Ever since Andrej and I began planning our African adventure, I have had Victoria Falls on the top of my list of things I wanted to see in Africa. Victoria Falls is a huge waterfall area in the Zambezi River. It is located on the border of Zimbabwe and Zambia. Due to the current state of affairs in Zimbabwe, we decided to only see it from the Zambian side.
On our way to the falls, we had a calm border crossing and went to a town on the Zambian side of the Malawian/Zambian border called Chipata. We were there on a Sunday, and it was essentially a ghost town. So, we didn’t do much there.
The next day we had a very long bus ride to Lusaka, the capital of Zambia. Lusaka was a surprisingly nice and modern city. We enjoyed some good food and went to see a Zambian movie at the theater. We only spent 2 nights in Lusaka before heading to Livingstone (the town near the falls).
Once again, we bussed it to Livingstone. Livingstone was a quaint little town. It had the token banks and grocery stores and hardware stores, but it also had a nice, old fashioned small town feel with an old fashioned movie theater, ice cream parlors, and little craft shops. We stayed at a fantastic backpackers called Jolly Boys. There, we enjoyed getting great assistance arranging our activities, cooking lots of meals in their big communal kitchen, and in general liked the friendly atmosphere of the place. They also ran a free daily shuttle to Victoria Falls, which we took advantage of the day after our arrival in town.
The falls were said to be at a record high water level. The Zambezi River was practically overflowing. In fact, many high end resorts around the banks of the river were said to be closed due to flooding. What this all meant is that there was a whole lot of water going over the falls. The spray was absolutely enormous. You could feel it walking on trails quite far away. I was told that the falls span about a mile wide. You can’t see it all from one point. In fact, about ¾ of the falls are located in Zimbabwe, and we couldn’t see them from the Zambian side. But we definitely saw a lot from where we were! We hiked out to some viewpoints, and then we walked down to the bottom of the falls to a place called the boiling pot. The boiling pot is where the falls and the lower river meet and combine to make a giant whirlpool. It was really neat to see, but getting down there was half the adventure! Because the water level was so high, just the little streams going down the hillside were not so little anymore, and much of the path was flooded. So, we were walking through mud and wading through small rivers to get down. But it was worth it, and we had a nice lunch on some rocks at the bottom. After lunch, we decided it was warm enough to get a close up look at the falls. You can walk out onto a bridge that juts out in front of the falls. We put on not one, but TWO heavy duty rain jackets and made our way to the bridge. The spray was so huge that even with two rain jackets, we both got completely drenched. Unfortunately, you could see very little because of the spray. It was like standing in torrential rain. But, when we looked away from the falls, out towards the lower river, we got a very beautiful rainbow. At the falls, we also took a walk down the river and saw where it turns into the falls from the top. Right now the river is very fast and dangerous looking, but I am told that when the water level is low, you can actually wade out on rocks and look over the falls.
On our way to the falls, we had a calm border crossing and went to a town on the Zambian side of the Malawian/Zambian border called Chipata. We were there on a Sunday, and it was essentially a ghost town. So, we didn’t do much there.
The next day we had a very long bus ride to Lusaka, the capital of Zambia. Lusaka was a surprisingly nice and modern city. We enjoyed some good food and went to see a Zambian movie at the theater. We only spent 2 nights in Lusaka before heading to Livingstone (the town near the falls).
Once again, we bussed it to Livingstone. Livingstone was a quaint little town. It had the token banks and grocery stores and hardware stores, but it also had a nice, old fashioned small town feel with an old fashioned movie theater, ice cream parlors, and little craft shops. We stayed at a fantastic backpackers called Jolly Boys. There, we enjoyed getting great assistance arranging our activities, cooking lots of meals in their big communal kitchen, and in general liked the friendly atmosphere of the place. They also ran a free daily shuttle to Victoria Falls, which we took advantage of the day after our arrival in town.
The falls were said to be at a record high water level. The Zambezi River was practically overflowing. In fact, many high end resorts around the banks of the river were said to be closed due to flooding. What this all meant is that there was a whole lot of water going over the falls. The spray was absolutely enormous. You could feel it walking on trails quite far away. I was told that the falls span about a mile wide. You can’t see it all from one point. In fact, about ¾ of the falls are located in Zimbabwe, and we couldn’t see them from the Zambian side. But we definitely saw a lot from where we were! We hiked out to some viewpoints, and then we walked down to the bottom of the falls to a place called the boiling pot. The boiling pot is where the falls and the lower river meet and combine to make a giant whirlpool. It was really neat to see, but getting down there was half the adventure! Because the water level was so high, just the little streams going down the hillside were not so little anymore, and much of the path was flooded. So, we were walking through mud and wading through small rivers to get down. But it was worth it, and we had a nice lunch on some rocks at the bottom. After lunch, we decided it was warm enough to get a close up look at the falls. You can walk out onto a bridge that juts out in front of the falls. We put on not one, but TWO heavy duty rain jackets and made our way to the bridge. The spray was so huge that even with two rain jackets, we both got completely drenched. Unfortunately, you could see very little because of the spray. It was like standing in torrential rain. But, when we looked away from the falls, out towards the lower river, we got a very beautiful rainbow. At the falls, we also took a walk down the river and saw where it turns into the falls from the top. Right now the river is very fast and dangerous looking, but I am told that when the water level is low, you can actually wade out on rocks and look over the falls.
Victoria Falls during a brief break from the spray.
Andrej and I in front of the falls.
Andrej hiking down to the boiling pot.
Me getting ready to wade through the water to get down to the boiling pot.
The boiling pot. Lots of people bungi jump off this bridge.
A beautiful rainbow looking away from the falls.
The view of the Zambezi at the top of the falls.
The other thing of note that we did near Livingstone was go and spend a night in a local village nearby. It was another cultural tourism activity similar to our other village visits. We were shown around the village by a nice young man named Chanda. He is the grandson of the village Head Lady. Many of the people who live in that village work at the local high-end resorts. The people who worked at the resorts seemed to be a little bit better off- their houses were a bit nicer, or they could afford a small luxury like a car battery to make electricity, or even a TV and satellite dish. But, they still lived in houses made of mud with dirt floors, and still had an outhouse instead of a bathroom. They also had to go pump there water, and often walk quite a ways with a jerry can on their head or shoulders just to get water for their home. It must seem like such a stark contrast from their workplace, and I wonder if they ever get bitter at the wealth disparity they are confronted with every day. Anyways, Chanda showed us around, introducing us to his friends, taking us to see the insides of houses, showing us what people were cooking, showing us the local bar (the center of social activity at all time of the day). We met the headmaster of the local school and went to see the school. We were educated on the different problems that face the village- teen pregnancy, failed marriages, drinking, etc. In addition to all we learned, we got local food for lunch and dinner (nshima and veggies). Nshima is maize meal mixed with water and heated up to a sticky consistency. It is very filling, and the people there really do eat it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. We also stayed in a mud hut, but it was nicely done up inside and made for a pleasant night.
Andrej and Chanda outside his grandma's house.
The next day was our last morning in Livingstone, and a big morning it was! For Christmas last year, Andrej had told me that he would put me up on a flight over Victoria Falls. So, bright and early Sunday morning, I took my first micro light flight, right over Victoria Falls. It was absolutely amazing. You are totally out in the open, so you have to wear a big, puffy flight suit to keep warm. There are only 2 seats, and its basically a hang glider with a motor. It felt surprisingly stable, and it was really a lot of fun. I saw a lot more of the falls from the air than you could see from the ground. I could see the canyon that the river cuts out after the falls, and I could see what was on the Zimbabwean side. After the fantastic flight, we went back into town and arranged for our bus trip out of town. We decided to go all the way to Windhoek, Namibia, and we found an excellent bus that would take us all the way there. So, with that, we left on a bus at lunch, and were on our way to our next adventure!
Me taking off on my microlight flight.
3 comments:
What a beautiful waterfall and scenery. What an amazing time you are having! Thanks for the updates again!
Those are some amazing pictures - I am so jealous!
I'm glad you liked livingstone and lusaka- my friend sue just got back this past fall from her stint in the peace corps in zambia- looking forward to more adventures...
Tashia
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