- Johannesburg and Soweto, South Africa — a sobering day
- Kimberley, South Africa
- Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe and Zambia
- On to Wine Country — Franschhoek, South Africa
Over the past few days, we have been in Zimbabwe and Zambia to visit Victoria Falls and the Zambezi River. As we were flying into the Victoria Falls Airport, Deb pointed out what she thought was a fire, but it turns out that it was the spray from the falls themselves. And that makes sense given that the indigenous name for the falls is Mosi-oa-Tunya, which translates to “The Smoke that Thunders.” So how did falls get their name? It was named in honor of Queen Victoria by David Livingstone (Mr. Livingstone I presume!) when natives brought him there during one of his mapping expeditions. The falls themselves are in national parks in both Zimbabwe and Zambia and we actually visited both sides. Victoria Falls is regarded as the largest curtain waterfall (i.e., the largest sheet of falling water) in the world with a width of 5604 feet. It isn’t the tallest, as that honor belongs to Angel Falls in Venzuela with a staggering 3212 foot height. It is also recognized as one of the 7 natural wonders of the world and was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1989. Anyway, we were excited to visit here and were stunned by the raw power of these falls — and they don’t actually get to peak volume for another 1-2 months. Because of its volume (around 132 million gallons per minute!), the falls throw off an incredible amount of spray (up to 1300 feet in the air) and, depending on the wind speed and direction, you can stay relatively dry or take an extended shower. Today we experienced the latter. We stopped at all 16 viewing points on the Zimbabwe side. At first (near Devil’s Cataract), we stayed pretty much dry. As we approached the Main Falls, it was pretty misty with the views fading in and out. At that point we put on our rain poncho, and the deluge began. You’d swear you were in a driving rainstorm. What’s so impressive is just how wide the falls are — the total volume of the Zambezi River flows straight down into what was a fracture zone in the basalt plateau.
We ultimately made it to the Livingstone Bridge which separates Zimbabwe and Zambia. Only one truck at a time can go over the bridge (or the train — Rovos Rail passes through here). This bridge was part of Cecil Rhodes’ vision of building a Cape Town to Cairo rail line and was crucial in attracting tourism to the area. Anyway, we wanted to see the falls from the Zambia side as a full one third of the falls aren’t visible from Zimbabwe. We had a couple of minor adventures clearing Customs as our passports got soaked in the deluge and we also had to buy another visa when re-entering Zimbabwe, but it was worth it. And yes, we got even more soaked on the Zambia side. The highlight of this is crossing over the Knife Edge Bridge, which is a scenic viewpoint near the Eastern Cataract. It stands 420 feet above the river and it is in a permanent rainbow state as you are getting slammed with water. Pretty exciting.
That afternoon, we decided to see the falls from the air and took a trip with Zambezi helicopters to check it out. Seeing this nearly straight line of roaring water cascading down a 354 foot drop was just awe inspiring. We also followed the Botaka Gorge downstream of the falls (apparently a great white water rafting river) as well as quieter parts of the Zambezi upstream of the falls.
On our final evening, we went out on a sunset cruise on the Zambezi River to watch wildlife and see the sunset over the river. This must be a pretty popular activity, as the river was crowded with pontoon boats of all shapes and sizes — many with only a few people onboard. We did see a number of hippos and some beautiful birds and yes, seeing the sunset over the river was quite beautiful. We are now off on our next phase of the trip to follow the Garden Route in South Africa.
I am a traveler and sometimes clay sculptor, following a long career working in consulting. My work allowed me to travel the world extensively and I was hooked. Today, I travel with my wife/best friend to explore new places, meet new people, and learn new things.
