From Johannesburg to Victoria Falls by bus and train

Victoria Falls on Zambia-Zimbabwe border is arguably the most famous and best tourist attraction in the whole Southern African region. Many visitors travel there from Johannesburg. Various airlines fly to Victoria Falls Airport in Zimbabwe or Livingstone Airport in Zambia from Johannesburg. Thanks to competition, prices on these routes are kept reasonable. But travelling to Victoria Falls by land is still cheaper, albeit much slower option. The trip can be done either through Botswana or Zimbabwe (or as a combination). It makes sense to stop at local attractions on the way, but is some cases it is desirable to travel there directly.
I travelled from Johannesburg to Victoria Falls by bus and train combination. First by a Greyhound bus to Bulawayo in Zimbabwe, then by train to Victoria Falls, though the train never reached its destination.

Bus Johannesburg – Bulawayo

The overnight bus from Johannesburg to Bulawayo cost 500 Rand. There are certainly cheaper options, but in this case it is wise to spend few bucks on comfort. The 2-decker Greyhound bus is similar to the ones Megabus and Flixbus have in Europe. The difference is that this bus didn’t have plugs for charging, let alone wifi.

The bus left Johannesburg Park Station on time at 19.30. After picking up passengers at Midrand and Pretoria, the bus was nearly full, myself being the only western passenger. There were a few “ten minute” stops on the way, allowing buying refreshments and going to toilet.

A Greyhound Africa Bus similar to the one on Bulawayo route

The bus arrived the Zimbabwean border around 5.45. This was later than I had expected, even though I did not notice any significant delays before this. South African exit immigration was surprisingly slow, there were three officers, but at times one of them would suddenly leave their desk for 10 minutes or so.

The Zimbabwe arrival immigration, on the other hand, worked rapidly. Even though there was only one stamping counter, the lane proceeded very fast, at least for Zimbabweans. The processing of my visa took bit longer though, as I had not obtained one in advance.

But it was the customs that took shockingly long. First we had to wait couple of hours to get to the vehicle inspection area, where our bags were inspected one by one. I addition, all passengers had to fill in customs declaration form. Apparently the Zimbabwean immigration is really strict on what is brought in, at least at this border post. Then at the end we had another 1/2 hour delay waiting for a police officer to come and check our passports. Overall we spent some four hours at the border. The bus arrived Bulawayo just before 14:00, about 4.5 hours after scheduled arrival.

Train Bulawayo – Victoria Falls

There are no many passenger rail services left in Africa, but one is between Bulawayo and Victoria falls in Zimbabwe. Not only it is running, but it has been restored as a daily service.

After the delayed bus arrived in Bulawayo, I headed straight to the railway station. Though a walkable distance, I opted to spend a few bucks for a cab to take me there. The ticket counter was open, in contrast to some reports it would be closed between 10:00 to 15:30. Good news was that there would be a train tonight. Bad news, it would go only to Hwange (or Wankie, as the town was officially known until 1982), some 100 kilometres short of Vic Falls. This was due to a derailment of another train. I would then have to arrange my transport from Hwange to Victoria Falls myself. After a while of pondering I decided to take the train anyway. It was too late to take the Intercape afternoon bus to Vic Falls, so the only other option would have been overnighting in Bulawayo.

The trip cost 9 USD in the first class sleeper cabin. The price was low enough, though the 2nd class sleeper cabin would have been still a bit cheaper. Note the price was to Hwange, the cost to Victoria Falls would have been $12. Others have reported 1st class selling out early, but that must be old news years back. I had no problems getting a ticket just hours before the departure.

Then a five and half hour wait until the train would depart. I opted to stay waiting at the railway station, as getting around was a problem, not only for carrying (too) heavy backpack, but also the plentiful afternoon rain.

There are not that many things to do in Bulawayo. The Natural history museum is probably worth visiting, but is quite far from the railway station. Then there is a Railway Museum close to the station, but on the wrong side, so getting there isn’t that easy. Then a day or two visit to the nearby Matopos National Park would make a good side trip, but organising one as a budget-minded solo traveller would have been too complicated.

So staying at the Railways Station, I went for late lunch at the Rail Leisure Restaurant at the station. For 1.5 USD they serve meals like rice with chicken or beef. Even a bit of salad on the plate. While simple, it was one of the best value meals I’ve had in Africa.

Boarding the the train started an hour before the departure.  It was a long walk to the train through the end of of platforms, then another 200+ metres along platform to get to the train.

The first class had a low occupancy. There was nobody sharing my 2-person cabin. Some passengers who had been originally sharing cabins were separated into empty cabins. It is hardly a tourist train, as a sole elderly South African man was the only other white person on this train.

My 1st class cabin

This is Zimbabwe, not Germany, yet the train departed exactly on time 19:30!  It was already dark, so no much scenery watching. Without a dining car, no eating either. Lights were working fine, but again there are others reporting contrasting experiences. Having spent the previous night on a bus, not sleeping any much, I took out my sleeping bag (no bedding was provided) and went sleeping early.

There were frequent stops in the middle of nowhere, yet several passengers were always leaving or boarding the train. When at Dete station around 3 AM, I looked at the map realising we were just 50km from Hwange, meaning we would arrive around four or five in the morning! This would means an inconvenient arrival time, but also passing through the Hwange National Park during the night. Had the train been several hours late, in daylight, the chances of seeing wildlife would have been good. The train moved last stretch very slowly, arriving at Hwange around 6:00 (actually Thomson Junction Station just after Hwange).

Now some 500 metres walk to the main road. Very few vehicles passed by, most of them to the opposite direction. Finally a shared taxi arrived and took me to Victoria Falls town for $5. I dropped off at Victoria Falls Centre, although the driver was adamant to ask another $5 so he can drive me privatively to Shoestring Backpackers (500 metres away). Funny enough the driver had already dropped other passengers at their destinations without extra cost.

Overall the trip took 36 hours. The biggest single extra cost was $30 Zimbabwe visa, which I would have not needed had I flown to Livingstone.

 

Victoria Falls

When it comes to Shoestring Backpackers, the name does not apply to their pricing. $15 for a dorm bed is best described a rip-off, and Wifi is payable on top of that. Instead, the name reflects on how the toilet and shower facilities are kept, and the general lack of maintenance. But at least it had a vibrant bar, a place to party especially during weekends.

The falls are withing walking distance from the town centre, though a taxi there should cost no more than three bucks. The normal entrance fee to the park is $30 for foreigners,  but I convinced them to give me a resident price, and paying in Euros instead of USD saved me a few bucks more. To say in short, the view was amazing, but having previously been to the Zambian side, a “seen this before”-feeling was inevitable.

The next day I crossed to the Zambian side, to continue to Lusaka by train, and later to take the TAZARA train to Dar es Salaam.
Zimbawe or Zambia side?

There are differing opinions whether Victoria Falls is better visited on Zambian or Zimbabwean side, but this is a useless debate. The view of the falls is spectacular on both sides. During the driest months (October-November) the Zambian side is said to be less interesting, though. Most activities like rafting, bungee jumping or Zambezi river cruises can be organised on either side, without the need of crossing the border.

However, Devil’s Pool above the falls, and Boiling Pot below them are both on the Zambian side. Victoria Falls town is way more touristy than Livingstone, that’s another reason to prefer the Zambian side.

Visiting both sides is not recommended, it only generates extra cost without any much additional value.

Worth reading

• SEAT61 – Zimbabwe great site with up-to-date information on railways in Zimbabwe and elsewhere in Africa
• Nonbillable Hours: Riding the Rhodesian Rails (July 17, 2014), a blog post on Victoria Falls – Bulawayo train
• BBC News: Aboard the Victoria Falls Express (June 12, 2010)