Travel Butlers African Safari Blog.

We have just received notification that the Zambian government have put forward plans to REDUCE the current visa fees from US$150 to US$50 for single entry while double or multiple-entry fee will be reduced from US$340 to US$80.

However, please note that these new visa fees would only come into effect once the Minister of Home Affairs signs the statutory instrument. President Rupiah Banda had promised during his electioneering campaign that once elected into office he would slash the visa fees.

Watch this space …. !

All travellers to Zimbabwe are advised that no payments can by made by credit card at all. The banks have suspended all credit card transactions until they can introduce new systems, as their equipment is no longer able to handle the billions of local currency involved in even the smallest of transactions.

Clients must carry cash on them in either U$ or Rand, and in small denominations as places are unable to give change in foreign currency.

Only a short 2 hour flight from Jo’burg, a trip to Victoria Falls is certainly memorable. One of the 7 Wonders of the World, the sheer noise of the Falls as they cascade over the edge into the deep gorge is deafening, and the misty clouds of spray, occasionally broken by rainbows, are visible from over 40 km away.

For some, however, the real thrill of visiting the Falls during September through to December comes from swimming right up to the very edge of the Falls themselves …
Known as “The Devil’s Swimming Pool”, this naturally formed safe pool, accessed via Livingstone Island, offers visitors the adrenelin-pumping opportunity to swim in shallow water literally within a couple of inches from the edge of the gorge.

This spot is becoming well known amongst the “radical tourist” industry as more and more people search for the ultimate experience.