Zimbabwe
We took a 6:00am flight from Cape Town to Johannesburg (8:00am) and then from Johannesburg to Victoria Falls, arriving in the afternoon. <<I was already excited to see the mist of the falls from the plane>>
Three tour guides and the vans were already waiting for us at the airport. One of the tour guides was a young lady from China, and the other two were locals who spoke fluent Chinese <<The tour is a Chinese language tour>>
Victoria Falls National Park
Victoria Falls is situated on the Zambesi River, at the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe. It is one of the largest waterfalls in the world with a width of 1708m and a height of 108m.
There is a well marked walking path with multiple viewpoints. The waterfalls has serveral sections: Devil's Cataract, Main Falls, Horseshoe Falls, Rainbow Falls and the Eastern Cataract.
Victoria Falls is also called "Boiling Water", the gushing water and mist rising from the waterfall can be seen from the first viewpoint.
I was truly impressed by the sight of the main waterfall. It is the largest sheet of falling water based on its width.
A few rainbows stretched across from the falls to the viewing points.
The sounds of water gushing from the top and crashing to the bottom got louder as we approached, and it seemed that it has also gotten misty with a light drizzle. Then, I quickly realised that the weather was still sunny and the 'drizzle' and mist came from the fall's water spray. I remembered that another name for the fall is "Thundering Smoke" 😍.
The 'drizzles' got bigger, and I quickly put on the raincoat given by the tour guide. As I got nearer to the edge of the waterfall, I was drenched by the "Inverted rain" caused by the waterfall, that shot water high upwards - the waterfall's spray typically reaches a height of over 400m and is visible from 50km away!
A huge rainbow stretched across the falls, and I could quite literally walked through it. <<Probably that's how the name rainbow falls came about?>>
Although I was drenched by the 'rain', I really enjoyed this unique experience.
The view of the bridge that crossed to Zambia came into view, and the walking path also ended. I walked back to the entrance, immensely glad that I had paid a visit to the falls. 😊
<<Victoria Falls is great! I'm glad that I changed my mind and booked the tour whlist on the boat>>
Zambezi National Park
The park is located upstream from the Victoria Falls on the Zambezi River. The game-viewer-vehicle picked us up from the hotel, and we arrived at the park early in the morning.
We saw a herd of Impala, which are medium-sized antelopes. They can reach a height of 70-92cm at the shoulder and a weight of 40-76kg.
The zebras at the park are usually plains zebras, with a habitat of treeless and savanna grassland. They are a highly social species, forming harems with a single male.
We also saw African elephants, which comprise of two living elephants species, the African bush elephant and the smaller African forest elephant. We encountered the African forest elephant (I think? 😶).
The vehicle drove along the road looking out for more wildlife, and then we stopped for a break by the river. Simple snacks and drinks was provided.
We also saw monkeys, turtles and a buffalo's skull.
We continued looking out for more wildlife, especially for giraffes <<Sadly, we did not encounter any 😔>>.
The weather was very hot <not really to my liking - 😬> but the safari was indeed an interesting experience.
Zambezi River Safari
The river is the fourth-longest in Africa, and the longest east-flowing river with the largest flowing into the Indian Ocean. The river is broad, shallow and flows slowly but as it flows toward the border (Zambia and Zimbabwe), it reaches a chasm leading to the Victoria Falls.
The hippo can open its mouth at almost 180 degree. One of them did it and I was very pleased to take a photo of it. 😊😊😊.
We also caught sight of an elephant by the river bank, interesting river boats, and different type of birds on the river.
As the sun set, the river and the landscape turned were basked in a spectacular golden hue.
The beautiful panorama was well-worth the trip to come here.
Others
Big Tree (Baobab tree) Visit
The Big Tree is an unusally large baobab tree measuring 22.4m in girth and 24 metre tall. The tree is possibly one of the oldest and biggest baobab trees in the world.
Souvenir market/store
There are some stalls set up outside the Victoria Falls National Park, and also near the vicinity of the Big Tree.
There was a craft market selling different types of souvenirs.
The Pioneer Lodge
The compound and hotel were comfortable and clean.
Victoria Falls Hotel
We had our lunch at the Victoria Falls hotel, and we came across wild boars and banded mongooses on its ground.
Departure from Zimbabwe
After we cleared immigration and while waiting to board our flight, we were ordered to exit the airport. We realised that all the passengers and staff were also "evacuated" from the airport.
There was no information forthcoming about what happened as all of us waited under the sweltering african heat. After about three hours, suddenly we were allowed to re-enter the airport. People rushed in to clear immigration and to board their flight.
Thoughts
Easter Islands and Victoria Falls were my top places to visit for the cruise. However, I did not sign up for the Victoria Falls tour before boarding the boat as I felt that I could plan a cheaper, better and longer trip some other time. But suddenly one day I told myself that because I probably wouldn't make a trip to Africa again anytime soon, I decided to just go to the tour desk to place myself on the waitlist (with single supplement). <<I am very glad that I made that spur of the moment decision>>
I love Iguazu for its sheer size (being the largest in the world) and the spectacular multiple (about 275) vertical drops. But, Victoria Falls is the most memorable for me because of the thunderous sound and mist of the water, the sight of the main fall, the 'inverted rain' that was really a pleasant surprise, and the multiple rainbows that appeared. In terms of the safari, I enjoyed watching the hippos in their natural surroundings. The tour was definitely one of best highlight/experience of the cruise 😍.
<<A good experience also involves both positive and negative encounters 😏>>During the tour briefing, there was a heated argument about the discrepancies in the flight schedule, the information sheet, and the availability of language translation. Eventually, the boat allowed full refund for cancellation (14 did) and the rest of us got a partial refund because of the flight stopover <<I did not scrutinise and compare the actual itinerary and the original tour information 😐>>. I was quite taken aback by the hubbub and the sudden withdrawal by many others a day before the tour.
I joined the boat's tour as I could be assured of continuing my cruise without missing the boat.<<Usually, I don't join a tour>> Unfortunately, a few members in the groups were always late, and also rather inconsiderate to the tour guide <<I don't like to join a GROUP tour 😠>>. I had to tell one of them off that I was not keen to talk when she started chatting in a rather loud drunken (from the free flow of liquor) incoherent state during our river safari. <<After that, I chided myself for not being calmer. Also, I could have been pushed into the hippo-infested water?!>> One of them listened to music without using headphones. By then, I had become immune...
Unexpected events could occur anywhere, and more so in Africa(?!). After missing the flight to Port Elizabeth, the unimaginable of missing the boat would become a reality or the boat would wait for our return? Hmmm, I had booked the tour with the boat, it should get us back 'home' to our cabin, right? 😉...
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