Victoria Falls

Days One & Two - Botswana & Victoria Falls - 2018

Two days to explore the Zimbabwean and Zambian sides of Victoria Falls.

1. Victoria Falls (Zimbabwe Side) #1

Victoria Falls, also known as "Mosi oa-Tunya" ("The Smoke That Thunders"), is the world’s largest waterfall in terms of water curtain.

After the very long journey from the United States (and an overnight layover in Johannesburg), I arrived in Victoria Falls ready to start another Southern Africa adventure. After checking into the hotel, I traveled to the Victoria Falls National Park in Zimbabwe. This is one of two places where you can see Victoria Falls, the other being Mosi oa-Tunya National Park across the Zambezi River in Zambia. The Zimbabwe side is more well-known for its broad views of the water curtain as well as its afternoon rainbows. Seven additional Zimbabwe side Victoria Falls photos follow.

Photographer’s Comment: The spray at Victoria Falls -which produces such beautiful rainbows- also poses a tremendous challenge for photographers, particularly from April to September when the rainy season runoff is at a maximum. I recognize this photograph and many of the photographs below appear “grainy”, a result of this airborne mist. That being said, the spray is part of the Victoria Falls experience, and if you don’t see any spray either in person or in photographs, you aren’t seeing the Falls at their greatest. I recommend all photographers protect their equipment accordingly, and bring lots of lens cleaning cloths.

2. Victoria Falls (Zimbabwe Side) #2

3. Victoria Falls (Zimbabwe Side) #3

4. Victoria Falls (Zimbabwe Side) #4

Photographer’s Comment: This photograph was taken using a Neutral Density filter and is a 6-second exposure.

5. Victoria Falls (Zimbabwe Side) #5

Across the river, swimmers are enjoying Devil’s Pool, a location where you can swim right up to the edge of Victoria Falls. I would make a visit the following day (see photograph #10).

6. Victoria Falls (Zimbabwe Side) #6

7. Victoria Falls (Zimbabwe Side) #7

8. Victoria Falls Bridge

The Victoria Falls Bridge is 128 meters (420 feet) above the Zambezi River and serves as a border crossing between Zimbabwe and Zambia.

The span of Victoria Falls Bridge is visible at eye-level in Victoria Falls National Park. It was a relatively quiet afternoon, but frequently bungee jumpers can be seen leaping off the edge of the bridge towards the river below.

9. Victoria Falls (Zimbabwe Side) #8

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Now back to the travelogue!

10. The Devil's Pool

11. The Boiling Pot

The Boiling Pot is a location where you can walk down to the Zambezi River just beneath Victoria Falls on the Zambia side.

After conquering Devil’s Pool, I took a trip to Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park where you can see the Zambia side of Victoria Falls. I started with a stroll down to the Boiling Pot.

12. The Zambezi River

Beneath Victoria Falls, the Zambezi River becomes very choppy and is a popular launching point for whitewater rafting expeditions.

13. Zambian Moth

Zambia has over 400 species of moth.

14. 48 Megawatts Head Pond Siphon Scour Dissipater

This sign appears on the way to the Boiling Pot. I am normally not attracted to photographing curiosities, but this one so thoroughly defies explanation I couldn’t help myself. I think my favorite aspect of this is that despite clearly not having proof-read their poorly-written gibberish, the makers of this sign impeccably included a particularly intricate Victoria Falls watermark on the sign.

15. Victoria Falls (Zambia Side) #1

In the peak of the rainy season, 625 million liters (165 million gallons) of water flow over Victoria Falls each minute.

The Zambia side of Victoria Falls is smaller than the Zimbabwe side, but allows visitor’s to get more up-close-and-personal to the water curtains. Three additional Zambia side Victoria Falls photos follow.