The incredible Victoria Falls

I spent last weekend at Victoria Falls - the world's largest waterfall. It is on the Zambezi River between Zimbabwe and Zambia. The locals call it Mosi-oa-Tunya (the Smoke that Thunders) and you can indeed hear and feel it from kilometers away. As we were crossing the border bridge from Zimbabwe into Zambia, we saw a double rainbow down below, formed by the constant mist from the falls reflected in the sun. I am pretty sure that as long as it's sunny there's always a rainbow there :) With the water levels being as high as they were (it's still the rainy season), the mist from the falls could be seen from really far away and you could actually feel it like rain as you get closer! So much so, that when we got close enough to see the falls better, especially on the Zambian side, we got completely drenched, even though we were all wearing raincoats.

Victoria Falls is the most amazing work of nature I have seen. This will not surprise many as it is considered one of the original seven natural wonders of the world.

I traveled to Victoria Falls by plane on Air Zimbabwe, and that was the first time I have flown with a female pilot - way to promote gender equality, Air Zimbabwe! My friend Percia and I came from Harare and at Vic Falls we met two of my VSO friends who work in Windhoek, Namibia - Sats and Simpson. It was really good to see Sats and Simpson again. The last time we hung out was during CUSO-VSO training in Ottawa, Canada in 2010. We all stayed at the Livingstone Backpackers - a pretty nice hostel (with a bar, climbing wall and a swimming pool... and a great deal at $8/night) in Livingstone, Zambia, about 10km away from the falls!

In addition to seeing the waterfall we all went on a game drive (safari) at a small park on the Zambian side near the Zambezi. We saw all kinds of animals - giraffes, zebras, crocodiles, hippos, monkeys, a ton of different birds, and more. Most of the animals were very camera friendly too :) instead of running away from our car they stopped, looked at us and some even seemed to pose for the pictures! :)

We also went on a "booze cruise" - a boat ride on the Zambezi River at sunset, with open bar and free food... I wish that could be a part of my daily routine :) It was an enjoyable way to relax after a long day of hiking up and down the Victoria Falls park. We saw some hippos and a lot of different birds, and the sunset was beautiful.

To see all of my pictures from the trip to Vic Falls click here.