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Victoria Falls
Mosi-oa-Tunya - "the Smoke that Thunders"
When most people think about awe-inspiring natural beauty, visions of the Grand Canyon, the Alps, Himalaya, Rockies or Andes with their breathtaking landscapes and dizzying heights might evoke a sense of majesty or the Great Barrier Reef, unparalleled in its natural aquatic beauty or Ayers Rock in all its mystery.
However, Victoria Falls, a vision of dynamic splendor, is a mesmerizing reminder of the sheer power of nature. Victoria Falls captures the essence of what we strive to be in our mythical super-human imaginations. It has staying power. It remained undiscovered for thousands of years. It has an aura of mystery that can't be matched by anything south of the Pyramids and it has a location that suggests that one would have to travel for years to discover but never actually penetrate this magical place.
Victoria Falls stretches across a gigantic gorge for about a mile, with falls that seem to go on forever and a circumference of rainbows that form from the tremendous mist the falls give off (bring your raincoat). It is amazing to walk along the Zimbabwe side of the border wherein you can walk right on the edge of the gorge (there are no fences) and see the width and depth of the falls up close. The picturesque beauty cannot possibly be captured on film. That speaks tremendously for the actual "amazement value" of a site.
There are many "sites" that are supposed to be incredible that look no different on television or in print than they do in person. Victoria Falls doesn't have that problem; it surpasses everything you can imagine. If you have seen Niagara or Iguazu Falls, you can't compare them to Victoria Falls. They are truly in a league by themselves in the middle of nowhere in the Dark Continent.
The most amazing thing about "Vic Falls" is its location and the way it is still so raw even though it has become the adrenaline capital of Africa. Victoria Falls establishes the border between Zimbabwe and Zambia with its "little sister," the treacherous Zambezi River which zigzags through the caverns between the two great nations forming an unforgettable sight to be seen. The best place to view this is from atop the Zambezi River Bridge, which connects Zimbabwe to Zambia. From the center of this rickety bridge they offer a bungy jump overlooking the falls themselves from whence you can plunge about 116 meters down into African ecstasy.
There are higher and more professional jumps in the world: Nevis (134m) in Queenstown, New Zealand and the Bloukrans River Bridge (216m-the world's highest) in South Africa but they don't have the backdrop of Victoria Falls. The mist from the falls literally cools you off from the incredible searing heat of the African sun. The workers at the jump site apparently know what they are doing and they claim to have a 100 percent safety record, but the tethered bungy chords and the lack of preparation they give, lead you to be a little nervous because of the jagged rocks of the Zambezi below. Soar off the bridge like a bird· - you will definitely want to go back for seconds.
Like all ancient people, the African people had to learn to conquer their land and their mighty source of power and transportation, the Zambezi River. Today, it is a little more advanced with regards to transportation (but not much). Only today they also offer white water rafting on the Zambezi. However, it is really just swimming in the river because you will never last very long in the raft because the Zambezi is just that wild with Class V rapids and hundreds of pesky whirlpools. At the end of the day Victoria Falls can be an adrenaline junkie's dream. It buries other places such as Costa Rica and the Western United States. Just remember to tighten your life jacket!
Victoria Falls is a beacon of light in a part of the world known for civil and political unrest, poverty and AIDS. It gives you reason to believe. It gives you reason to forget your problems, your worries and your world. The moment you set eyes upon the "Smoke that Thunders" you will be hypnotized by the never-ending supply of water and the decibel level at which it falls. Victoria Falls was here thousands of years before us and it will be here thousands of years after us but for now, we can just enjoy Nature's most impressive creation.
The Zambezi (also spelled Zambesi) is the fourth-longest river in Africa, and the largest flowing into the Indian Ocean. The area of its basin is 1,390,000· km² (537,000 miles²), slightly less than half that of the Nile. The 2,574 km- (1,600 mile-) long river has its source in Zambia and flows through Angola, along the borders of Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, to Mozambique, where it empties into the Indian Ocean.
The Zambezi's most spectacular feature is Victoria Falls, the world's largest waterfalls. Other notable falls include the Chavuma Falls at the border between Zambia and Angola, and Ngonye Falls, near Sioma in Western Zambia. Over its entire course, the Zambezi is spanned by only five bridges: at Chinyingi, Katima Mulilo, Victoria Falls, Chirundu and Tete.
The falls are formed as the full width of the river plummets in a single vertical drop into a chasm 60–120 m (200–400 ft) wide, carved by its waters along a fracture zone in the basalt plateau. The depth of the chasm, called the First Gorge, varies from 80 m (262 ft) at its western end to 108 m (360 ft) in the centre. The only outlet to the First Gorge is a 110 m (360 ft) wide gap about two-thirds of the way across the width of the falls from the western end, through which the whole volume of the river pours into the Victoria Falls gorges.
There are two islands on the crest of the falls large enough to divide the curtain of water even at full flood: Boaruka Island (or Cataract Island) near the western bank, and Livingstone Island, near the middle. At less than full flood, islets divide the curtain of water into separate parallel streams. The main ones are named, going from Zimbabwe (west) to Zambia (east): Leaping Water (called Devil's Cataract by some), Main Falls, Rainbow Falls (the highest) and the Eastern Cataract.
The Zambezi basin above the falls experiences a rainy season from late November to early April, and a dry season the rest of the year. The river's annual flood season is February to May with a peak in April,[5] and this is when the falls is the most impressive in terms of power and its thunderous rumbling sound. {mosimage}The spray from the falls rises typically to a height of over 400 metres (1300 ft), and sometimes even twice as high, and is visible from up to 50 km (30 miles) away. At full moon, a "moonbow" can be seen in the spray instead of the usual daylight rainbow. During the flood season however it is impossible to see the foot of the falls and most of its face, and the walks along the cliff opposite it are in a constant shower and shrouded in mist. Close to the edge of the cliff, spray shoots upwards like reversed rain, especially at Zambia's Knife-Edge Bridge.
As the dry season takes effect, the islets on the crest become wider and more numerous and in September to January up to half of the rocky face of the falls may become dry, and the bottom of the First Gorge can be seen along most of its length. At this time it becomes possible, though not necessarily safe, to walk across some stretches of the river at the crest. It is also possible to walk to the bottom of the First Gorge at the Zimbabwean side. The minimum flow which occurs in November is around a tenth of the April figure, a larger variation than for other major falls, which brings Victoria Falls' annual average flow rate well down.
The best time to see Victoria Falls depends on what you want to see. May to August offers the best compromise between a flow rate which impresses with its power, and the falls not being obscured by spray.
The Victoria Falls are roughly twice the height of North America's Niagara Falls and well over twice the width of its horseshoe falls. In height and width Victoria Falls is only rivalled by South America's Iguazu Falls which is divided into over 270 smaller falls and cataracts.
The whole volume of the river pours through the First Gorge's 110 m (360 ft) wide exit for a distance of about 150 m (500 ft), then enters a zigzagging series of gorges named in order from the first. Water entering the Second Gorge makes a sharp right turn and has carved out a deep pool called the Boiling Pot. Reached via a steep footpath from the Zambian side, it is about 150 m (500 ft) across, its surface is smooth at low water, but at high water is marked by slow, enormous swirls and heavy boiling turbulence. Objects which are swept over the falls are frequently found swirling about here or washed up at the north-east end of the Second Gorge, such as the occasional dead hippo, or more tragically, people. This is where the bodies of Mrs Moss and Mr Orchard, mutilated by crocodiles, were found in 1910 after two canoes were capsized by a hippo at Long Island above the falls.
The principal gorges are:
* First Gorge: the one the river falls into now
* Second Gorge: (spanned by the Victoria Falls Bridge), 250 m south of falls, 2.15 km long (270 yd south, 2350 yd long)
* Third Gorge: 600 m south, 1.95 km long (650 yd south, 2100 yd long)
* Fourth Gorge: 1.15 km south, 2.25 km long (1256 yd south, 2460 yd long)
* Fifth Gorge: 2.55 km south, 3.2 km long (1.5 mi south, 2 mi long)
* Songwe Gorge: 5.3 km south, 3.3 km long, (3.3 mi south, 2 mi long) named after the small Songwe River coming from the north-east, and the deepest at 140 m (460 ft), at the end of the dry season.
* Batoka Gorge: below the Songwe, the gorge is called the Batoka Gorge (which is also used as an umbrella name for all the gorges). It is about 120 km (75 mi) long (the straight line distance to its end is about 80 km (50 mi) east of the falls) and takes the river through the basalt plateau to the valley in which Lake Kariba now lies.
The walls of the gorges are close to vertical and generally about 120 m (400 ft) high, but the level of the river in them varies by up to 20 metres (65 ft) between wet and dry seasons.
There are two main sources of hydroelectric power on the river. These are the Kariba Dam, which provides power to Zambia and Zimbabwe and the Cahora Bassa Dam in Mozambique which provides power to South Africa. There is also a smaller power station at Victoria Falls.
Although being neither the highest nor widest waterfall in the world, the claim for being largest is based on a width of 1.7 km (1 mile) and a height of 108 m (360 ft), forming what may be the largest sheet of falling water in the world. No waterfalls are both wider and higher. Their maximum flow rate compares well with other major waterfalls .
The unusual form of Victoria Falls enables virtually the whole width of the falls to be viewed face-on, at the same level as the top, from a distance as close as 60 m (200 ft), because the whole Zambezi River drops into a deep, narrow slot-like chasm, connected to a long series of gorges. Few other waterfalls allow such a close approach on foot to the heart of their power.
Many of Africa's animals and birds can be seen in the immediate vicinity of Victoria Falls, and the continent's range of river fish are well represented in the Zambezi, enabling wildlife viewing, twitching and sports fishing to be combined with sightseeing.
Victoria Falls are one of Africa's major tourist attractions, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site ). They are shared between Zambia and Zimbabwe, and each country has a national park to protect them and a town serving as a tourism centre: Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park and Livingstone in Zambia, and Victoria Falls National Park and the town of Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe.
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