Mosi-Oa-Tunya – The Smoke that Thunders

(Originally published November 2010)

We arrived in Livingstone in the blazing midday heat and headed straight to the National Park on the Zambian side of Victoria Falls, or Mosi-Oa-Tunya to the local people.

The town of Livingstone has grown into the primary tourist town for the falls due to the well documented problems that Zimbabwe has had in recent years. However it is not as well set up as the town of Victoria Falls across the border and will inevitably go back to playing second fiddle at some point in the future.

The Zambian side of the falls had very little water due to the prime water channel passing on the Zimbabwe side and we are only at the start of the wet season. By May the entire rock crest will have water flowing over it. The sight is still impressive and it means it’s possible to get right up to the edge to peer over the Zambian side without getting wet. From a historical perspective this would also be how David Livingstone would have first witnessed the falls on 17th November 1855.

We spent the rest of the day sorting out activities, relaxing in and around the pool and watching the sun set over the Zambezi from the waterfront deck… A beautiful spot and a far better choice of accommodation than staying in Livingstone town.

On wednesday morning i climbed into a small helicopter for a 30mins flight over the falls and through the gorge. I got the front seat, more through luck than planning, which gave me the best view possible. The weather was slightly overcast so the light wasn’t the best for photos but nonetheless it was stunning (superlatives really fail to adequately convey the correct emotions!). The aerial view helps put the falls into perspective and appreciate how the Zambezi has carved out successive waterfalls over millions of years that now make up the striking canyon.

Victoria Falls from the air

In the afternoon i opted for a little adrenaline activity with a combo of abseil, flying fox (aka zip wire) and gorge swing. This was in a side gorge off the main gorge, with a depth of approx 60m. The first 2 were tame but good fun. The gorge swing was good and entailed throwing oneself off the cliff in a backwards dive (so called the death jump) for nearly 50m of freefall. Quite disorientating on the first jump, less so on the second! A swim and a few beers were well deserved after!

The group dinner that evening at the performing arts cafe was disappointing but it was nice to go out with the crew and enjoy the final dinner of the trip with them. A few of us indulged in a late beer by the pool before turning in.

Up early on Thursday morning and headed to the Royal Livingstone Hotel (where I’m staying next time, pure luxury especially the classical music playing in the toilets!) with Pat and Kate, for a trip out to Livingstone Island and the Devils Pool. The Devils Pool is a small rock pool right on the edge of the falls… Literally! You can lie on the edge and peer down the falls. This was followed by a delicious breakfast on Livingstone island.

From the hotel, we walked into Zimbabwe across the bridge (US$55 for UK passport holders… Cheaper for everyone else!) and went to view the falls from that side. One can better appreciate (i.e. get wet!) the falls, noise and spray from the Zimbabwe side. This was followed up by a Zambezi beer on the terrace of the Victoria Falls hotel before heading back over to Zambia. Every morning should be like this!

Sign at the Victoria Falls hotel... long way to go still!

The afternoon was spent relaxing at the campsite, packing, having a few Mosi beers and swimming. We were treated to a finale of elephants crossing the Zambezi at sunset… I’ve officially run out of superlatives for this place!