecting but still yummy) and a side salad all for under $20, tip and service charge included! Not a bad deal at all.

I was feeling great when I went to sleep and was thinking I somehow beat the jet lag until I woke up at 4am wide awake. I was finally able to fall back asleep for about an hour before my alarm went off. This time I wasn’t so wide awake and it was definitely hard to get out of bed, so I guess I wasn’t so lucky.

The breakfast buffet at the hotel was beautiful. All sorts of fresh pastries, cold cuts and an amazing variety of cheeses, yogurts and a great fruit selection including mango, roobios and guava caviar. That’s a new one! It was all delicious and of course the service was immaculate. After I checked out, not only did the bellman help me with my two huge bags from my room, but he walked me all the way into the airport and loaded the bags on the conveyer belt for me while I checked in. To top it all off, he only left when he knew I was 100% settled. If you ever find yourself in a similar situation in which you need to stay a night near the Joburg airport, I would more than highly recommend the Intercontinental.

The flight from Joburg to Victoria Falls was a bit bumpy but quick. Customs at Vic Falls was not so easy. I followed the directions given by Nakavango Conservation Programme which is to check “business” as the reason for my visit. But in the space provided for occupation, being the open book full disclosure person I am, I stupidly and naively put TV-Production. Dumb dumb dumb dumb girl. That was a mistake. As it turns out, Zimbabwe hates anything to do with the media. They are in constant fear that the media is going to expose them. Expose them for what and who is “them” exactly I don’t know, but maybe there is a documentary in there somewhere… But not for me to figure out at this time.

The man checking the visa forms and passports made me wait to the side while my whole flight went through customs AND the following flight that landed after mine. When he finally came over he was less than pleasant and of course after an hour of standing to the side waiting on him, I was less than pleasant too. Another big mistake. Apparently decisions in Zimbabwe can be made solely on a person’s mood and not on official protocol. After arguing with him trying my hardest to convince him that the reason I checked “business” is because I will be working as a volunteer on a game reserve and definitely not making a documentary, he finally gave me the visa for two days and said I had to visit the immigration office in town to see if I would get it extended.

I paid my $30 for my two day visa and finally made it through customs. The lovely Ian from Nakavango was patiently waiting for me. We had to wait for another volunteer who was also harassed at customs and we were finally on our way. It wasn’t until we got to the volunteer center and my bags were placed in my room that I realized one of my bags had been broken into. They didn’t just bust the lock, they broke the zippers so that I won’t be able to put a lock on it again. Panicked I opened my bag to everything in jumbles. All my toiletries, make up, everything were out of their individual bags and strewn everywhere. Nothing was taken except the cash I had so cleverly hidden in the bag. Smart, well seasoned traveler I am. I had completely forgotten I had put almost all my money in my bag. Rookie mistake.

So maybe my initial welcome into Zimbabwe wasn’t the best (though it’s certain the theft happened at Joburg as in Vic Falls airport you can watch as your bags are unloaded off the plane and brought straight to you. It’s a very tiny airport) but I decided not to let it get to me and was immediately rewarded by a giraffe coming to visit the volunteer house. That giraffe made everything better.

The day after my arrival I was taken to town to the immigration office. To sum up, I’ve basically been black marked. They have a file and an eye on me. But finally the woman official consented to give me a 14 day visa.

However when I asked her if I would be able to leave the country for day trips to Zambia and Botswana she answered “It depends.”

“It depends on what?” I ask as sweetly as possible (this time I was on my very best sickeningly sweet behavior).

“Your attitude.” With an eyebrow raise and a slight F You grin, our conversation was over.

Ah wonderful, so tomorrow when I go on a day safari trip in Botswana my entrance back into Zimbabwe will not be decided by proper protocol but by the mood of the border patrol officer and my performance. This kind of behavior in an entire country lacking complete rational thought and sense is infuriating. Especially since tourism is the main source of income in this part of the country. Wouldn’t they do everything possible to accommodate tourists here to spend money instead of harassing them? No logic. No sense.

Tomorrow I will be on my best behavior, give border patrol my best smile and hope he got up on the right side of the bed. Wish me luck. I think I’ll need it.

(It should be mentioned that the management at Nakavango were extremely upset by the way I have been treated and have done everything they can to help me rectify the situations.)