So we were all fired up as we got an early start the next day. We found our way to the Victoria Falls National Park. Locally, it is known as Mosi-Oa-Tunya, literally translated to mean "the cloud that thunders".
It is a sight to behold. Even the day before, as soon as we arrived at our hotel room. We popped out by our hotel room terrace and you could see the cloud in the distance. You could hear the water gushing on the Zambezi River as it makes its way towards the waterfalls. I think the manmade mini water feature that the hotel had definitely contributed a lot to the ambience to get you in the mood.
Across the street from the National Park, there were a couple of market stands, side by side, renting raincoats, rare Zim billion dollar bills and various Zimbabwean bric-a-brac. I was not really totally convinced to buy raincoats for the family. However, after seeing a couple come out all wet in their raincoats, hubby thought we might need them and so we rented.
Going into the park, it was a clearly marked path. We turned left and started our journey. It was a while before we caught view of the falls. There were numerous viewing points that provided good photographic opportunities. The different points offered spits of rain from the waterfalls, ranging from drizzles, showers to downpour. Further on, nearer to the falls, there was even "danger point" where the rocks were quite slippery and there were no railings on the edge. You don't quite realise the strength of the water until you see how wet you get at this point.
A picture of the Victoria Falls Bridge marks the end of the journey. We didn't cross the bridge over to Livingstone as we would've had to pay visa fees crossing over and back. Plus I was worried that we required yellow fever inoculation and didn't want to risk it (see my earlier concerns).
Victoria Falls itself claims to be the largest waterfalls in the world. It has a width of 1708 metres (5604 ft) and a height of 108 metres (354 ft), thus forming the largest sheet of falling water in the world (according to Wikipedia).
We happily walked back to the park entrance and by the time we reached it, our raincoats were dry. We returned them and walked a further 1km to get into the town of Victoria Falls.
It is a sight to behold. Even the day before, as soon as we arrived at our hotel room. We popped out by our hotel room terrace and you could see the cloud in the distance. You could hear the water gushing on the Zambezi River as it makes its way towards the waterfalls. I think the manmade mini water feature that the hotel had definitely contributed a lot to the ambience to get you in the mood.
 |
| The waterfalls backdrop |
Across the street from the National Park, there were a couple of market stands, side by side, renting raincoats, rare Zim billion dollar bills and various Zimbabwean bric-a-brac. I was not really totally convinced to buy raincoats for the family. However, after seeing a couple come out all wet in their raincoats, hubby thought we might need them and so we rented.
Going into the park, it was a clearly marked path. We turned left and started our journey. It was a while before we caught view of the falls. There were numerous viewing points that provided good photographic opportunities. The different points offered spits of rain from the waterfalls, ranging from drizzles, showers to downpour. Further on, nearer to the falls, there was even "danger point" where the rocks were quite slippery and there were no railings on the edge. You don't quite realise the strength of the water until you see how wet you get at this point.
 |
| Hubby looking across at Danger Point |
A picture of the Victoria Falls Bridge marks the end of the journey. We didn't cross the bridge over to Livingstone as we would've had to pay visa fees crossing over and back. Plus I was worried that we required yellow fever inoculation and didn't want to risk it (see my earlier concerns).
Victoria Falls itself claims to be the largest waterfalls in the world. It has a width of 1708 metres (5604 ft) and a height of 108 metres (354 ft), thus forming the largest sheet of falling water in the world (according to Wikipedia).
We happily walked back to the park entrance and by the time we reached it, our raincoats were dry. We returned them and walked a further 1km to get into the town of Victoria Falls.
No comments:
Post a Comment