Mosi-oa- Tunya. "The Smoke that Thunders". That's what the local tribes call Victoria Falls, describing the mist and loud crashing water. We call it "The smoke that gets all of your clothes completely soaking wet if you get too close!". Victoria Falls is known as the worlds largest waterfall. There are probably 10 different ways of measuring that statistic, so other falls have similar claims, but technically this is "the largest sheet of falling water" in the world... phew... April is the very end of the wet season in Zambia so the water level in the Zambezi river is extremely high... This makes for a massive amount of smoking thunder for sure! The mist is visible from miles away just rising from the trees.
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| View of the falls from high above. We didn't take this picture, unfortunately! |
We first crossed the bridge into "no mans land" between Zambia and Zimbabwe. The bridge crosses the canyon high above the Zambezi river just past the falls. It's well known for bungee jumping for both good, and not so good reasons. Amazing Race fans will have seen it in a challenge in one episode, but the other story isn't so great. There was an accident a few years ago when an Aussie girl jumped and her cord snapped and she was sent plunging into the river below. She survived. You can look for it on YouTube "bungee jump accident into crocodile infested waters"...or something like that...anyway...NO, Mom(s), we didn't jump!
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| At the very top of the falls, which go plunging over just behind us. |
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| Dy at the top of the canyon before we go down into the mist. |
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| The bridge to cross part the canyon, with the falls to the right of it... |
We took an awesome hike above the falls where you can stand on rocks literally 15 feet from the edge. It's all very accessible and reachable in a very Darwinian way. We got as close as we felt comfortable with, but thankfully we're not up for any awards.
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| Dy and a friend Esther we met on our way down to the falls. Note; they are showing the Ultra super secure method of crossing into Zimbabwe (well to cross the bridge anyway)... they basically give you a stamped piece of paper (recipe on other side not guaranteed...) they put the number of people in your party in pen. |
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| Dy in Zimbabwe... technically anyway, but we can't say we've been there, since this is as close as we got. |
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| Bridge where they bungee from into the gorge above the Zambezi river. |
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| On our way down...notice the bridge in the distance. |
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| Down at the "Boiling Pot" just beyond the falls. |
There is also a good trail down the edge of the canyon opposite the falls, which places you facing the falls and right in the mist. Thankfully it was fairly warm because we got absolutely soaked. It was like going to a water park, but without any slides....thankfully. We still had amazing views of the falls through it all and it was the source of many laughs. You can check it all out in the video below.
Well, we have a grueling travel itinerary to get to Tanzania, so we'll see how that goes!
