Victoria Falls Madness

Zimbabwe - infamous for Mugabe and its corrupt political system, land seizures, hyper-inflation, and devastating cholera outbreak. We weren’t sure what to expect when we arrived.

Our first impression, which held true for our entire stay, was that the Zim’s were THE friendliest and most welcoming people we had met in Africa.  It’s almost as if all of the adversity and strife that they have gone through has been transformed into good natured resilience and warmth.

We arrived in Zimbabwe after a quick 2 hour drive from Botswana. Due to some miscommunication about the onward ferry times for Lake Kariba (the June schedule was still the only one posted as of late July, allowing for some confusion!) we had to cut our time in Victoria Falls short by a day.  Needing to make the most of it, as soon as we arrived we dropped our gear at the backpackers and headed into the Victoria Falls National Park to have a look at the seventh Natural Wonder of the World. During the wet season when the falls are really pumping, 1 million liters pours over the lip every SECOND!

Having kept its natural surroundings, the falls were truly spectacular. 

Vic Falls is known as the adrenaline capital of Southern Africa. We scanned the list of options, including bungee jumping, white water rafting, gorge jumping but for the price nothing got us too excited. Luckily, friends of ours who had been here recently told us that if we crossed the border to Zambia, we might be able to find a local ‘guide’ who, for a negotiated price, could take us on foot through the Zambezi River, literally to the lip of the falls.

So, off we set with Pauline and Sebastian, a French couple we met at the hostel, with our passports in tow to see if we could push our limits and do something a little different.   After entering the Zambian side, we first hiked to the bottom of the gorge to get a view up to appreciate the full size of the falls.  Unlike in many places (think Niagara), the Vic Falls are not at the edge of an escarpment, but rather were formed by a change in the composition of the soil allowing for a massive crevice to erode into the landscape.  This means that you can stand level with the top of the falls and look down from most vantage points.  The falls are even more impressive when seen from below.

We then headed back up to meet up with the gatekeeper for the Zambian parks -who knew what we were after and took us a bit off the beaten track to meet Gift, a local guide who would lead us along the edge of the falls and (fingers crossed) keep us from being swept over the precipice!

Walking slowly, hand-in-hand and stepping cautiously on slippery rocks, we made our way across various parts of the fast flowing Zambezi river – finally arriving at a spot on the lip of the falls that provided a stunning and exciting view. If you had vertigo, you would not want to be standing here.

 

Gift then led us across to Angel’s Pool – a deep pool formed by a 10m set of falls just before the main falls.  With the water rushing down into the pool, and then only meters later over the precipice to drop hundreds of meters down to the bottom of the crevice below, the idea of diving in and swimming got the adrenaline pumping!  Mike was the first to go!

After a few jumps, the guides and Mike had a small chat where they suggested he could get right up to the edge of the falls and lean over.  Megan – not knowing what was being said and manning the camera, had a look of sheer panic after Mike dove off the cliff again, but this time swam straight for the falls themselves!  (Sorry for the blurry video quality, but it gives you a sense of the action!)

A small vortex had created a deep well with almost no current through it, which allowed Mike to wedge his legs against the sides and lean out over the falls.  The tourists on the Vic Falls side were snapping away!

We returned from our adventure thrilled and eager for the next part of our Zimbabwe travels – sailing Lake Kariba. 

Although our time in Vic Falls was brief, the warm welcome we received from the Zims and general optimistic attitudes alleviated all our country concerns and provided confidence that we would love our time here.