Victoria Falls – from above and below

Once again, I am in Africa with a group. We start at Victoria Falls and continue to Chobe National Park.

Arrival in Victoria Falls

In the evening we fly from Frankfurt first to Johannesburg, change there and then land the next noon in Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe.

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At last! Out of the cold German autumn into the warm spring in Zimbabwe.  36 degrees await us.

Hooray! Our luggage made it too! Stefan Rust, our guide from the German tour operator Chameleon is already waiting for us and quickly hands us an iso bottle and water. On the bus there is always fresh water for self-tapping, so we do not have to buy plastic bottles, that might end up in a river as trash.

It´s a short drive to the

 PhezuIu Lodge

The Lodge is quite centrally located in Victoria Falls. The rooms are built around a courtyard. They are quite large, the bed has a mosquito net and in the bathroom there is even a bathtub next to the large shower. The restaurant and bar are open but covered. A small pool invites you to refresh yourself. Since it is still quite fresh at night, the water is a bit too refreshing for my taste. The food in the evening is very tasty, the hot breakfast in the morning comes à la carte. There are also cereals and yogurt. The coffee and tea station is accessible 24/7 for everyone free of charge, there is also water for bottling.

Helicopter – Flight over Victoria Falls

A short drive and we’re there. All of us hop on the scales and I’m in the first group of three for boarding the next helicopter.

We get an introduction on a map, put on the headphones and go over the airfield to the helicopter that has just landed.  A beautiful young female pilot welcomes us and as soon as we are strapped in, the helicopter takes off. I’m sitting in the front. Therefore, below me is only the plexiglass and my feet seem to float in the air.

The pilot flies loops so that each of us gets the same view. Seeing the Victoria Falls from above is something very special, because through the wide view we get, you can see how wide and meandering the Zambezi river flows towards the falls.

The fine fog created by the enormous masses of water that fall down looks like a white flag from above. How narrow the gorge of Victoria Falls is, into which the river falls! The depth of the gorge is over 100 meters, and the water level is not very high now in spring. Still an incredible sight!

In addition, we see elephants! One is swimming through the Zambezi and a few others are feeding on the just gently awakening green from some trees.

We are just here for some few hours and already we had an experience like that!

Of course, we also buy the video of Victoria Falls that was made of us, which is available on a USB stick. The whole flight, about 15 minutes, costs USD 175, – including the national park fees.

Victoria Falls from the front, so not quite from the bottom

After a restful night and a delicious breakfast at Phezulu Lodge, the suitcases are stowed away and off we go.

After a few minutes we are already at the entrance of the national park of Victoria Falls.

Walking-Tour

Everything is fantastically signposted, so Stefan Rust, our driver guide, accompanies us only to the first viewpoint and then lets us  explore the length of the falls at our own speed.

There are 15 viewpoints of the Victoria Falls, some of which I get a wet a bit, at others I don’t.

Now in September, the Zambezi does not carry so much water, so the Victoria Falls are very well visible.  They are even more impressive in or shortly after the rainy season. However, than it literally rains from the falls and through the heavy spray there is hardly anything to see.

What I find extremely fantastic is the small piece of rainforest that exists in close proximity to the Victoria Falls. The fine spray mist, which is more or less strong depending on the season, is enough to make the vegetation look completely different here. A few meters further and the drought wins again. The floor is dust-dry, and everything is withered.

At one point I see the Devils Pools on the Zambian side, where very brave ones bathe right on the edge of the over 100 m high Victoria Falls.

The walking distance is a good 3.5 km, at the end there is the border bridge to Zambia, from which very brave people do bungee-jumping down into the canyon.

Down in the river, kayakers are preparing for their tour. The whole walking-tour can be found here on Komoot.

Our tour continues across the border to Botswana on the Chobe River.  I will report on this in my next blog post.

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