Victoria Falls, on the border of Zimbabwe and Zambia, has a lot going for it on paper alone. Known also by its indigenous name, Mosi-Oa-Tunya, it’s one of the seven natural wonders of the world (according to CNN’s widely accepted shortlist). Because of its combined height, length and flow, it’s also considered to be the largest waterfall in the world. When I visited this natural wonder, I soon discovered why Victoria Falls’ indigenous name means “the smoke that thunders”.
As we’d driven into the town of Victoria Falls, the rise in heat and humidity had been tangible, even over 2km from the actual waterfall.
Now, sharing the path with warthogs and impala, we approached the Falls themselves on foot.
Though we were shaded from the sun by the vegetation provided by the National Park that surrounds Victoria Falls, it wasn’t much cooler. As we reached the first viewpoint, the humidity hit me like a wall. It was accompanied by a low rumble that had been increasing in intensity as we neared the river.
As we were on the Zimbabwe side of the Falls and the Zambezi River flows from Zambia in the north, we had a perfect view of the waterfall.
At first, I was a bit underwhelmed. The Falls were at their very lowest so instead of one sheet of water there were gaps along the cliff. It wasn’t until after I’d stood watching the Zambezi descend for a few minutes that I appreciated how much water was actually pouring into the gorge.
The spray from the waterfall was so thick and strong that it looked like it was raining upwards. Fine beads of water clung to my hair.
My camera lens had water droplets on it though I was 50m away from where the river dropped over the side of the gorge.
The rainforest along the Zimbabwe side of the canyon was so lush and green in comparison with the other parts of the country I had seen. The soil was dark and damp from the year-round spray, and there were more shades of green than I’d seen in weeks.
As we made to move on, something caught my eye. There was so much spray flying around that if I stood in the right spot I could see a gorgeous double rainbow protruding from the mist at the bottom of the gorge.
We meandered along the top of the gorge, the sun beginning to sink behind us. Though the walk to the Falls had been brutal in the heat of the day, the evening became more and more pleasant.
Wandering back to the first viewpoint an hour later, the scene had been completely transformed. The mist was still spilling up from the bottom of the gorge, but the rainbows had disappeared. Instead the sun, low in the sky, poured into the chasm.
When Livingstone first saw Victoria Falls, he supposedly said, “Sights such as these must have been gazed upon by angels in their flight.” Although I’ll admit wasn’t tempted to claim the Falls in the name of the queen like him, the scene in front of us prompted me to agree with him.
Victoria Falls resembled a Renaissance painting: the evening sun penetrated the mist in visible rays, revealing the seething water below. We watched, transfixed, as the park emptied around us. The sun disappeared behind the Zimbabwe side of the gorge, and it was like someone had turned a dimmer switch on the mist. Without the sun to illuminate it, the mist once again became a shapeless cloud spitting out of the water below.
We visited in October, at the end of the dry season, when the Falls are at their lowest. I can’t imagine the colossal amount of water that must comprise the Falls in rainy season, or the flood season. Apparently the mist is visible from 40m away and at full moon you can even see a moonbow!
Though I wish I could have also witnessed this phenomenon, I don’t think anything could compare to the Falls at sunset. The Golden Hour light filtered perfectly down the length of the gorge. We stood in the deserted park, listening to the thundering mist as it glowed, until the sun set and the scene returned to breathtaking normality once again.
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