The Magnificence of The Victoria Falls
Written: Jan 18 '09
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Nature's Greatest Show on Earth and another fabulous World Heritage Site.
Cons: None
The Bottom Line: One of the Seven Natural World Wonders, a World Heritage Site, and a must experience that should be on everyone's bucket list!
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| TheSmartTraveler's Full Review: Victoria Falls |
On our recent Safari to South Africa in January 2009, our tour had a 4 day option to Zimbabwe and Victoria Falls. The few people who for whatever reason did not opt for this option missed the highlight of the trip. Today, Zimbabwe is known for Mugabe, cholera, and 16 out of the 19 prime viewing spots of the falls.
The Victoria Falls have been in existence for millions of years. The Victoria Falls are approximately 1690m wide, with millions of gallons of water per minute crashing down. On November 16, 1855, the explorer David Livingstone, first sighted them from his dugout canoe. My eyes had to be as large as Mr. Livingstone's and my mouth wide open in amazement when I first set sight on the mile wide Falls. Livingstone was so moved by the beauty of Victoria Falls that he enthusiastically uttered, "On sights as beautiful as this, Angels in their flight must have gazed." I think his statement did not go far enough describing the sheer beauty of the sight of Victoria Falls. It is now widely accepted that Livingstone did not discover the Falls, but what can be said with certainty is that he publicized the Falls in Europe more than anyone else had previously been able to do and he named the Falls Victoria Falls after the reigning British Queen Victoria.
Before Livingstone's visit, the Falls had been called Mosi-oa-Tunya (the smoke that thunders) by the ruling Kololo people on the north bank of the Zambezi River. The Nambyan people, living on the south bank, called the Falls Chinotimba, meaning the place that thunders. Chinotimba is the name of the township in Victoria Falls.
Victoria Falls is truly an awe-inspiring experience. The sight, the sound, the smell, the wonderful experience that here indeed is mother nature's supreme masterpiece. Victoria Falls is the largest single curtain of falling water on earth, more than twice the size of Niagara Falls. I must have taken a hundred pictures of the falls, yet not one of them can begin to depict the reality of it, or prepare you for your first sight of one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World.
On the Zimbabwe side of the falls there are 16 spectacular viewpoints in a dense rain forest. The first is Devils Cataract and Livingstone's Statue as he is reputed to be the first European to see Victoria Falls. The Chain Walk leads down into a gorge where you are rewarded with an excellent view of Devils Cataract and Cataract Island. The next 5 viewpoints are in the rain forest with many types of bird life as well as flora and fauna and spectacular views of Devils Cataract and the Main Falls. In my opinion, Viewpoint 7 provided us with the best views of the Main Falls. Viewpoint 8 is the Main Falls. As we got off the bus, our guide gave us rain coats. Some people didn't think they needed them. If you weren't wearing a rain coat at Viewpoint 8, you got soaked. Viewpoint 9 - 12 are the Main Falls, Livingstone Island, and Horshoe Falls. Viewpoint 11 is the spot where David Livingstone first saw the falls. Viewpoint 14 is Rainbow Falls, the highest point of the falls. We were rewarded with a beautiful rainbow and able to capture it on my camera at this viewpoint. Viewpoint 15 is the Danger Point so named because this leads along the cliff edge. We took some spectacular pictures at this point. We were able to see the Eastern Cataract on the Zambian side of the Falls from here. Viewpoint 16 is Boiling Pot where we were able to look onto the Victoria Falls Bridge, linking Zimbabwe with Zambia and also looked down into the boiling waters below. We saw people bunji jumping 111 meters from the bridge. If I would have been 20 years old I probably would have been crazy enough to try it.
We also took a sunset cruise on the Zambezi River while we were in Victoria Falls. We saw baboons, monkeys, waterbucks, warthogs, hippos, crocodiles, Livingstone's louries, trumpeter hornbills, paradise flycatchers, bulbuls, warblers, barbets, and shrikes. A striped frog, butterflies, palm trees and other vegetation on the river's bank completed this lush Africa landscape. We witnessed one of the most spectacular sunsets we have ever seen. The colors are permanently etched in my mind.
Our guide told us that no visit to Victoria Falls is complete without a look or picture of the Big Tree. This Baobab tree is supposedly 1,500 years old and is said to have been turned upside down by an angry spirit. The width of the tree was pretty impressive.
Other things to do while at Victoria Falls is a helicopter or light plane ride over the Falls, white water rafting in the lower gorge, canoeing on the Zambezi River, Fishing, Lion Walk, a Crocodile Farm, Golf, Horse Riding, tour of the Hwange National Park, a tour of an authentic African Village, a craft market, and a full day Safari in Chobe National Park in Botswana, which is about 50 miles from Victoria Falls. We did a few of these things. A person on our tour, Phyllis had a yellow rain coat on when she did the Lion Walk. The lions were looking at her like she was possibly a mid afternoon snack for them! The Safari in Chobe was amazing. Chobe will be another review on its own.
If you do have an opportunity to visit Victoria Falls, I would highly recommend bringing an extra suitcase full of clothes you no longer wear. My wife is a teacher. She had many new Christmas gifts from her students that didn't fit her or didn't fit into her wardrobe. We left many smiling faces in the Victoria Falls area wearing the clothes we no longer wanted.
Recommended:
Yes
Best Suited For: Friends
Best Time to Travel Here: Anytime
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TheSmartTraveler
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Member: John Isaacs
Location: Miami, Florida
Reviews written: 493
Trusted by: 178 members
About Me:
I get the shakes if I don't take at least 5 good trips a year.
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