Monday, June 4, 2007

Victoria Falls


We did the walking tour of Victoria Falls on Monday and the helicopter ride above the falls on Wednesday. From the Zimbabwe side, you can look directly at the falls which is why most people prefer it to the Zambia side where you are standing on the falls so can't see as much. There is also the question of rainy or dry season. At the end of May, the rainy season has just passed so there is a massive amount of water in the Zambezi rushing into the gorge. This means that there is so much water mist that when you walk there, it feels like a downpour and at times it is so thick you can't even see the falls (this makes it impossible to take pictures most of the time). If you go six months later, there may be only a trickle and you could even stand on top of the falls on the Zambian side. Now if this was a national park in North America or Europe, it would be wall to wall people, but because of the problems Zimababwe is having right now, we had the place nearly to ourselves.


Some photos:

Daniel at the westernmost part of the falls (not so much spray here)


A rainbow in the gorge below the falls (that's the bridge that takes you to Zambia)



The walking tour of the falls is awe-inspiring enough, but for another perspective, it is worth it to take a helicopter ride above the falls. This was my first time ever in a helicopter! Daniel got to sit in the front next to the pilot, so he took some awesome pictures.

Daniel anticipating the flight - you can see the spray from the falls in the background




Amazing how wide the falls are






Of course pictures don't really do it justice - you'll just have to go and see this world wonder for yourself someday.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Wow, all these photos are awesome! This totally makes me want to move to Zimbabwe (or at least Zambia, and visit Zimbabwe.)