Zimbabwe Shopping

Shopping

If you want to witness the Big 5 then Kariba is one of the few areas in the whole of Africa where this can be done. Many resorts around Kariba offer as part of there accommodation package vehicle, walking and indeed water safaris. The brave among you can even drive out into the middle of the lake for some watersking (i have been told the crocodiles don't go out that far and that it is safe, however you might want to stay on the ski's.) For the avid angler Lake Kariba is a honey hole full of large hard fighting fish. You can lock horns with the mighty Vundu catfish which is regularly caught over 100lbs or indeed the famous Tiger fish. If you fancy demonstrating what a top class angler you are then there is no better platform then the annual Kariba Tiger Fishing Competition where people come from all over to fish and catch what pound for pound is one of the world hardest fighting fish. Shopping The official currency is the Zimbabwean dollar. The official exchange rate is ever-increasing (check right before you go due to rampant inflation), at the moment 101,000.00 Zim dollars for 1 US dollar. Unofficial black market rates are always significantly higher and also fluctuate rapidly; at the time this was written (2006-07-05), it was closer to 410,000:1. You may only legally exchange forex at official selling points (else you risk being arrested), but you can offer to pay for goods and services in foreign currency and will likely receive a much-better deal without any substantial risk. In such cases, US dollars are your best bet; bring lots of small bills as no one will be able to give you change in forex. Haggling for a better price is common, but keep in mind that most people are very poor so don't try to abuse their desperation.