Victoria Falls
To the Ndebele tribe it’s Amanza Thunquayo – “water rising as smoke”. For the Makololo, it’s Mosi ao Tunya - “smoke that thunders”. Yet neither description captures the overwhelming, relentless power of Victoria Falls. At the height of the flood it’s a total sensory experience as you feel the vibrations through your feet and the thunder in your ears! A mile’s width of the Zambezi river crashing over a precipice.
You are spoilt for choice of places to stay. On the Zambian side there’s the five star Royal Livingstone with its terrace and pool in sight of the falls. On the Zimbabwe side you could stay in that “Grand Old Lady” the Victoria Falls hotel with its private access to the waterfall. For a longer stay you might prefer to be further upstream staying in a delightful river lodge like Sussi & Chuma, or the River Club. Tongabezi Lodge has four sumptuously designed “houses” and its own private island in the Zambezi. In fact, these peaceful river lodges with their views across the Zambezi are the perfect alternative to a short beach stay. Victoria Falls is also an adventure playground.
Take a lazy sundowner cruise among the birds and hippos above the falls where the river flows sedately. Or for adrenalin junkies, you can’t beat a day’s white water rafting below the falls where the river rushes as a raging torrent down the Batoka Gorge. You can even raft for several days eventually being helicoptered back. If you want to join the fish eagles, soar over the mile wide falls in a microlight, or a helicopter or small plane. Beside the river you can ride elephants, take a ride on the Zambezi train, and watch rare rhinos in the Mosi oa Tunya National park. And of course you can become drenched from head to toe as you walk across the face of the falls with thunderous torrents above, below and to either side of you.
Victoria Falls is an ideal place to spend a few days acclimatising before your safari, or relaxing afterwards. The waterfall is at its fullest from March to July, though is always impressive. It combines easily with a Botswana safari, or a safari in Zambia. It is also in easy reach of South Africa and Namibia.
