Victoria Falls Safari Club’s daring proposition

“Those lucky to choose Safari Club for their stay in Victoria Falls never regret it.”

AT the centre of Victoria Falls Safari Club’s dining facility, a couple is sizing up the afternoon.

They look excited and overwhelmed by the stunning scenery which explodes in all directions, before melting into breathtaking horizons.
They have glided into the restaurant from a game drive vehicle and stepped over lash green rolling lawn of the magnificent resort, rejuvenated by a $600 000 redevelopment project.
The couple are quick to display their ease in this gilded setting, which is the case when tourists find themselves in the less regulated context of African wildlife settings.
Waiters immediately serve something chilled to welcome them into this facility, an outpost of exclusive holidaying.
Proprietor of Safari Club, Africa Albida Tourism (AAT) is bracing for a projected boom in international tourist arrivals in Zimbabwe.
And it is toying with a series of experiments to enhance the ambience of the high end resort, the winner of the best boutique hotel of the year.
Those lucky to choose Safari Club for their stay in Victoria Falls never regret it.
It is a purpose built tourist facility that sits on the summit of a spectacular plateau overlooking the mighty Zambezi westwards, as it becomes a twisting, broad arm of water snaking its way through swampland.
The Zambezi National Park rests on its banks at this point, only adding to the fascination.
Safari Club’s facelift, which includes the addition of a swimming pool, sundeck, gazebo and an expansion and upgrade of its thatched central building, has transformed the resort into a classic African safari operation, with a modern twist.
Its villas fan out from either side of the lounge area, where I found the couple relaxing and watching game on the banks of a waterhole in the depression below.
Soft bulbs hang from the high roof of the facility and illuminate African art on the walls.
They enhance the luxurious ambience.
I had jetted into Victoria Falls two weeks before to take a deserved sanctuary from the fast paced city life.
It has been a difficult year so far, in which our struggling country’s unrelenting economic crisis has exerted tremendous hardships on its people, who have endured 18 years of uninterrupted mismanagement.
I never regretted my choice of Victoria Falls Safari Club, an integrated tourism facility offering anything from the David Livingstone lectures to exhilarating game drives and breathtaking tours of the Victoria Falls itself, a million-year-old landmark that is ranked among the world’s seven best natural wonders.
Days at Safari Club start with a sumptuous continental breakfast under the huge African sky as it welcomes a new day.
Tourists then embark on a game drive, a bungee jump or bridge tour, before they return for lunch.
At 1230 hours sharp every afternoon, flocks of massively built vultures storm the Safari Club’s environs to take positions atop sausage and Mopani trees.
These overlook a waterhole, drilled specifically to attract free roaming elephant herds and bolster the experience.
So, from the wings of Buffalo Restaurant, tourists watch the exhilarating experience as vultures rummage over calm forests below, hiding behind scant leaves and tripping grey features into the air.
The sheer numbers of these African scavengers can make this a terrifying experience.
They will be waiting for the signal that lunch is ready — game meat served by the Safari Club’s guides on a ‘vulture restaurant’ on the foothills of the plateau.
The tranquil woodlands are turned into a wave of activity, with a few birds hoping and resting, and flying and hoping, from branch to branch.
Then, boom!
On the dot of the hour at 1300 hours, over 300 aggressive birds bolt from the trees at lightning speed!
They rub each other sideways and side swap their necks, arousing dust and spraying a glut of features skywards in a breathtaking fashion.
In the heat of the moment, these creatures do not care losing their delicate parts.
They land recklessly at the feasting point, trampling on game meat, and on the shoulders of their young ones.
It is the best moment anywhere across Africa to view the birds in the air, on the ground, sideways and up close.
Within minutes, the meat is finished.
The vultures labour as they take off for the forests beyond the hills, and into the Zambezi.
Generations of these vultures have been making the daily trip since 1994.
The feeding scheme is part of the “Green Steps to Sustainable Tourism Initiative”, which is a commitment by all at AAT to consciously consider the environment.
That night, my hosts treated me with an extraordinary dinner at the Boma, the home of African traditional food.
The Boma comes alive at night.
It resembles an African king’s palace and becomes a confluence for a cross section of dancing styles and cultures.
An aura of warthog steak, guinea fowl meat, mopani worms and others confronted us.
For tasting the Mopani worms, I was awarded a certificate.
Under the glare of the African full moon, the cheerful waiters were impressive.
We ploughed straight into the main course, a buffet of rice, sadza, potatoes, grilled fish and beef.
I scooped spoonfuls of sadza, leaving space for sumptuous meals just ahead, and then more loads.
What followed was a case of competing interests.
I ate while I beat the drum!
Pangu, pangu, pangu; boom boom boom! pangu pangu pangu!
It was as if the spirits of the great ancient African rulers had descended.
Pangu pangu pangu!
Boom! boom! boom!