VACATION DETAILS

Great Zimbabwe is, quite simply, the most extensive and best-preserved ruins anywhere in Africa south of the Sahara Desert. The ancient African kingdom of Munhumatapa built the series of stone complexes. The 10,000 people who prospered there in the 13th-15th centuries had impressive skills: They built three distinct complexes, using very basic tools and no mortar. Great Zimbabwe is all curved stone walls, huge enclosures and cylindrical structures. The ruins were once inhabited by ancestors of the Karanga subgroup of the Shona people, and what remains was once part of a fortified capital. Walls as thick as 18 ft/6 m at the base and as high as 24 ft/8 m are in almost perfect condition. It is strongly recommended that you hire a local guide, which can be done at the on-site office, to put it all into proper perspective. Without knowing about the civilization and the purposes of the various areas, it's easy to overlook important details of the construction—there's little left in the way of ornamentation.

Start your tour with the Hill Complex while you still have the enthusiasm and vigor for the climb—begin before the day gets too hot. End with the most impressive area, the Great Enclosure (be sure to walk behind it to see the design along the top of the outside wall). Don't forget to visit the on-site museum—it helps put everything together. Highlights of the museum include pottery from China and India (suggesting trade with coastal Arabs and Portuguese) and marvelous green soapstone carvings of birds, which have become the symbol of Zimbabwe (the images are on everything from the flag to the currency). If time permits, visit the adjacent Karanga Village exhibit, which features a full-scale replica of a 19th-century tribal settlement. Some local craftspeople work there and sell their wares. The closest town is Masvingo, about 18 mi/30 km away. The ruins are 180 mi/290 km south of Harare.

The town of Victoria Falls is a pleasant place, created for visitors. There are hiking routes and rental bicycles. There are also trinket shops, selling everything from cheap T-shirts to antique African musical instruments. Carvings of masks and animals are a tradition around the area (as is the bargaining required to purchase them for a reasonable price). The Victoria Falls Hotel, a short walk from the falls, still operates in full colonial splendor and should be seen even by those not staying there. Visit Crocodile Ranch and Craft Village - a fascinating glimpse into Zimbabwean culture. Visit Livingstone, just across the border in Zambia— more than just a tourist town and more character than Victoria Falls. Another appealing side trip is to Chobe National Park, in neighboring Botswana. Chobe is one of the finest game parks in the world.

The park at Hwange covers an area of 5,656 miles². Hwange specialties include thousands of elephants, over 100 different types of animals including Africa’s Big Five and 400 species of birds, strategically placed viewing hides, luxury safari lodges with their own 'off the beaten track' traversing areas, and night drives from the private lodges. These sub-tropical thorn and sand flats on the edge of the Kalahari Desert, were once home to nomadic San (bushmen) who lived off the land and feasted on herds of migrating game. It is a place of great contrasts between wet and dry season, with extremes reminding of the life-giving properties of water.

This enormous and magnificent park is one of the most popular public game parks in the world. Its density of permanent game is unrivalled with hundreds of different species; 507 birds, 336 trees, 147 mammals, 114 reptiles, 49 fish and 34 amphibians! Sighting the "Big Five" has become a quest for many people on safari, and Kruger National Park has more than its fare share of these, with an estimated 1,800 lion, 9,125 elephant, 25,000 buffalo, unknown number of leopards and 2,300 black and white rhino. These animals became the 'Big Five' because they are the five most dangerous animals to hunt - when injured they attack! There are plenty of other fascinating animals and birds in the African bush.

Johannesburg's contrasts are some of the most extreme in the world; poverty-stricken and overcrowded Alexandra is surrounded by some of the richest suburbs in South Africa, and downtown hundreds of homeless struggle to survive around the Stock Exchange. The contrast between suburb and township is mirrored nationwide, but is more extreme here because of the intense wealth of many of the suburbs, and the sheer size of the townships and their satellite squatter camps. Yet the city as a whole continues to suck in people and skills from all over the country, making it the financial, commercial and cultural powerhouse of South Africa.

Cape Town is southern Africa's most beautiful, most romantic and most-visited city. Few urban centers anywhere can match its setting along the Cape Peninsula spine, which slides like the mighty tail of the continent into the Atlantic Ocean. By far the most striking - and famous - of its sights is Table Mountain, frequently mantled by clouds, and rearing up from the middle of the city to provide a constantly changing vista to the suburbs below. Table Mountain is the city's solid core which divides the city into distinct zones with public gardens, wilderness, forests, hiking routes, vineyards and desirable residential areas trailing down it's lower slopes.

Excursions