Zambia - Victoria Falls

It's not even raining just spray from the Falls
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"Sit back and enjoy the journey, the Lord is in control", announced the Master of Ceremonies on our 4.30am bus to Lusaka, Zambia. This was after a fairly lengthy sermon and prayer, and an invitation to say hello to and get to know our neighbour - luckily just Chris in my case and after 4mths on the road I already know about as much about him as I can, including some things I'd rather not.

The Lord is obviously a pretty good driver because we got to Lusaka in good time and with no incidents save a frantic search for earplugs to sleep through the religious movie ('40 days in the desert') that was breaking decibel records. As soon as we arrived we were almost physically dragged to the next bus which would take us to Livingstone, on the Zambian side of Victoria Falls.

Sit back and enjoy the journey, the Lord is in control!

Looks quite calm doesn't it!
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We had mixed emotions about arriving in Vic Falls - excited about seeing the falls but also a little disappointed as our decimated budget meant that we could not afford to do the adrenaline sports we had been planning on. But then we saw the falls and we were absolutely speechless (a rare treat for anyone who had been around us for too long), all negative thoughts just tumbling down into the abyss with the thundering water.

I always find it strange when you arrive at a well known site, of which you already have an image in your mind. You get a curious sense of de ja vu, and sometimes this can be mixed with disappointment, the scene before your eyes not quite living up to photos seen and articles read. But I defy anyone to be able to capture the power and movement of these immense falls, to prepare you for how humbling it is to be standing so small and still in front of such a force.

Just part of the falls
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The falls are about 1.7km wide and 108m high. Over half a million metres of water fall over the edge each minute. The noise which the water makes as it cascades to the bottom can be deafening and the spray created rises over 150 metres, falling in places in what feels like absolutely torrential rain - not good with the pale trousers I was wearing that day.

There are walkways both below and above the falls and it would not be an exaggeration to say we felt almost nauseated with fear standing above. You can get only a few metres from the edge and the water looks deceptively calm, even though it is moving at quite some speed to the edge of the falls, and its dramatic journey to the Indian Ocean. One false move and nature will take you with it.

Taking it all in
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We could only see about half the width of the falls from our various vantage points due to the spray but what we did see was truly breathtaking. In the distance thrill seekers threw themselves off the bridge linking Zambia with Zimbabwe but suddenly we didn't feel we were missing out. The power of the falls was white knuckle enough and we left feeling truly humbled. I can not think of any man made constructs that compare with this natural wonder.