Africa is a continent with plenty of natural wonders and
each of those wonders are so well distributed throughout the continent which
makes it interesting to travel around. One of those is the majestic “Victoria
Falls” that lies on the border of Zambia & Zimbabwe. I got a chance to
visit this gorgeous falls last week and thought of sharing it in this blog.
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| A view of the Victoria falls from the rain forest |
The falls is 1.7 km wide & 108 metres tall which makes
it the world’s largest water falls. The source of this falls is the mighty Zambezi
River which is around 2500 km long, originating in Zambia and flowing through Angola,
Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and finally Mozambique where it joins the Indian Ocean.
It was in 1855, when Mr. David Livingstone, an European missionary
first visited the falls and named it in honour of Queen Victoria. The place
from where he first spotted the falls is now known as the “Livingstone Island” and the city is known as "Livingstone".
The falls is also known as “Mosi-ua-tunya” meaning “the smoke which thunders”.
It is called so because the water from the falls bounces back to a greater
height forming a huge mist that looks like a smoke.
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| The above picture was taken from the Mosi-ua-tunya main road that leads to the falls..the white stuff seen is the smoke from the falls |
We stayed in the Zambian side of the falls @ Zambezi Sun who
had their own (unlimited) entrance to the falls as they are within the falls
premises (Victoria Falls national park). An entrance otherwise would cost
around $25 per person.
During peak season i.e., April-May, the smoke from the
waterfalls is visible from almost 40 km. There is also continuous rain in front
of the waterfalls – the rain that is created from the water that bounces from
the falls. The result is the rainforest that lies just on the
border within Zambia. During off-peak season, like October, one can view 80% of
both countries’ view of falls from the rain forest.
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| The left side of the picture shows the falls from Zimbabwean side.. |
The pedestrian link between Zambian side and the rain forest
is through a bridge called the “knife-edge” bridge. During our trip, as it was
peak flow, it was impossible to cross this bridge without getting wet even
after using a raincoat & an umbrella.
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| A closer look at the Knife-edge bridge that takes us to the rain forest. Towards the right is the Victoria falls. |
Zambia actually is quite a dry country. Even though it is
winter season during May, the climate is quite hot & humid. For the areas
surrounding the falls, nights are cooler. So, throughout the day, there is that
rain in-and-around the falls while it is indeed hot – which results in a
consistent rainbow the whole day.
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| The left side of the bridge is Zambia & right side is Zimbabwe. The centre of bridge is the spot for Bunge jumping. |
This picture was taken from the Knife-edge bridge, with the falls behind me, and rain all over me..!!
From a tourism point of view, there is nothing much to list
down, other than the Victoria Falls. But the wide range of activities at the venue
attracts all kind of tourists. Ex: Jet boat ride, Bunge jumping, river rafting
etc.,
One of those activities which we cherished a lot was the
helicopter ride.
Out of the 1.7 km width, 1 km is in the Zimbabwean side
& 0.7 is in the Zambian side and hence both countries have their own view
of the waterfalls. However the only view from where one can see the entire 1.7 km is from the
helicopter like this:
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| The complete view of Victoria falls.. The green round shaped area in front of the falls is the rain forest. The knife edge bridge is covered with smoke. |
The 30 minute helicopter ride covers a short drive through
the Batoka gorge (formed with the water from Victoria Falls) at a height of 55
feet, a drive over the Victoria falls national park (where we can spot Hippo’s,
elephants etc., from air), 6-7 rounds on top of the Victoria falls and a short
ride over the Zambezi river.
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| The Batoka gorge, where river rafting takes place.. |
It was my first experience on a helicopter with some
butterflies in the stomach during take-off but settled down very soon after
seeing the stunning view from 150 metres above ground level. I was sitting in the front and it was a lady
pilot as well :-)
The next activity was something that always existed in our
plans & schedules, but always gets skipped for various reasons – SPA.
What makes the SPA treatment special here is that the SPA
tent’s are on the banks of the Zambezi River and as you get massaged, you lie
down and enjoy the view of the amazing falls in a very peaceful quiet ambiance.
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| The SPA @ Royal Livingstone facing the Zambezi river |
No trip in Africa is complete without game (wild life) viewing and I
strongly agree to it. The result was a river safari on the Zambezi river. With
thick & indigenous forests all over (without fencings), there is greater
possibility of seeing hippo’s, elephants, crocodiles etc., We chose the evening
river safari which also makes it a sunset trip whereby most animals come out to
the banks of the river.
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| A typical African sunset |
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| Called the "Long Island" The river safari was a trip around this island which is home to plenty of Hippo's & Elephants. |
There is also the famous Chobe National park in Botswana
which is close to 70 km from Victoria Falls. Full/Half day tours are available
too but we require prior visa’s (for Indian passports).
It all depends on one’s interest & Wallet in choosing
the activities as they all come with a fat invoice. For ex: we skipped the
Zimbabwe & Botswana visits & chose the helicopter rides.
The currency used in Zambia is Kwacha. Until 6 months back,
the equation was 1 INR = 94 Kwacha. But after the rebase of their currency, the
equation is now 1 KR = 10 INR. It means that an item that costed 50,000 Kwacha
earlier will now cost 50 Kwacha’s. That’s
the effect of their rebasing.
Country wise, Zambia is still among those struggling African
poor countries but their advantage is this nature’s gift which is almost
feeding the entire country (after the British people scratched their copper
ores earlier). A new airport is still under construction @ Livingstone. This is
how the current one looks:
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| The centre statue is that of David Livingstone, the other two were his assistants during his trip. And ya, this is the entrance of Livingstone International Airport..! |
The only thing I regret to have missed is the lunar rainbow
or Moonbow that is visible during full-moon days. I only came to know about
these a day before the travel and Victoria Falls is one of the very few places
in the world where Moonbows appear.
And yes, there were more spectacular sights / moments during the trip that I'm unable to share with you, as unfortunately I had to be defensive & protect my camera (literally by tying it in a plastic cover) during rains & mists. I'll load all the 300 + pics onto my picasa album and share the link here soon..
Overall, we had a wonderful time out there and I’m glad that
I’m ending (almost confirmed) my African stay on a high!
I hope you do get a chance to visit this mind-blowing
natural wonder.
