Victoria Falls

Zambia observed two holidays (Hero’s Day and Unity Day) two weeks ago, so we had a four-day weekend during which the International Trade Fair took place in Ndola. For only 10 pin (about $3) it is the event of the season and visitors come from all over Africa. It is a national showcase that presents ongoing developments in the government and various industry sectors. It is also complete with market vendors, local music artists, and carnival rides. Unfortunately I only heard about the manual Ferris wheel and crank-operated roller coaster.

I traveled from border-to-border as I headed to Livingstone for the holiday with a new intern and summer student. Following our seven-hour bus ride from Lusaka we departed for our sunset booze cruise on the Zambezi River. I made the mistake of drinking boxed wine on an empty stomach so I missed the actual sunset. I did manage to see a few hippos cooling off in the water (when I was little I pronounced “hippopotamus” as HIPPO-TOMATO-PUS) and the crocodile lurking nearby.

The next day we went to see Victoria Falls, which is located between Zambia and Zimbabwe. The locals call the waterfall Mosi-oa-Tunya (the namesake of the Zambian national beer), which means “the smoke that thunders”. It is one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World, and is the largest curtain of falling water in the world. It stands at 360 feet (double the height of Niagara Falls) and spans a mile in width.

We obtained free day passes to Zimbabwe which limited us to the Victoria Falls Bridge. It overlooks the Second Gorge and is the site for bungee jumping (the highest in the world) and gorge swings. The view from Zimbabwe is beautiful. The full height of the falls can be seen, but the surrounding vegetation obscures most of the view. On the way back there were Zimbabweans fleeing the country at the border post in addition to several baboons casually walking about.

We entered Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park to see the view from Zambia. It differs from Zimbabwe in that it is much closer . We crossed Knife Edge Bridge which passes over the chasm where the Zambezi pours into the falls. There are several lookout points along a pathway following the curvature of the First Gorge that provide frontal views of the falls. The volume of water is astounding as the falls seem to go on for forever - we couldn‘t see the other end. It is difficult to capture on camera because of the amount of mist and inverted rain. I’m glad we opted to go without raincoats.