Victoria Falls

Saturday, 4th Dec 2010

Jyoti and I took a day trip to Victoria Falls, on the Zimbabwean side. This turned out to be a fantastic decision given that the Zambian side gets to see only 1/10 of the falls.

To chronicle our trip in photos:

1. we alighted the minibus at the grand Victoria Falls Hotel (built ca 1904). Here's a picture of us about 3 km away from the falls in the hotel's backyard.

2. next was a view of the falls from about 150 m away, at a spot known as Devil's Cataract (not pictured here, but it's a side falls that's much smaller but also impressive).

3. here I am at the main falls, from another lookout point, this one the closest at 93 m away. The picture is dark and my shirt is drenched because the falls actually spray enough water in the air constantly to create a unique tropical rainforest biome on this side of the river!

4. now we've passed the main falls and wandered over to the "danger point" which, when it's rained more and the falls are bigger, can be a slippery slidey place. Right now since it's just the start of rainy season the water is actually fairly low and there are just a few side falls dotting the cliff, not one giant falls extending over the whole wall. Still rather beautiful though.

5. a video, and our favorite pictures from our favorite view: main falls from 93 m. We even came back for a second viewing, and the second time around we had a surprise visit from a rainbow!

6. Finally, we had lunch at the Island Cafe, in the elephant mall. Despite Victoria Falls not having electricity (apparently this is common in Africa!) the cafe was able to make us a tasty strawberry milkshake (hand mixed; ice cream only partially melted from the ice bucket) and brick oven pizzas. We met up with friends from the tour and had a good time. There was much musing as to the origins of the "blue baboon special" pizza (see blog entry "Tau Lodge") and the differences between Botswana and Zimbabwe (they were Motswana, one living in South Africa and one in Gaborone).

The only souvenir I decided to buy was a CD of Goliath Phiri, who plays as part of the Sinsika Marimba Band. We were entertained by this performance while we tried to shoo away the more aggressive craft traders.

Overall a very good trip, no snafus at the border, and the view was worth it. May be worth a second visit after rainy season next time!