Sidetrip to Victoria falls

I was in Zambia a couple weeks ago for an EWB retreat. Before the retreat, a couple of us went to check out Victoria falls - one of the 7 wonders of the natural world - which is situated about 6 hours west of Lusaka, on the border of Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Photo 1: Victoria Falls!

While neither the highest nor widest waterfall in the world, some claim that it is the largest on the basis of having the largest “curtain” of falling water in the world . . . The point is that it is pretty damn huge.

Photo 2: Luke, Trevor and myself

The local name for the falls is “the smoke that thunders.” During the flood season, the spray from the falls rises to a height of over 400 meters, and sometimes even twice that, and is visible from up to 50km away.

Photo 3: The falls from another vantage point

No matter how many times I was warned that I was going to get soaked, somehow I was still not prepared for just how ridiculous it was going to be! I was expecting something like a moderate rainfall, whereas in reality it was more like standing in a shower full force (no water saver low flow shower head version!) or having someone standing several feet away with a hose aimed at you. We got thoroughly soaked to the bone, and I was very happy to have a waterproof camera!

Photo 4: So much spray!

Photo 5: The bridge from which you viewed the falls

Photo 6: There was a point on the bridge where everywhere you looked you saw rainbows!

Photo 7: The Victoria falls bridge

Photo 8: In the gorge beneath the falls is a deep pool called the boiling pot, where at high flow the water swirls turbulently