Travel costs and information for Zimbabwe - Victoria Falls

Note that all information in here was valid at the time (October 2009) - it may well have changed since.  It's also possible that I was ripped off, that I did some exceptional haggling, or that I accepted a price that I should have haggled over :-)  Currency indicators are £ (British pound), $ (US dollar), and R (South African rand).  At the time, the official exchange rates were roughly $1.63=£1, R12.16=£1, and R7.46=$1.

Zimbabwe

• I was only here for 3 days so can't really comment on much beyond my experience of Victoria Falls.
• The US dollar is the official currency (a move intended to curb hyperinflation), but other currencies - in particular South African rand - are also acceptable.  In order to simplify the sums, and perhaps reduce the need for small rand coins, many businesses will use a rate of R10=$1 if you want to pay by rand - this rate is undervaluing the rand by about a third, so be aware of this!  The supermarket in Victoria Falls was about the only place I found that offered a more reasonable rate.
• Most people I met were friendly and helpful, though there were a few vendors who insisted on shouting at me to attract my attention when I was a hundred metres away from them.

Victoria Falls

• This is the town on the Zimbabwe side near the falls - the equivalent on the Zambia side is Livingstone.
  
• This time of year the falls are at their lowest and they are best viewed from the Zimbabwe side.
• It's apparently possible to do a day trip to Zambia to see them from that side ($20 visa) without requiring a multiple-entry Zimbabwe visa, but I didn't try that.
• Internet access is available for $4 per hour.

23rd October 2009 $55 Zimbabwe visa on arrival for British citizen.  I was asked what duration I wanted it for so I said 14 days (though I knew I would only be there for a few days).  I think you can get up to 90, so if you aren't sure what you need then ask for more rather than less.
23rd October 2009 $20 Taxi from Victoria Falls airport into the town itself.  Without me asking, my accommodation had arranged a transfer so I was again left in the awkward position of feeling obliged to take transport that I didn't really want - especially as I'd been told a taxi should cost $10, but the transfer was twice that!
23rd October 2009 $40 Nightly rate for a private ensuite room at Shoestring Backpackers, including aircon (but no towel).  The shower had so many leaks in the pipes that hardly any water was left to actually come out of the showerhead.  This place apparently used to be run by the same guy who now runs Shoestring Lodge in Joburg, but it's gone downhill since he was in charge.  The shared kitchen in particular was disgusting, with cockroaches and flies everywhere.  It didn't even have a can opener, which I had to borrow from the chef in the on-site Blue Baboon Cafe - I'm wondering if they're trying to dissuade people from doing their own cooking in order to drive custom to the cafe.  Also be aware that beers at the bar are $2 if you pay cash but only $1.50 if you run a tab for your room/bar/Internet usage - this is because they generally don't have enough 50c coins to keep giving out change.  In its favour, Shoestring has a good selection of cats and dogs - it also attracts a fair number of travellers, as well as locals in the evening. 
24th October 2009 $20 Entry to Victoria Falls National Park.  Even though this was the low season for water, there were still a couple of viewpoints where you would be liberally doused in spray.  There are plenty of rainbows if you're here on a sunny day, so make sure you have a polarising filter.  You can also see monkeys, birds, and butterflies in the forest that lines part of the path.
24th October 2009 $1 Stamp for postcard to US
24th October 2009 $0.75 Stamp for postcard to Europe
26th October 2009 $5 Taxi to the Botswana border-bound shared taxi pick-up point.
26th October 2009 $10 Lift on a whitewater rafting bus to the Botswana border, taking about an hour.  I had intended getting a shared taxi (about $6 per person) but this bus was waiting at the shared taxi pick-up point, and the driver agreed to take me to the border (though I think it probably violates their insurance agreement), where they were going to pick up customers to bring back to Victoria Falls for some rafting.  He initially tried to charge me $30 (!), but I said I was more expecting the shared taxi price of $6 - we compromised at $10.  Note that Shoestring will run a transfer to the border with Botswana for $25 per person (minimum 2 people).  Backpackers Bazaar in Victoria Falls had quoted $35 for me alone.  Apparently a taxi hailed on the street would be about $25.