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Published: March 20th 2014
At last an easy travel day. From Kasane to the Zimbabwe border is nothing more than a 5 minute taxi which we shared with two girls from our hostel who were also heading to the Zimbabwe side of the falls. Once across the border, the few taxis there fought amongst themselves for our business and eventually they agreed whose customer we were, at which point we hopped into the car. Forty five minutes later we were in the town of Victoria Falls. The plan was to spend a few days on each side of the falls before catching a flight to from Livingstone, Zambia back to South Africa.
After throwing down our packs, we set of an exploratory walk into the town center and the direction of the falls. Though only an hour from the Botswana border, there is a much different air about Zimbabwe. Economically and politically, the countries are at two ends of the spectrum and it shows on the ground. While Vic Falls town felt quite safe as its still a major tourist destination, it was hard to walk ten feet without someone trying to sell us something or begging for money, quite the opposite of Botswana
where it was hard to pass anybody on the street without an unprovoked smile and greeting.
We did't know what this day would bring as we walked into town without a plan and without any real time constraints on this or the following days, but as we quickly realized that the town was nothing more than one tiny block of restaurants and activity outfitters, we wound up making a direct trip to the falls.
As we arrived there, we knew more or less what the layout of the falls was like from photos, but what we didn't know was how interactive the experience would be. Within the park, monkeys and baboons escort you along paths that run from the Zimbabwean edge of the falls towards the middle of the 1.7 kilometer waterfall. Along the paths are numerous viewing spots which progressively get wetter and wetter with the spray rising up from the falling water and from which the falls get their traditional name Mosi-oa-Tunya - "the Smoke That Thunders." Half way down this path the viewpoints become so saturating that you see just a hazy view of the falls which are only a short distance away, all the
while getting blasted with gusts of thick "rain" which is in fact river water. Its bizarre as you face the falls you might think you're standing in the middle of a hurricane and if you turn your back to them you see that there's blue skies and sun beyond the pocket of engulfing spray. One is literally drenched to the bone in seconds, and I learned my lesson that a bathing suit is the appropriate attire for a visit. We may as well have jumped right in the Zambezi. This is why I say its an "interactive" experience as you really are so engaged with it when you visit the park.
In terms of the sight itself, its breathtaking - beautiful on par with Iguazu I would say, but now, during the "high water season," the energy and force coming over the cliff seems incomparable. The other unique feature of this falls is the manner in which such a wide falls drops into such a narrow gorge. The falls itself are more than a mile wide but immediately after its descent it funnels into a chasm only 110 meters wide creating the incredibly turbulent waters and top class white
water rafting of the Zambezi beneath the falls.
During our time in the park, we coincidentally reconnected with the two girls we had crossed the border with and with whom we had parted ways from as soon as we had arrived in Vic Falls town. Their plan was to immediately continue to the Victoria Falls Bridge which connects Zambia and Zimbabwe and the middle of which is home to an iconic bungee jump (where 5 years ago an Australian girl's bungee snapped and she plummeted into the Zambezi - she survived somehow and now advertises for travel insurance companies in Australia). Having made my jump at the Nevis in New Zealand and more than content with this for a lifetime, this was not on my to do list, but I accompanied and encouraged these three to take the plunge at this beautiful setting. While they all went through the do's and do not's of their jump, I wandered both sides of the bridge, taking pictures of the mist rising from the falls on one side, the Victoria Falls Hotel which looks directly at the bridge from the other side, and the churning waters directly below. It was a great
place to spend the afternoon as I greeted each of the jumpers and their ear to ear smiles after they had just completed one of the most against-human-nature actions of their lives (at least in my opinion) in throwing themselves off the side of a bridge.
Two days later and still hanging on the Zimbabwe side came the most recent highlight of the trip for me - white water rafting down the great Zambezi, famous as one of the premier rapid sites in the world. Though not the prime season due to the high water levels, it was still perfect conditions for someone with limited experience such as myself with 3's, 4's and two class 5 rapids. The setting is incredible as we float deep into the gorge with high cliffs on both sides, Zimbabwe on the right and Zambia on the left. To get into the valley necessitated hiking down a rugged and eroded trail with hardly a switchback where a stumble would've been of high consequence. The rafting excursion was highlighted by the very first rapid, a beast of a class 5 that swallowed our raft whole, immediately capsizing us and our hybrid facials expressions of laughter,
surprise and panic. We all managed to hold onto the line connecting us to the boat and we were praised in our collective management of the rapid by our guide. The rest of the trip was entertaining and fun including the subsequent 5, though not fear invoking as was the first. Indeed it was a really great and memorable activity for this leg of the trip.
The following day we crossed the border for a taste of what Zambia and that side of the falls had to offer and it unexpectedly dominated the Victoria Falls experience. Perhaps this opinion somehow stems from the fact that it was the high water season and the views and experience were altered by the extent of mist compared to the low water season. I speculate this only because numerous people told us the Zimbabwe side was better, but both Phil, myself and several others from our hostel all agreed this was not the case. The Zambian side of the falls stood out in 3 ways for me. First was the fact that the "wet" view points had a much higher saturation rate. Imagine getting hosed down from all sides, no escape... this was
the experience. The second perk was that the Zambian side allows you to go above the falls as well, with shockingly no fencing or barrier between you and the river. We sat at the edge of the Zambezi, just a few meters from the dropoff, with our toes in the water. It's not only a spectacular vantage, but to see it with nothing between your feet and the waterfall except a short flow of the river was particularly exhilarating. The final upside for Zambia was that it also offers a hike to the base of the gorge beneath the falls. From this spot you cannot see the falls, but you see the rush of water making its initial convergence and first turn in its winding path to the Indian Ocean. With such a massive flow of water, this spot, called the Boiling Pot, is a turbulent swath of the river consisting of class 5 rapids, whirlpools and currents flowing in all directions, including back upstream. From this vantage, just beyond the Boiling Pot you look up at the Victoria Falls Bridge, a beautiful structure in its own right, suspended above the rushing water and the gorge. Combine these three things
and Zambia gets our vote, especially considering that Livingstone, the town which services the falls of the Zambia side is far more vibrant than the town on the Zimbabwe side, and the people, at least in our brief experience were far more friendly.
The rest of our time on both sides was spent on thesis work and procrastinating thesis work. Perhaps it wasn't our most productive stretch of the past 4 weeks, but we continued in the right direction nonetheless, and I think we're feeling proud and confident with what we've got at this point.
Writing you now from Cape Town where the cool breeze and ocean views are a beautiful and welcome change. Vi ses snart igen.
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Sonny
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Picture 21
Yessssss (fump)