Wild Waterways Part 4 - Victoria Falls

The final instalment of my report back on the inaugural Wild Waterways Safari is all about Victoria Falls. If you’ve never been there before nothing can quite prepare you for the spectacle of it. We’re talking about a 1.7km long waterfall with a spray that is so thick and high that it’s nearly impossible to photograph it adequately. They say the best way to view the falls is by air. Unfortunately for me the costs of a microlight flight over the falls were a bit too steep, plus apparently they don’t allow you to take your camera on those little “planes” because far too many people have dropped them. Weird rule when you consider that the best photo opportunities would be from up there.

We stayed on the Zambian side of the falls in the little town of Livingstone, named after Dr. David Livingstone, the first European to set eyes on the falls locally known as the Mosi-oa-Tunya, which roughly translates into “the smoke that thunders”. He named them after Queen Victoria and proclaimed later that “Scenes so lovely must have been gazed upon by angels in their flight”. He was certainly correct in his assessment of them being lovely.

The best land spot to view the falls is from the Zimbabwean side. If you haven’t figured it out geographically, the falls and the Zambezi river form part of the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe, so to get from one side to the other you have to do a border crossing. It’s a bit of a schlep because you need to catch a taxi from one border post to the other if you don’t fancy walking about 2 or 3 kilometres across the bridge in the ferocious sun. There are also sometimes delays because of the volume of tourists in the area, so if you’re planning on going, take note of this. While we were there they were also conducting ebola checks, which slowed things down a little more. Hey, it’s Africa. Things move along slowly here. Also, if you decide to stay on the Zambian side and you require a visa, make sure you get a multiple entry visa when you first arrive in country, otherwise you’ll have to pay each time you cross into Zambia. I think the multiple entry visa costs $50. Citizens of SADC (Southern African Development Community) countries don’t need visas.

If you do decide to walk the bridge you can stop about halfway across and do the bungee jump or swing. I was dead keen on doing this, but nobody in our group wanted to do the walk, so I decided to hop in the cab too. I’m glad I did because somebody was telling me the story of a young Australian girl whose bungee rope snapped on the second bounce at this place. She then got taken into the rapids and the part of the cord that was still attached to her legs got trapped under a rock! Somehow she survived. Here’s a link to that story with a video. Poor girl.

Once on the Zimbabwean side you pay about $20 to visit the Victoria Falls Nature Reserve where you can walk along a paved pathway to several lookout points to see much of the falls. It really is spectacular but you will need to protect your camera if you are going there because in some parts the spray will drench you. Fortunately for us the falls were not at their highest at that time of the year, so the spray wasn’t as bad as it normally is. I only took the Olympus Stylus 1 with me but while we were there I had a hard time remembering if this camera was weatherproof or not. Turns out it isn’t and although it got a little wet in places it just kept on working. Good little Stylus.

If you’ve done any reading up about Victoria Falls you’ve probably encountered mention of “Devil’s Pool”, which is a little place on the Zambian side of the falls where you can literally swim up to the edge of the falls and somehow you don’t get swept over them. I’d heard about this and seen photos of people in this spot but I always assumed that there must be a smaller section just below Devil’s Pool otherwise it would simply be too dangerous to let people that close to the edge. Not so. While we were on our walk on the Zim side we caught sight of these crazy people and I made a little video showing exactly what separates you from the abyss below while you are swimming in Devil’s Pool. Not much! And then you get the daredevils who literally stand on the edge. Even watching this from the other side I felt my legs getting a little wobbly. Bungee jumping or swinging would probably not have been a good idea for me…

http://youtu.be/reIyhNpI1JI

After seeing the falls we decided to visit the nearby Victoria Falls Hotel for lunch. This was quite a treat! The hotel is a splendid example of British Colonialism with red verandahs, parquet floors, massive oil paintings, ceiling fans and numerous other decorative features that truly transport you back in time to the days of the British Empire. I am surprised it has been allowed to continue trading given Zimbabwe’s tainted relations with Britain at this time of Robert Mugabe’s reign. I guess the Zimbabwean Government are only prepared to cut off part of their noses to spite their face?

Victoria Falls is one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the world and while it might be a little touristy (apparently nowhere near the level of tourist trap you will find at Niagara Falls according to our guide Pepe) it is definitely a place that if you have the opportunity to visit you certainly should. Here are some photos from our outing - please click to view the large versions.

Stitched panorama of one of the wider visibility sections of the falls

Swimmers at the top of Devil's Pool

Entrance to the Victoria Falls Hotel, Zimbabwe

The Lobby

Part of the guest's lounge

From the gardens looking back towards the hotel

A comfortable spot in the shade

Looking outward from the hotel grounds you can see the Victoria Falls Bridge in the background.