I decided on a trip to Zimbabwe this Spring, and it turned out to be a fantastic destination. Cost were reasonable throughout the country, the food was good, the beer was great - and the people could not have been friendlier.

      The most cost-effective way of getting to Zimbabwe is via London, as it's a major hub for the African continent as well as India. After researching the options of booking a group plan or arranging everything on my own, I found that doing it solo would be way too high.

      I looked at a couple of the long-haul firms in London and settled on Jules Verne Travel (21 Dorset Sq., London NW1 6QG; Tel: 011-44-171 6161000; Fax: +7238629; Web: www.vjv.co.uk). The all-inclusive cost was $1,344 per person, double occupancy. Since I was traveling alone I had to pay a few hundred extra as a single supplement. Then I began the barrage of shots needed for the trip.

      I went just after the wet season in April, so everything would be lush and Victoria Falls would be at its best. I had heard that if you go at the wrong time of year, like December, there's so little water you could walk across the falls to Livingstone Island. It would have been a major disappointment to travel so far and see a feeble falls. I had previously seen Iquassu Falls in Argentina at its highest, and was looking forward to comparing it to the falls in Africa.

Into Africa

      First I had to get to London and looked into the possibility of a courier flight from Denver with British Airways. Their office was very gracious and told me that they're working on a courier route but that it would be a London-originating flight, thus cutting out any roundtrips from Denver. So I booked British Airways' nonstop from Denver International to Gatwick.

      The Air Zimbabwe flight to Harare took just under ten hours. The crew were great and couldn't have tried harder. BA has a hold on that route, given that Zimbabwe is a former British colony, so Air Zim wants to please. We breezed through customs with no difficulty - and I was in Africa.

      At Harare International Airport we were bused by Jules Verne reps to the world famous five-star Meikles Hotel, one of the finest in Africa. Considering the cost of our package, and the hotel's usual US$185-$315 per-night rates, we got more than our money's worth. There were two employees for every guest and my room overlooked the city of Harare.

      Harare is generally sunny, with an altitude of 1,500 meters that makes the evenings cool. April through July offers nearly perfect weather. I took a half-day city tour to get a feel for the place. Flowering jacaranda trees alive with vivid colors line streets housed with interesting architecture. A prime example of a modern African city, Harare is a mosaic of high-rise office blocks and well-preserved historic buildings, parks and open spaces, blending to lend the city a vibrant, friendly character.

      A beer or other drink in Harare averaged Z$70, or about US$2. To experience shopping in the African tradition in the city, you need to stroll around the open market at Mbare. We drove through the market area, but our guide said it was too dangerous to get out and shop. We also drove up to Kopje Hill for a panoramic view of the city.

      Land-locked Zimbabwe is about three times the size of England. English is the official language, but the Shona and Ndebele speak their own languages. The country is preparing for a new election and preliminary results didn't look too good for the ruling party, so violence broke out between the ruling party and the opposition while we were there. Intimidation by supporters of the ruling party was at its worst in the poverty-stricken areas. The night I spent in Kariba, three opposition members were murdered. Rural schools were closing after teachers were threatened and assaulted over allegations that they were educating the local communities in opposition politics.

      All of this news has depressed tourism by 75%, and made travel to Zimbabwe very affordable. Being from Belfast originally, I know the world media can make a place sound much worse than it really is.

Leopards & Rhinos & Birds

      Next stop on our agenda was Zimbabwe's second largest city, Bulaway, with beautiful parks, and wide tree-lined streets originally constructed to allow a team of 16 oxen to make a full turn. The many Victorian buildings are maintained as heritage sites. We stayed at the Holiday Inn.

      Matobo National Park is less than an hour's drive from Bulaway. Dramatic granite outcrops dotted the green landscape as we drove south. They increased in number and size until, at the park's entrance, we were surrounded by a sea of fascinating rock formations. Matobo Park includes a large reserve with black and white rhinos, beautiful large antelope - kudu, sable and eland - and other wild game. The park has the largest concentration of leopard, black eagle and other birds of prey in the world.

      We continued on to the city of Masvingo and the nearby Great Zimbabwe Ruins on a sprawling archipelago of stone - an African civilization dating back to around AD 1,200. The Shona word Zimbabwe means "Houses of Stone." Chinese pottery from the Ming Dynasty indicates that the empire had extensive trade. Stone walls of granite block without the use of mortar, up to 20 feet thick and 36 feet high, enclose the Great Tower and complexes comprising the largest single ancient structure south of the Sahara. After the buildings and cathedrals of Europe have fallen, the Great Tower will still stand as testimony to a long dead civilization.

      The vast material wealth of Great Zimbabwe may have been its downfall. After its discovery in the 1870s, rumors spread that it was the legendary source of King Solomon's gold; European adventurers arrived in droves.

      Our travels took us to the White Rhino Cave Paintings, the Matobo Hills and Hwange National Park - a huge natural-habitat wildlife reserve and one of the few great elephant sanctuaries left in Africa. We stayed at the Safari Lodge and were up at 4 a.m. to be guaranteed game viewing at the watering holes in the early hours. We were well rewarded and saw lots of wildlife. To travel through Hwange National Park today is to see what much of the interior of Africa might have been like more than 150 years ago.

Victoria Falls, "The Smoke that Thunders"

      That evening we arrived at Victoria Falls and were lucky enough to be staying at the Elephant Hills Hotel (PO Box 300, Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, Tel: 011-263-134793, Email: elehillsintercont@EHIC.zimsun.gaia.co.zw. Website: www.interconti.com).

      The hotel's Mapoto Bar affords a direct view of the falls as the water kicks a thousand feet into the sky. Travelers will be hard pressed to find a more spectacular sight, while having a few Zambezi beers, anywhere in the world. Please email me if you think there's one better! It took a few hours to pry me off the barstool and away from that view.

      The next day we went to the town of Victoria Falls for walkabout, and of course to spend some time at the falls.

      I watched the mighty Zambezi River with awe, as it flowed to the brink of a basalt lip, nearly two kilometers wide, before taking a headlong 100-meter plunge into the thunderous, frothy chasm of the gorge below. This was what I had come to see - the world's most massive sheet of falling water, rising up into a spray filled with rainbows. Early inhabitants aptly called it "The Smoke that Thunders." The spray falls back as a permanent "rain," keeping the surrounding area a lush green. There are paths that lead to fantastic viewpoints. You're sure to get wet if you don't wear a waterproof covering. I had one with me but didn't put it on and got pleasantly soaked! The afternoon sun soon dried me, and I went back along the path for a second drenching. I took photos but as with many fantastic sights in the world, a photo can't possibly do it justice - you have to actually stand there and take it all in. I will never forget it.

      Once the river has taken its plunge however, there is quite a different experience to be had. The whitewater rafting is as good as anywhere in the world. It's also possible to take a chopper over the falls for US$90, or stand in a fixed balloon that goes up for a direct view above the falls.

Colonial Opulence & Bungee Jumping

      We spent the afternoon at the world-famous Victoria Falls Hotel, (PO Box 10, Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, Tel: 011-263-13 4751, Fax: (+) 4586, E-mail: vicfalls@zimsun.co.zw). I lounged in the back garden sampling an ap‚ritif called the Livingstone - a fruity cocktail of several liquors with quite a nice kick to it.

      The Victoria Falls Bridge lies in "no man's land" between the Zimbabwean and Zambian border posts. The historic hotel sits in acres of private garden, overlooking the bridge and the gorges below. Elegant decor, old-world charm and the tranquil atmosphere of this gracious hotel have won it international acclaim, and are reflected in the wide colonial verandahs and superb cuisine. The hotel's private pathway leads atop the gorge and provides a magnificent view of the bridge crossing into Zambia. From here one can only watch in wonder as bungee jumpers pay US$90 to drop 111 meters down the world's longest natural bungee jump toward the mighty Zambezi River below. We dined at the Victoria Falls Hotel that evening and the food was wonderful, ranging from Western cuisine to African wildebeest, alligator, antelope and eland - all of which I sampled. I tried everything they put in front of me and enjoyed every bite.

      The following afternoon we were on a plane for the short flight from the falls to Kariba. Everything seemed fine until we were ready to take off - the plane stopped and an Air Zimbabwe rep came to my seat.

      "Get off the plane," he said, and not in a particularly nice way.

      "Okay," I answered. No reason was given me as I stood on the tarmac watching the plane and my luggage fly away. I was taken back to the Elephant Hills Hotel and left to my own devices. I wouldn't have gotten off the plane so readily if I'd known the next one was 24 hours away! The Jules Verne rep offered me dinner, but I wasn't pleased when I learned that the beer I ordered with my dinner wasn't included. Despite their threats to call the authorities, I told the staff flatly I would not pay for the damn beer after what happened to me.

      I can only surmise that someone at the airport was offered a "backhander," because as I was being thrown off the plane, a Frenchman got on and took my seat. Maybe he was a diplomat or well connected, but the incident spoiled my plan to do an all day cruise on Lake Kariba for yet more big game viewing. As is often the case with travel, I try to accept things that don't go according to plan. I finally did make it to Kariba but time was limited.

      We stayed at the Lake View Sun Hotel, (PO Box 100, Kariba, Tel: 011-263-61 2411, Web: www.hotelbook.com/static/welcome_19277.html). Perched high on a hill this cozy 30-room two-star hotel afforded us a spectacular view of the lake's vast expanse. That night we dined on delicious bream caught fresh in the lake.

      We spent the morning at Lake Kariba Dam, which bridges the border between Zimbabwe and Zambia. It's possible to walk across the Zambian border if you have a passport. There was one joker on the dam who did just that - he showed his passport, stepped over to Zambia from the Zimbabwe side, and stepped right back.

      "There, now I can put another pin on my wall map for having visited Zambia," he said.

      The little Church of Santa Barbara in the town of Kariba, includes a plaque dedicated to the men who built the massive dam and the many who lost their lives.

      When we flew back to London Gatwick Airport, I checked into the Corner House Hotel, which offers free limo transfer, and paid œ40 (US$60) for a single with private bath, (72 Massetts Rd., Horley, Surrey RH6 7ED, Tel: 011-44-{0}1293 784574, Web: www.smoothhound.co.uk/hotels/corner1.html).

      I would recommend a Zambia visit to anyone. In the very near future Zimbabweans will find out which direction the country will be going, and I hope that stability remains so many others can enjoy what I did.