May 10, 2015

Information about the fees to enter VF park from either Zim or Zambia

www.zimparks.org/images/pdf/appTarrifs.pdf

zambiatourism.com/media/Park-fees-2015.pdf

 

latest News 20/02/15

The South African department of health has officially lifted the requirement that yellow fever vaccinations are needed to travel between Zambia and South Africa.

After being declared a yellow fever free zone by the World Health Organisation in January, the South African health department has now announced that travellers no longer need to obtain certification of vaccination.

The decision was made official at the World Health Assembly on Friday January 30th in Geneva, following the confirmation by the WHO that Zambia has a low yellow fever potential exposure status.

This is good news for travellers as they will be able to cross from South Africa to Zambia and visit Victoria Falls - one of the Seven Wonders of the World, without the requirement of the vaccination.

 

Visas 20/01/2015

As a Tour Operator Based in Victoria Falls, i would like to inform all travelers coming over here of this new development which will help our tourism. They will be no more time worsting.

Zimbabwe and Zambia will on November 28 introduce a joint travel visa to ensure international tourists visit both countries hassle-free.

The Kavango Zambezi (Kaza) uni-visa will be launched in Victoria Falls and is expected to rapidly increase tourism revenue. It will benefit tourists from 40 countries.
Tourism and Hospitality Industry Minister Engineer Walter Mzembi told our Harare Bureau that marketing would kick off at the just-ended World Travel Market (WTM) tourism showcase in England.

"The Kaza uni-visa pilot project will after WTM be promoted across the globe at tourism fairs with a view to increase arrivals in Zimbabwe. The uni-visa project is being pursued by Zimbabwe and Zambia and it is being funded by the World Bank."

Under the new system, tourists will acquire visas at ports of entry for $50.

The visa is valid for 30 days and allows holders to tour Zimbabwe and Zambia without restriction.

Namibia, Botswana and Angola will join if the six-month pilot project succeeds.

Presently, tourists are securing two visas (Zimbabwean and Zambian) and subjected to conventional immigration procedures.

Minister Mzembi said immigration equipment has been installed at Harare International, Victoria Falls, Kazungula and Victoria Falls airports to check visa authenticity.

Immigration Department principal director Mr Clemence Masango weighed in, saying:

"The World Bank, together with the Ministry of Tourism and Hospitality Industry, and other partners managed to come up with $900 000, which we used to buy equipment for the project.

"The visa will be valid for only 30 days and will cost $50, which will be paid at the port of arrival by the tourist."

 

Raft floating  Trip and canoeing : Its happening above the falls provides the chance to experience all that the stunning and charming upper Zambezi River has to offer. Our choice of trips ranges from a sedate morning canoe trip to an afternoon raft drift trip. Full day trips are available upon request with all of the animal life and the relaxed environs of the river yours to savour. Depending on the choice of trip, you can experience some small but exciting rapids, lunches taken on remote sandbanks in the pristine Zambezi National Park, drifting down seldom seen channels, and all the excitement of the great African outdoors with its rich diversity of mammal, bird, fish and reptile life. This is a great trip for kids and seniors who do not want to walk in and out of the Batoka Canyon for the rafting trips

 

Helicopter Flight :

This is the best time to use the helicopter viewing the Victoria Falls as the water levels are a bit high with some spray. We therefore recommend all our guest to do a helicopter flight

 

Tour of the Falls by foot:

The Victoria Falls have some spry at the moment and we would recommend you to have an umbrella and raincoat to protect your camera and also do a tour in the evenings as the wind is not too bad compare to the mornings. You will get very wet during this tour and please have water during your walk.

 

Weather:

Rains have stopped and the sun its not very hot although we still recommend you to apply sun screen all the time. Mornings and evenings it gets a bit cold so you may always have jackets especial when going out for dinner.

Visit the weather-forecast below for more information

http://www.wunderground.com/weather-forecast/ZW/Victoria_Falls.html

 

Safety

Victoria Falls has always been its own entity and should be viewed separately from the rest of Zimbabwe with regards to crime and safety. So even when Zimbabwe was going through its worst times Victoria Falls always remained a safe destination, and we are confident that Victoria Falls is a perfectly safe tourist destination. You can walk the whole night around town only be the care full of animals such as elephants as they come to town or to your hotels at nights. During your walking around town you might come across locals trying to sell you some souvenirs at a cheap price and even if you say no they don’t stop sometimes it becomes irritating and thus why we have tourist police walking around trying to control such things

 

 

How to pay for your activities

Shockwave Adventure accepts online bookings and more than 20 payments card are accepted just to mention few -American Express / Visa / Master Card / Amex / Dinners Club /Discover / JCB. Some tour operators & hotels now accepting Visa Credit Cards for payment of activities. However some outfits are not able to accept cards for payment and cash is still required. Travelers Cheques are not accepted.Most banks in Victoria Falls have activated their cash machines and you can now get cash US Dollars or South African rands out of the ATM machine. They accept VISA and MASTERCARD cards with pin numbers. "Even though the stickers say Visa Only you can still use MasterCard .

 

Malaria & General Advice

No Ebola virus has been recorded in the town of Victoria Falls and Livingstone (Zimbabwe & Zambia)

The good news is that it is preventable, so if you are prepared there is no reason why you should not have a healthy and happy trip to Victoria Falls.Avoid being bitten by mosquitoes. The old adage rings true “Prevention is better than cure” – therefore the best way to avoid malaria is to avoid being bitten in the first place. Mosquitoes and most other insects are generally active for a few hours around sunset. They can and often do continue to be bothersome throughout the night and are also around in the early morning. • We suggest that you change into longs just before sunset and spray yourself with the provided repellent. • Turn out lights when not in use.• Use insect repellent on exposed skin. • Sleep under a bed net or in a netted tent or hut or in a house or caravan with screens. • Close windows and doors at night. • Spray insecticide aerosol and/or burn mosquito coil at night. Anopheles mosquitoes prefer to feed near ground level so spray your legs and feet as well. Malaria mosquitoes (Anopheles) are smaller, fly more quietly and have a distinctive posture of head down, body at an angle and hind legs raised when feeding or at rest. This is in contrast with the horizontal position of most other mosquito species.Take prophylaxis in malaria risk areas. Get good advice before you plan your holiday. Take the pills same day each week when weekly, or at the same time of the day if daily. Continue prophylaxis for 4 weeks after your return. Complete the course. If you, or one of your party, show ‘flu like symptoms’ and signs like body pain, headache and a fever developing 7 to 20 days or longer after visiting an endemic area, have a simple blood test done. This check will show if there are any parasites in your blood, and just remember, early treatment rarely leads to complications.The further away you are from towns and crowded areas the less chance you have of contacting malaria as it is relayed from person to person. Many hotels in Victoria Falls have air conditioning keeping the mosquitoes out of the room, and most of the time body spray in the evening with at least 40% DEET proves quite efficient. A good prophylaxis is Malerone, since it shown no side effects for most people ( contrary to older medication) and can be taken as one pill per day, starting the day of departure

 

Other Health Tip

 its unlikely you will contract any serious disease while in Southern Africa. No compulsory vaccinations are required for Zimbabwe but recommended ones are diphtheria and tetanus, hepatitis, polio and meningitis, and typhoid. Travelers have advised the use of bottled water to avoid any possible stomach complaintsBe sensible about exposure to the sun and the heat in general as this may cause heat stroke or exhaustion – eat salt on your food, drink liquids regularly and wear protective sun creams and clothing. If you suffer from allergies, bring your own prescriptive medicine. Other useful medical aid kit items to bring along are: antihistamine (insect bites, itches, allergies)

 

 

 

Packing check list recommended by Shockwave Adventures

 

Passport / Emergency Info / Towel /Shaving Kit / Insurance Info / Contact Lens / Preparation Luggage Tags / Credit Cards (US or Rands Cash) / Malaria Pills / Lotions / Skin Creams /  Camera & Accessories / Health Documentation /  Sunscreen /  Tooth brush & Paste / Film /Chips- lots of it /  Airline Tickets / Insect Repellent / Finger nail Clippers /  Photocopies of important documents / Money Belt / Neck pouch for Passport / Binoculars [ Good pair] /  Extra Batteries/ Swiss Army Knife /  Cellphone / Sunglasses / Case / Strap Bird and animal books / Flash light & Extra Batteries / Travel Alarm / Watch

 

CLOTHING: Think light, durable, breathable & layers - cotton, wool, silk & polypropylene. Sun hat long sleeved shirts: underwear and socks tracksuit, T-shirts as many as you can swimming costume sweater pairs or jeans / trousers / pair of sandals, warm jacket, pairs of shorts and a pair of good walking shoes