This morning we were up at the crack of dawn to fly to Victoria Falls. As we approached the falls area, we could see the mist rising from the falls before we landed. Three taxis took our group to the Livingstone Lodge where we had reservations. The manager there gave us an orientation to the lodge and the falls in general. After parking our luggage, we went on to the Overlook Café for lunch. Situated on the Zimbabwe side of the deep Zambezi River gorge about a mile below the falls, it gave us a good view of the bridge across the gorge to a glimpse of the falls beyond. Our lunch table on the grounds of the Café was only about 50 feet from the edge of the canyon wall with a sheer drop of about 300 feet to the raging river below. We enjoyed a delicious lunch in that magnificent setting.
After lunch we went to the Victoria Falls Park entrance where we rented ponchos and bought our tickets. The first of about 20 observation points was only a couple hundred yards from the entrance, giving us a profile view of the mile-long falls. Every observation point gave us a different view of the thundering falls, all of which were stunning. The mist rising high above the falls drenched the surrounding area, and we were very glad we had rented ponchos to wear. Otherwise we would have been soaked from head to toe. We saw gorgeous rainbows from several observation points as the bright sunlight beamed through the mist. It took us about two hours to follow the mile-long pathway and take in the views from various key points across from the falls. After returning the rented ponchos, most of the group walked on to see the views from the famous bridge across the Zambezi gorge from Zimbabwe to Zambia. Located about half a mile south of the falls, the bridge provides a platform to see part of the falls visible through the deep gorge dividing these two countries. It also provides a platform for daredevil bungee jumpers who want to experience a dive off the bridge on one of the longest bungee cords in the world. We didn’t do this!
We gathered at the Shearwater Café in the center of town about 6 PM. Everyone agreed over a good supper that it had been a great day. Tomorrow we’ll take a half-day game-viewing safari through Zambezi National Park before we fly on to Ethiopia!
