Freemans on Safari: 28 January 2013 - Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe

Up at 6 even though we didn't need to be. We'd decided with Maria and Stephen that we'd do an early morning walk to the falls before the heat of the day.

Had a lovely breakfast at 7ish then headed off on our walk at 7.30.

Fancy bread display on the breakfast buffet

The grounds of the Victoria Falls Hotel

We could access the falls from the bottom of the garden. A security guard walks you to the falls through some bush just in case there are any animals roaming around. Takes about 10mins to walk to the falls entrance. Maria decided not to go in as she had a massage booked for 9 and wouldn't have enough time to walk around, she'll do it later.

It costs US$30 each to enter the park so we all paid that and in we went. We walked from the entrance to Livingstone's statue which is at the western end of the falls which took about 5 mins.

David Livingstone statue

Then we wandered eastwards to all the viewing points to see the falls from every angle. The falls stretch over about 1.7km and as you walk closer to the eastern end the heavier the mist becomes.

The start of the falls

Still dry!!

Zambian troops

I didn't have a raincoat or poncho so I got soaked from head to toe by the time we got to the east end. Steve had a poncho which kept him about 15% dry and Terry took off his shirt and put on his raincoat after he got drenched to keep his top half a little dry. He kept the camera in one plastic bag and his backpack in another which kept them relatively dry. I didn't mind getting soaked as it was quite warm and there was no wind. Got a few weird looks from other tourists, so much so that one group put their poncho's on as soon as they saw me; it was quite funny.

Drenched!

It's an amazing waterfall - it is considered to be the largest curtain of water in the world (wider curtain in one segment than Niagara and Iguazu) which creates the most amazing mist/spray. It is like standing in a heavy continuous downpour and the reason you get so wet. Apparently it wasn't so heavy today. In the months of May and June when the water is at its maximum flow the mist is so heavy you can't see the waterfall. We took about 2.5hrs to walk from one end to the other and back. Lot's of photos. Well worth the soaking.

We headed back to the hotel, this time the tourist police walked us back. We stopped at a look out on the way to see the way the water has cut the gorges over time. Once all the water from upstream has fed into the waterfall in the months of May and June the water level rises another 2 metres, unbelievable.

My trousers and top were nearly dry by the time we walked back to the hotel. Our shoes were drenched, thankfully the hotel could dry them for us.

We showered and got into dry clothes then went for a walk into the township which is tiny. Looked through the souvenir shops and the general area.

Baboons roam free in the township

Headed back to the hotel about 1, it was very hot in the sun. Sat in the Terrace for a light snack and a drink, Steve joined us and Maria a little later. Kalman and June were at the pool and having a massage a little later.

Terry had a tour around the hotel with Maria and Steven for an hour. Saw the presidential suite and suggested we stay there on our next visit... All very interesting.