Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe…..

Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe…….

March 9th – 11th, 2013 (Eastern Hemisphere)

Well we had such a good time in Namibia (and yet a bit of time before we would be off to Cape Town with the boat), so Nikki suggested we fly to Victoria Falls on the Zimbabwe/Zambia border. This waterfall made famous by the one and only Dr. Stanley Livingstone. (As in…..\”I presume\”). It is about 800 meters wide along the Zimbabwe/Zambian border and is on the Zambezi River.

Livingston was the first westerner to see the Falls when on a \”mission\” to darkest Africa. It was quickly decided that we would go to the Zimbabwe side as the Zambian side (where the actual small hamlet of Livingston is) requires a Yellow Fever (World Health Card) to get back in to South Africa. Yellow Fever itself is not contagious amongst humans, it is mosquito born. But as South Africa is in a \”near endemic\” area, they wouldn\’t know if they were having an epidemic or if someone had contracted it while out of the country. Hence, we opted for the town of Victoria Falls on the Zimbabwe side. Ironically, it is believed that Livingston died of Malaria and Yellow Fever some years after he introduced this natural wonder to the Western world.

The view is really from the Zimbabwe side looking toward Zambia. Victoria Falls……..

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The main falls were running so hard, we could barely photograph them. The ideal month is September/October. Running then \”hard enough\”, but not so as to make it RAIN constantly.

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It was a quick turnaround type trip as we would soon be moving the boat from Simon\’s Town to Cape Town, but it was well worth the flight. While we were there, we had an opportunity to go on an Elephant Ride! This was one of the highlights of the trip. It\’s a reserve where rescue elephants are brought too and believe it or not, a few years ago, a male bull elephant brought an abandoned baby into the camp and promptly disappeared. It was feared the Mother had died and the Male somehow knew the baby would be taken care of here.

This is \”Janet\” with Scott, Nikki and our Guide……

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We had a very large Cheetah come near our group and Janet became somewhat ferocious as her baby was with us. Interesting experience to be on the back of an Elephant that might charge at any moment! Our guide had things well in hand…..we think? At the end of the experience, we got to feed the elephants by hand and that was a treat for both them and us. I will add lots more photos when I get to the Photo Galleries, but at least here you can get a feel for the experience.

KIT,

Scott and Nikki (next – Simon\’s Town to Cape Town)…….