May 1, 2025
After Len woke up especially early to spy on Kyle’s porch workout, we were all at breakfast before 8am today to make sure we were ready for our 9am pickup. Lenny got a double serving of his beloved banana yogurt and Ollie french toast and a croissant. Our driver arrived on time and soon we were heading to the vulture feeding that occurs daily at a safari lodge about 20 minutes away.
This one brief activity was the only thing planned for today, so we knew our day would contain a fair amount of improvisation. But when we arrived at the lodge and learned the feeding actually happened at 1pm, we had to deploy our improvisation skills right away. We spoke with the lodge activities director, but found the only options were another zip-line or a helicopter ride so we instead planned to take the lodge’s shuttle back to town to kill a few hours before the actual vulture feeding. We’ve been talking a lot about having a ‘Plan B’ with the kids so this didn’t seem to upset them though Kyle and I were annoyed with the service that set this up for us. The adventure group eventually apologized for their error, but too late in the day to help us amend the situation.
We soon found ourselves back in the small downtown area of Victoria Falls. Our only options seemed to be more shopping or more eating and we started with mid-morning snacks at Simba’s bakery. Here, we picked up 3 donuts (lemon glazed, sugar sprinkled and cream filled) and 2 bottles of water for only $6 USD. Compared to other meals and snacks we’ve had in Zimbabwe so far, this felt like a deal. The donuts were also quite good— freshly made, fluffy, and a little chewy.
After the donut diversion took up 10 minutes, we still had nearly 2 hours ahead of us before the shuttle returned to take us back to the lodge. We then perused a handful of shops at the covered market as we had only visited the open air market yesterday. Given how expensive stamps were, we were sure not to buy anything too big to require us shipping a large box from Zim which we were sure would be super pricey.
After perusing some stores, we were still left with an hour to kill. Sadly there were no playgrounds in town or places to sit without being confronted by multiple solicitors selling trinkets or defunct Zim currency. There was a grocery store up a small hill so we trekked there for an offsite math lesson. The boys were not pleased with the walking in the sun and heat, especially as we dress them in long sleeves and full pants while here for bug protection. Zim is technically a malaria zone, but since we are only here for 3 full days and read horror stories of malaria pill side effects, we opted to pass on the pills for our time here and focus instead on long pants, bug spray and bug repellant lotion. So with two sweaty and whiney boys, we trudged uphill to the ‘Pick N Pay’, an African grocery chain we also saw in SA.
The boys were excited to get in the cart for a brief reprieve while we perused the store. They were each given a $5 USD budget for snacks— more than double their SA budget given grocery prices in Zim. After some brief research, I found that Zimbabwe has the highest rate of food inflation globally at 285%! Lenny parroted Ollie’s snack choices so they each ended up with a kinder egg-esque candy, an ice pop and a small bag of candies that look like skittles. I’m regretting not getting the pine nut soda, so will be on the lookout for one tomorrow at the airport.
The return shuttle directions were vague, but luckily we were able to intercept the shuttle and make our way back to the lodge where the vulture feeding was planned.
The Hamilton obsession remains alive and well. On the shuttle, Ollie asks out of nowhere, “What is land?'“ and I soon put together he was asking because Jefferson says France didn’t ask for land in the Cabinet Battle 2 song, one of his favorites. Many questions about current allies, giving land and the French revolution followed.
“JEFFERSON
In return, they didn't ask for land
Only a promise that we'd lend a hand
And stand with them if they fought against oppressors
And revolution is messy but now is the time to stand”
We had a quick lunch at the lodge and the boys took advantage of the lodge pool by repeatedly dipping their heads in to cool off. We noticed vultures circling and perching in trees nearby, ready for their lunch as well.
The head of the vulture culture experience, Moses, called himself the “vulture waiter” and recited a ton of vulture facts before taking us to the feeding area. There were already quite a few vultures surrounding the area and circling the area in the sky. He said they do the feeding every day at 1pm and have for nearly 2 decades now, so the birds are used to the routine. He carried a small cooler full of animal scraps that he took out into the clearing and proceeded to throw the bits around with his hands. Soon, hundreds of vultures descended into the clearing and fought intensely over the scraps.
The boys each asked a question of Moses before leaving. Ollie asked if vultures are the most endangered bird in Africa and Moses confirmed that they were. Lenny asked why there was a small pool of water near the feeding area and Moses said he likes to offer water here because if the vultures drank from the larger water hole, its possible the crocs would make quick snacks of the birds.
The vulture experience was interesting, but over in just 20 minutes. We then found a taxi to take us back to our hotel for some downtime.
After a few iPad shows for the kids and silence and alone time for Kyle and I, we headed to the pool. On the way, the kids played “duel” where they took turns being Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr. As the duel winner, the role of Aaron Burr is the coveted one and this was a repeated source of conflict, “No I’M Burr this time!!” At the pool, Len sat on the sidelines for 20 minutes to complete a timeout punishment from the morning and Ollie swam laps while I timed his efforts. They then played “find the treasure” in the pool where I would throw a small kinder egg turtle into the pool and they’d pretend it was buried treasure.
After bubble baths and showers back at the room, we again ordered room service for dinner. The night wrapped with us watching the original Karate Kid movie which the boys LOVED. Len even asked to download it so he can watch it again on our flight tomorrow.
