Where: Victoria Falls, Zambia/Zimbabwe
When: November 26-27, 2012
With: Dave
After saying our goodbyes at the wonderful Arathusa Lodge in Sabi Sands, we drove two hours to the Kruger Mpumalanga International airport for our next big adventure: Victoria Falls.
Victoria Falls forms the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe, and we decided to see it from both countries. We flew from South Africa directly to Livingstone, Zambia. From there, we had a lovely cab driver who drove us to the Zambia/Zimbabwe border while giving us a quick overview of his city of Livingstone, insisting that we must come back at some point.
Crossing the border between the two countries was a funny experience. After signing an old tattered binder of pages to record our exit from Zambia, we needed to take another taxi to travel the 2 miles of no-man's land that lay over the falls and between the two border houses. Once on the other side, we purchased an entry visa from the Zimbabwe patrol, walked through an airport screener, and as easy as that, we were in.
Not knowing the area at all, we decided to catch yet another taxi to the hotel (that is the third in this short journey from the airport). It wasn't far, but it was amazing to see how different the rundown area around the border transformed into the resort-like grounds of our hotel. While we had a warm reception at the hotel and the amenities were great, the main draw was the direct trail that leads straight to Victoria Falls. After dropping our bags in our room and spraying ourselves for bugs, we were off.
On our way towards the falls, we came upon a statue of the first European to ever gaze upon the falls, David Livingstone. He was the man to name Victoria Falls after the queen of England at the time. It was only appropriate to have Dave stand next to his namesake.
We started at one end of the trail that follows through the park along the gorge carved out by the falls. It was a really rare opportunity to get such a clear view of the falls. In the rainy season, this entire gorge is one big cloud (as in, the "smoke" portion of it's native name) from the mist that rises up from below.
The whole scene of the Falls makes you feel very epic. Like having a Lion King moment with your Penguino.
The scene changed, even in the couple hours we were there. As we walked, a storm rolled in on the Zambia side. The water started to increase and the mist cloud formed along with it. Then you'd have to wait for a good wind gust to have a view of the falls.
When we started to reach the end of the trail, the foliage disappeared, the falls dissipated, and we were left staring down into a huge, empty gorge. In the rainy season, this is all waterfalls emptying into a Class V rapids.
At the end of the trail, we reached the bridge that connects Zambia and Zimbabwe (the very same one we needed to cab over between border huts). From here, there is a huge array of daredevil sports you can do. The most popular is bungee jumping.
As we walked back through the park, the storm started rolling in faster, turning the whole blue sky/rainbow scene we had just left into a dark and ominous view.
After exiting the park and starting our walk back to the hotel, we were heckled by tons of vendors trying to sell everything from water to helicopter tours. When Dave stopped to talk to one guy that was yelling rather emphatically, I thought he'd lost his mind. I just kept my head down walking and started to walk the trail back to our hotel.
As our boat approached Livingstone Island, it was easy to picture yourself as Dr. Livingstone, when the local tribe members brought him ashore to this island, that has remained relatively unchanged, to show him their local wonder.
This plaque was placed here to commemorate Dr. Livingstone. He was so in love with Africa after all his years of exploring that when he died, his heart was cut out and buried in Zambia before his body was returned to lay at Westminster Abbey.
At this point, it was time to embark on our journey to the Devil's Pool. The Devil's Pool is a small part of the falls where the rocks have been hollowed out by the pounding water to form a natural pool. The pool slows the current of the river and provide a barrier at the edge, allowing foolish tourists like us to jump in and enjoy the view.
To get to the pool, we had to first swim across part of the river. It wasn't that strong of a current, but knowing what happens if you let yourself go was a little intimidating. Looking at the photo below, we started to the right (at Livingstone Island), swam across that first bit of falls, then climbed up onto the rocks in the middle, where the water isn't flowing. The Devil's Pool is just to the left, where the water is starting to pick up again and join in with the waterfall again. Our guides knew this path to the pool like the back of their hands. They knew exactly how to zigzag across the river to make it to the little island as quickly, easily and safely as possible.
Once we were on the edge of the pool (and the Falls), the guide showed us how to jump into the pool. At this point, my stomach was climbing into my throat and I wasn't sure I could do the grand jump (shockingly, my body thought this was counter-intuitive to its general attempts to keep me alive). But Dave manned up and jumped right in, while the guide splashed water into the exact spot I needed to aim for. Not one to back down, I sucked it up and leapt.
Once you're in the water, the current isn't as strong as you'd think. You aren't pulled to the edge, but rather easily paddle your way to the edge of the rocks. This is where you feel like you're on top of the world, sitting on top of Victoria Falls.
At this point, it was time for a photo shoot. Our guide was an old pro and he directed us in all the moves. First, Usain Bolt.
Once back on dry land, we towelled off and had the pleasant surprise of a full breakfast waiting for us. We sat under a canopy tent, listening to the rush of water and seeing the mist rise around us while we rehashed probably the most ludicrous thing we'd ever done in our lives.
On our boat ride back, we were all giggles as the adrenaline slowly left our system. We took photos with our guide (also named David) and with the very sweet German lady who was also on our tour.
The last surprise of our tour? The manager came up to us and asked us to sign our waiver forms. Oh yes, they forgot to get those before we left. Well, aren't they glad nothing happened...
When: November 26-27, 2012
With: Dave
After saying our goodbyes at the wonderful Arathusa Lodge in Sabi Sands, we drove two hours to the Kruger Mpumalanga International airport for our next big adventure: Victoria Falls.
Victoria Falls forms the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe, and we decided to see it from both countries. We flew from South Africa directly to Livingstone, Zambia. From there, we had a lovely cab driver who drove us to the Zambia/Zimbabwe border while giving us a quick overview of his city of Livingstone, insisting that we must come back at some point.
Crossing the border between the two countries was a funny experience. After signing an old tattered binder of pages to record our exit from Zambia, we needed to take another taxi to travel the 2 miles of no-man's land that lay over the falls and between the two border houses. Once on the other side, we purchased an entry visa from the Zimbabwe patrol, walked through an airport screener, and as easy as that, we were in.
Not knowing the area at all, we decided to catch yet another taxi to the hotel (that is the third in this short journey from the airport). It wasn't far, but it was amazing to see how different the rundown area around the border transformed into the resort-like grounds of our hotel. While we had a warm reception at the hotel and the amenities were great, the main draw was the direct trail that leads straight to Victoria Falls. After dropping our bags in our room and spraying ourselves for bugs, we were off.
After a 10 minute walk, we arrived at the gates to the park.
Victoria Falls is called Mosi-oa-Tunya in the local language, which translates to "the smoke that thunders". This was no exaggeration. As we entered the park and made our way towards the falls, the sound was dull, but distinctly there. Even though you couldn't see it, you knew there was something large looming behind the trees.
On our way towards the falls, we came upon a statue of the first European to ever gaze upon the falls, David Livingstone. He was the man to name Victoria Falls after the queen of England at the time. It was only appropriate to have Dave stand next to his namesake.
Suddenly, there was a break in the trees and I got to see one of the most beautiful sights I've ever had in my life. It's just so big. And the sound is enormous. This was absolutely beautiful to look at.
We started at one end of the trail that follows through the park along the gorge carved out by the falls. It was a really rare opportunity to get such a clear view of the falls. In the rainy season, this entire gorge is one big cloud (as in, the "smoke" portion of it's native name) from the mist that rises up from below.
All along the trail are lookout points with different views of the falls. Even when there aren't lookout points, the falls will creep out from through the trees.
The whole scene of the Falls makes you feel very epic. Like having a Lion King moment with your Penguino.
The scene changed, even in the couple hours we were there. As we walked, a storm rolled in on the Zambia side. The water started to increase and the mist cloud formed along with it. Then you'd have to wait for a good wind gust to have a view of the falls.
Happy at the Falls
While the Falls get all the attention, there was some beautiful wildlife in the park. It felt like being in a rain forest.
When we started to reach the end of the trail, the foliage disappeared, the falls dissipated, and we were left staring down into a huge, empty gorge. In the rainy season, this is all waterfalls emptying into a Class V rapids.
Just a reminder that we are in Africa: elephant in the middle of the falls.
As we walked back through the park, the storm started rolling in faster, turning the whole blue sky/rainbow scene we had just left into a dark and ominous view.
After exiting the park and starting our walk back to the hotel, we were heckled by tons of vendors trying to sell everything from water to helicopter tours. When Dave stopped to talk to one guy that was yelling rather emphatically, I thought he'd lost his mind. I just kept my head down walking and started to walk the trail back to our hotel.
While walking, I yelled back to ask Dave what the guy wanted. The response I got? "He says there's a buffalo...." I looked up and spotted a massive male buffalo staring me down from about 50 feet away. As I took a step forward, he took one towards me in that "don't come any closer" kind of way. At that moment, I realised I was no longer in my safe game vehicle and this was not a docile cow I was looking at. I tried to backtrack as slowly as possible so as not to give chase and made it off the trail with no further incident.
Instead, we walked back the local way to the hotel, along the highway. While it turned out to be totally safe, we were considering if we should take our chances with the buffalo. Luckily, we made it back to the hotel in one piece, enjoyed an incredibly authentic Zimbabwe pizza, and toasted Zambezi beers at the kindness of the Zimbabwean man who saved us from a trampling.
The next day held a series of adventures for us. The first adventure was an early morning crossing of the border back into Zambia. We waited in a long line for the border to open with all the local Zimbabweans. With packs on our backs, we stuck out like sore thumbs. The line moved quickly enough though, and after a brief stamp of the passport, we were sent out the door. From there, we opened a squeaky gate on a chain-link fence, walked through, and just like that, we were no longer in Zimbabwe.
It was yet another taxi across the bridge and after breezing through Zambian border patrol, another taxi to take us to the Royal Livingstone Hotel.
Now you may ask why were we going to a hotel at 6am in the morning? Because it was the pick-up point for our next great adventure: a boat trip to Livingstone Island on the edge of the falls, follwed by a swim in the Devil's Pool.
The weather was not great. The storm we had seen the day before was lingering and it had churned up all the water in the river and falls, turning them a nasty, murky brown. The water levels had risen and the air had a chill. Not a great day to take a boat trip. However, even in the rain and fog, it was cool to approach the falls and see them the way Dr. Livingstone would have 160 years ago - with the thundering smoke that appears to rise magically out of the giant gorge at the end of the river.
As our boat approached Livingstone Island, it was easy to picture yourself as Dr. Livingstone, when the local tribe members brought him ashore to this island, that has remained relatively unchanged, to show him their local wonder.
Walking to the slippery edge of the island, we got to see things from a completely different vantage point: looking down on the falls from the middle of them.
At this point, it was time to embark on our journey to the Devil's Pool. The Devil's Pool is a small part of the falls where the rocks have been hollowed out by the pounding water to form a natural pool. The pool slows the current of the river and provide a barrier at the edge, allowing foolish tourists like us to jump in and enjoy the view.
Once you're in the water, the current isn't as strong as you'd think. You aren't pulled to the edge, but rather easily paddle your way to the edge of the rocks. This is where you feel like you're on top of the world, sitting on top of Victoria Falls.
At this point, it was time for a photo shoot. Our guide was an old pro and he directed us in all the moves. First, Usain Bolt.
Then, perhaps the most terrifying, the dangle over the edge.
A few more poses
Both of us together...surviving.
The proof we weren't on our own. See? It's totally safe.
And we made it! Time to swim back to land!
Once back on dry land, we towelled off and had the pleasant surprise of a full breakfast waiting for us. We sat under a canopy tent, listening to the rush of water and seeing the mist rise around us while we rehashed probably the most ludicrous thing we'd ever done in our lives.
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