Tribute - The Wild Trekkers Rendition

Mount Everest in Nepal, The Majestic Victoria Falls in Zambia/Zimbabwe, Grand Canyon in Arizona, Great Barrier Reef in Aussie, The Northern Lights, Paricutin Volcano and Rio de Jainero harbor make up the 7 natural wonders of the world. As an individual that enjoys travel, those are all places i yearn to visit. Cant help but derive a fair amount of satisfaction from the fact that i hail from one of the listed countries. Much to my acute vexation, however, i have not frequented the natural marvel which is co-resident in my country. In fact, i have only ever seen it once before, on a primary school (elementary school equiv.) trip back in the year 1999, even before the turn of the century and new millennium. Yes, were i a man of means, i'd surely frown at my own avariciousness. As a "Ndebele" man, i do maintain a respectable level of cupidity, but not enough to deter me from visiting one of the World's natural Wonders located a 12 hour drive from my house!!

16 years later, i find myself back in the small town of Victoria Falls, tucked away in a posh suburb taking up residence at a quaint , homely lodge called The Wild Trekkers Lodge. The original definition of Trek is "to travel by ox wagon" but the current definition is much less archaic and merely implies a journey. The Wild Trekkers Lodge implies therefore that it is a backpackers lodge. Who would not want to spend a night at a backpackers lodge on their African safari? Upon arrival, i realized there is much more to this particular lodge than just its appeal to rucksack and water-bottle carrying white people appropriately attired in khaki shorts and rafters. I just had to go there didn't i?

The lodge itself is quite a marvel and the first thing i witnessed upon arrival was the personal-touch type of hospitality you receive. The welcome i got was so unlike the impersonal, sometimes forced greeting you get at a large hotel where the staff complement is so used to having a lot of guests that everything yhey do is tinged with robotic efficiency. At Wild Trekkers, even the porter wore a genuine smile on his face as i fell into a conversational step next to him while he carried my valise and i engaged him in a "Victoria Falls Mosquitos" dialogue. The gazebo was the very first structure i instantly fell in love with and considering this is a work trip, i have, to date, spent innumerable hours in the gazebo working on the laptop while a cool untainted breeze whistles all around me. Did i also mention i take my meals out on the gazebo as well?

After spending my first restful night in this spaciously luxurious room, i woke up in the morning to notice the morning itself seemed to be more beautiful than i had seen in a while. This prompted me to take a protracted lathery shower after which i lay on my bed and idly flipped through the channels. Back in Harare, a working day implies waking up early and being in a hurry to go to a bustling town so as to spend a long, hot day in a stuffy office. This first working day was different, a knock on my door came to announce that breakfast was ready and choosing to have it on the gazebo, i followed the maid outside and sat down to enjoy a delicious constellation of toast, eggs, baked beans, sausage and bacon. A proper English Country breakfast!! It would not have been a complete meal i daresay, without some freshly squeezed orange juice. I could get used to this, i remember thinking to myself.

I shall not bother to talk about how fruitful a working day i had in this relaxing atmosphere as i believe that goes without saying. While i was out on the gazebo working on my laptop, i marveled at the speed of their WiFi and a thought struck me, this spectacular establishment's target market is definitely not local patronage!! They aim to accommodate foreign holiday makers . I couldn't help but feel a slight sense of irritation at this since this entire time all my thoughts concerning the lodge were all in their favor. After a few minutes of pondering this new found bit of information, i realized why this particular lodge seeks foreign based patrons.

1. It is not a fly-by-night type of establishment where anyone, having picked up a sexual conquest on the road, can bring them over to explore their resilience in the sack. Wild Trekkers is a classy, family oriented lodge.

2. The current economic conditions deter the majority of this beautiful nation's citizens from spending upwards of $60 per night on accommodation only, which is how much you would expect to fork out for a standard room at Wild Trekkers. However, for an American tourist who has been saving for well over a year, it is not an altogether unwelcome prospect.

I'm pretty sure it is simple to comprehend just how amazing of an experience it is for me that i am the only local patron currently residing here and i am entirely pleased that my field of work, which led me to provide services to this beautiful will probably unlock a few more doors that Zimbabwean entrepreneurs at my level might not be able to go through.

If you are considering a Victoria Falls holiday,you can check out wild trekkers lodge here