Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe

Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe

February 2012

We have arrived.  Just finished raining, and still hot.

The Victoria Falls or Mosi-oa-Tunya (Tokaleya Tonga: the Smoke that Thunders) is a waterfall located in southern Africa on the Zambezi River between the countries of Zambia and Zimbabwe.  We are on the Zimbabwe side.

This is where we discovered that we got robbed in Cape Town.  They took all our U.S. money.  Zimbabwe requires U.S. currency for our visas to enter the country.

In 2007, the government declared inflation illegal. Anyone who raised the prices for goods and services was subject to arrest. This amounted to a price freeze, which is usually ineffective in halting inflation.  Officials arrested numerous corporate executives for changing their prices.  In December 2008, the Central Bank of Zimbabwe licensed around 1,000 shops to deal in foreign currency.   Citizens had increasingly been using foreign currency in daily exchanges, as local shops stated fewer prices in Zimbabwe dollars because they needed foreign currency to import foreign goods. Many businesses and street vendors continued to do so without getting the license.

In January 2009, the acting Finance Minister lifted the restriction to use only Zimbabwean dollars. This too acknowledged what many were already doing. Citizens were allowed to use the United States dollar, the eruo and the South African Rand.   However, teachers and civil servants were still being paid in Zimbabwean dollars. Even though their salaries were in the trillions per month, this amounted to around $1USD, or half the bus fare. The government also used a restriction on bank withdrawals to try to limit the amount of money that was in circulation. It limited cash withdrawals to $Z500,000, which was around $0.25USD

We saw the Victoria Falls, 3 ways

1st via helicopter

The Victoria Falls is a part of two national parks- the Victoria Falls National Park in Zimbabwe and Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park in Zambia.  The first man to discover the magnificent Victoria Falls was David Livingstone. Since then the Victoria Falls is known to be one of the Seven Wonders of the World.

While it is neither the highest nor the widest waterfall in the world, it is claimed to be the largest. This claim is based on a width of 1,708 metres (5,604 ft, 1 mile high) and height of 108 metres (354 ft), forming the largest sheet of falling water in the world. The falls' maximum flow rate compares well with that of other major waterfalls.  During monsoon, about 500 million liters of water flows into the Zambezi River. This magnificent falls generates a massive spray which shoots up to 1000 feet in the sky and can be viewed from 30 miles.

Elephants seen from helicopter

And Giraffes

2nd via boat

Went on a afternoon  cruise.  They served us drinks and food.  The tour guide was very friendly and informative.  He drove  up to the hippos, but had to leave, as a hippo can be very aggressive and overturn a boat.
Klipspringers and clawless otters can be glimpsed in the gorges, but they are mainly known for 35 species of raptors. The Taita Falcon, Black Eagle, Peregrine Falcon and Augur Buzzard breed there.
The river is home to 39 species of fish below the falls and 89 species above it, which illustrates the effectiveness of the falls as a dividing barrier between the upper and lower Zambezi.

Baby

Momma

The river above the falls contains large populations of hippos and crocodiles.  Elephants cross the river in the dry season at particular crossing points.  It has been said that the only surviving animal over the Falls was a baby crockodile.  There have been (unsucessfully) elephants, hippos, adult crocks and even people that went over the Falls.

3rd via foot path

We walked along the path.  They sell you rain coats, but it doesn't matter, your soaked from the spray anyways.  I wasn't as adventurous as Rick, cause I'm scared of heights, so I didn't go close to the edge (no barriers)-don't want to fall over.

Parameters	Victoria Falls		Niagara Falls		Iguazu Falls
Height in Meters and Feet:	108m	360 ft	51 m	167 ft	64–82 m	210–269 ft
Width in Meters and Feet:	1,708 m	5,604 ft	1,203 m	3,947 ft	2,700 m	8,858 ft

David Livingstone, the Scottish missionary and explorer, is believed to have been the first European to view the Victoria Falls, on 16 November 1855 — which he did from what is now known as 'Livingstone Island' in Zambia, the only land accessible in the middle of the falls.  David Livingstone gave the falls the name 'Victoria Falls' in honour of Queen Victoria, but the indigenous name of 'Mosi-oa-Tunya' — literally meaning the 'Cloud that Thunders' — is also well known.

Warthogs relativley mind their own business, but baboons!  They are a nuisance, and the locals can't control them.  Sometimes they can make quite a disturtance.

Although Zimbabwe has had recent economic difficulties, Victoria Falls town has always been somewhat removed and the people are as welcoming and friendly as ever. Tourism slowed down over the last 10 years but many hotels have taken this time to renovate and improve.
In 2004 a separate group of police called the Tourism Police was started. They are commonly seen around the main tourist areas, and can be identified by their uniforms with yellow reflective bibs.  They escorted us all around town to keep us away from the beggers.

Have a fantastic time and the Falls were unreal!