Like many (perhaps most) visitors to this part of Africa, we came to see the magnificent Victoria Falls of the Zambezi river, which is the natural border between Zambia & Zimbabwe. Though named “Victoria Falls” by Scottish explorer David Livingstone (after Queen Victoria), the locals call it by a far more interesting/apt name: Mosi-oa-Tunya (“the smoke that thunders”). Ok, enough “history”… on to our time here & pictures:
Arrival & wonderful hotel: We flew out of Nelspruit South Africa and its quaint airport, after a two-hour nauseating drive from Thornybush Nature Reserve (the driver prided himself on taking just 2 hours to make the 2.5 to 3.0 hour drive). We arrived to an upgraded hotel (Royal Livingstone Hotel) because a large party booked the entire hotel we originally booked (Avani). Once again, the Suess family (a.k.a. the Clampetts of Indiana) find ourselves among a “higher” class — this seems to happen quite a bit on our trip… stumbling into better quarters than we booked. Anyway, below are pics of the Nelspruit airport and the Royal Livingstone Hotel.
The grounds of the place are truly beautiful, and have quite the assortment of wildlife roaming the grounds!
Victoria Falls – Zambia & Zimbabwe: Though not the tallest or the widest water fall, Victoria Falls is still considered the largest waterfall in the world based on combined width and height. It is also one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World. About ⅓ of the Falls is on the Zambia side and ⅔ on the Zimbabwe side. Of course, we had to see it from both sides while here! Since the lowest point of the falls is on Zimbabwe side, the water curtain is largest on that side, where the water naturally collects before going over the falls — this is normally not that apparent, but the water levels have been really low and so the Zambia side reveals a lot more rock face. Its all beautiful.
The crazy people… A lot of people come here to participate in thrill-seeking activities like bungee jumping, Gorge swinging, zip-lining over the gorge, etc. While walking across Victoria Falls Bridge between Zambia and Zimbabwe, I took some video of these people (its really worth a view). I don’t think it adequately captures or reflects just how fucking insane these people are (IMHO), but I think it gives one a sense of the experience!
Slightly less crazy… I have been told that seeing the Falls from a microlight (basically, a hang glider with a motor and 3 wheels for take-off/landing) is the best way to see it. You are not enclosed as you would be with a helicopter, and so you can “feel” the environment and see everything. So, Zoe and I decided to have a go! We are so glad we did. I have many more pictures than these, but here is a representative sample, which give a pretty good idea of the experience.
Next up – Cape Town: Tomorrow, we return to South Africa, this time to Cape Town and a bit of a city experience, instead of to safari. I am really looking forward to it!
