August 2019 [by Bill]
Today I took a walking tour of Victoria Falls on the Zimbabwe side. On the way we passed some baboons and warthogs along the roadway. It’s only about a 15-20 minute drive from the main area of Victoria Falls township (which is really a pretty small town, guessing a few thousand locals live in the area, almost all are involved in one way or another in the tourism business). (Well, Wikipedia says 33,600.)
As you pass through the entrance to the Victoria Falls Park, there’s a paved walking trail which runs parallel to the falls. Every so often spray from the falls sprinkle down from above. As you walk along the trail, there are little side pathways which take you to a viewing point for a specific part of the falls. Overall, the tour lasted more than 2 hours, I walked about 3 miles back and forth all by the edge of the falls (so beautiful). It was in the high 80’s, and hot hot hot, so the myst falling from the sky was most welcome.
The one lane Victoria Falls Bridge, built over 100 years ago, connects Zambia and Zimbabwe. While I didn’t have time to walk across the bridge from the Zimbabwe side to the Zambia side, I was told you’re allowed to cross for viewing only, and not to gain official entry into Zambia (which I’ll do on another day).
During the “Wet season” the falls flow almost 1.2 miles wide. Now, while still amazingly impressive, the locals call this time of years water flow a trickle.
The falls are 107 meters at its highest point, the highest waterfall in all of Africa (about 3 meters higher than the Ouzoud waterfalls, the 2nd highest which I visited in Morocco about 2-years ago.)
You can see the Devil’s Pool from this side of the falls. I’m going to swim in this pool in a few days time. During the rainy season, access to Devil’s Pool is completely covered with water so the pool is inaccessible.
I also walked by a fairly small baobab tree, which can live up to 6,000 years, and wondered if it is not the oldest living tree on earth.(It is not)
The cost of the walking tour was a very reasonable USD $20 (includes pick up and drop off at my Airbnb apartment,) plus a USD $10 park entry fee.
In the afternoon, I splurged and took a 30-minute helicopter trip around the Victoria Falls area, which included checking out some elephant herds and a group of giraffes. The overhead views were simply stunning!
Victoria Falls factoids:
I’ve now been here for 2 plus days, and the power outages are happening sporadically throughout the day and night. The Airbnb place I’m staying at does have a generator, which I’ve used to keep the basic lights on, but not much else. WIFi during the power outages is challenging at best. I’m also using the net which covers the bed, as, without electricity, the overhead fans don’t keep the bugs from attacking you.
The cars here are either fairly new or very old. Lots of 4WD cars and trucks, as there are paved roads only on the main streets in town. Most of the side streets are dirt and can be bumpy. Also, because many of the locals can’t afford cars, you see people walking all over the place, sometimes for miles and miles to get to and from work. In the heat, thus must be very challenging, at least it would be for me. The average yearly income for the locals is about USD $250 per month,the 3rd lowest in the world. Government officials make about USD $600 per month.
The various drivers for the tour companies are extremely accommodating. I’ve asked them to take me to a grocery store, a pharmacy and a restaurant and, without hesitation, they all have done so without asking for any additional payment. I’ve been giving each driver an extra USD $5. They seem genuinely pleased to get any type of tip.
There was a young school child hit by a car and killed a few years back. Because of this tragic accident, the local government has installed speed bumps or rumble strips every 2-3 blocks, so even on the paved roadways, it takes time to get anywhere.
Small Wide World 