Today was our tourist day. We started with a trip to Victoria Falls. This is one of the seven natural wonders of the world. Dr. Livingstone gave the falls the current name, but the locals call it the Mist That Thunders.
The Falls are on the Zambezi River, which separates Zambia from Zimbabwe at this point. It’s the rainy season right now, so the falls were very full. As you enter the park and get to the first observation point, it’s amazing how you can see the falls, the river, the spray, rainbows, and the blue sky that seems to go on forever. There are several points to view the falls and many walking trails. I took pictures where I could, but in some of the areas, you couldn’t even see the falls due to the amount of spray from the water hitting the bottom of the falls. As you get closer, you get wet from just a mist, but as you continue walking, you get absolutely drenched! At one point, you come to a bridge where you can cross the river to get a look at the Falls from the other side. The spray was so heavy at this point, you couldn’t see the falls at all, and it was like standing in a shower with incredibly hard water pressure. In fact, I think I’d have been drier if I had simply climbed in the shower with my clothes on!
After viewing from the falls side, we were able to cross around, and view the river before it goes over the Falls. This was beautiful as well. This time of year the river is incredibly wide. We asked some questions about how it looks in the dry season. We were told that there is basically only a few trickles that go over the falls in that time of year. In fact, people can walk most of the way across the top of the falls on the rocks. One gentleman told us that a hotel right on the river’s edge on the Zimbabwe side actually puts tables and chairs out on the rocks and serves dinner! If you look at the pictures, you’ll find this hard to believe that the water level could be that different.
After the visit to the falls, we went on a safari to a national park. Turns out the park entrance is about 500 meters from our hotel, and part of the boundary runs directly behind the hotel. We saw several baboons right at the entrance, so figure the distance from where I’m typing this to where they, and many of the other animals could be roaming is probably between 250 and 500 meters. Kind of amazing!
I don’t think I’ll ever look at the zoo the same way again. We had a wonderful driver who took time to tell us a lot about all the animals, their habits, and a bit of Zambia history. During our 2 ½ hours, we saw giraffes, zebras, impalas, monkeys, baboons, wildebeasts, and several different types of birds and butterflies. Unfortunately, no hippos, rhinos or elephants today. There is only one rhino in the park, and he was in an area where the truck couldn’t go. The river was also moving too fast to see the hippos. We probably drove right by several, but the water was too turbulent to see them from the road. We were told the elephants don’t like the mud (??) and tended to not be in areas where we could see them this time of the year.
Overall, it was an amazing, and relaxing day. Spent the rest of the day just sitting outside listening to music and reading. Kind of nice after 11 days of traveling.
The Falls are on the Zambezi River, which separates Zambia from Zimbabwe at this point. It’s the rainy season right now, so the falls were very full. As you enter the park and get to the first observation point, it’s amazing how you can see the falls, the river, the spray, rainbows, and the blue sky that seems to go on forever. There are several points to view the falls and many walking trails. I took pictures where I could, but in some of the areas, you couldn’t even see the falls due to the amount of spray from the water hitting the bottom of the falls. As you get closer, you get wet from just a mist, but as you continue walking, you get absolutely drenched! At one point, you come to a bridge where you can cross the river to get a look at the Falls from the other side. The spray was so heavy at this point, you couldn’t see the falls at all, and it was like standing in a shower with incredibly hard water pressure. In fact, I think I’d have been drier if I had simply climbed in the shower with my clothes on!
After viewing from the falls side, we were able to cross around, and view the river before it goes over the Falls. This was beautiful as well. This time of year the river is incredibly wide. We asked some questions about how it looks in the dry season. We were told that there is basically only a few trickles that go over the falls in that time of year. In fact, people can walk most of the way across the top of the falls on the rocks. One gentleman told us that a hotel right on the river’s edge on the Zimbabwe side actually puts tables and chairs out on the rocks and serves dinner! If you look at the pictures, you’ll find this hard to believe that the water level could be that different.
After the visit to the falls, we went on a safari to a national park. Turns out the park entrance is about 500 meters from our hotel, and part of the boundary runs directly behind the hotel. We saw several baboons right at the entrance, so figure the distance from where I’m typing this to where they, and many of the other animals could be roaming is probably between 250 and 500 meters. Kind of amazing!
I don’t think I’ll ever look at the zoo the same way again. We had a wonderful driver who took time to tell us a lot about all the animals, their habits, and a bit of Zambia history. During our 2 ½ hours, we saw giraffes, zebras, impalas, monkeys, baboons, wildebeasts, and several different types of birds and butterflies. Unfortunately, no hippos, rhinos or elephants today. There is only one rhino in the park, and he was in an area where the truck couldn’t go. The river was also moving too fast to see the hippos. We probably drove right by several, but the water was too turbulent to see them from the road. We were told the elephants don’t like the mud (??) and tended to not be in areas where we could see them this time of the year.
Overall, it was an amazing, and relaxing day. Spent the rest of the day just sitting outside listening to music and reading. Kind of nice after 11 days of traveling.
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1 comment:
It sounds like you are having an amazing time and seeing things that will stay with you forever. I have been reading all your blogs, the wheelchair story brought tears to my eyes. The driving experience was hilarious and I completely related becaue that is driving in Japan it's crazy. Can't wait to see all your pictures! Be safe.
Cathy
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