Just a quick post before I head to bed…(early mornings and long hot days jumping off high places are a good sleeping pill).
I’d heard legendary tales about the Vic Falls Hotel, a 100 year-old institution that must rate as having one of the most spectacular locations of any hotel. My expectations were high, but they were surpassed the moment I walked through the reception, the courtyard, the lounge and onto the terrace, and the manicured lawns, and saw the view of the bridge and the “smoke” that rises from the Victoria Falls. The continuous rhythm and beat of the falling water pervades everything in the hotel. Like a heartbeat, it can be felt imperceptibly, if not heard, throughout the property.
Now, the most amazing thing is that this hotel is still what it is…an ode to colonial excellence in a country that gained painful independence 30 years ago, a celebration of hospitality extravagance in a society where 90% unemployment means people are willing to work for next to nothing. While I was sitting on the terrace enjoying my superb burger for lunch ($18 – more than what most people earn in a day – or week – in Zim), I couldn’t help feel emotionally wacked. After all, on my way to the hotel through Vic Falls main street, I had walked past a group of young guys offering to work for me, for a dollar a day. (I think I was also feeling the effects of having jumped 70 metres into thin air in the morning!)
But, this is Africa, and wealth disparity has been a reality for a very long time. And the hotel sets a standard for the rest of the country…a symbol which implies that Zim – despite the imploded economy and political situation – can maintain the highest standards. I’m not one for luxury accommodation – and am probably happiest roughing it under a baobab tree in the middle of the Kalahari – but I can honestly say that I was bowled over by the Vic Falls Hotel. Yes, the politically-correct folk will say it’s over-the-top, and yes, it’s got animal heads and paintings of white royalty on the walls. But it’s real and it works.
