Victoria Falls – Zambia and Zimbabwe

David Livingstone was the first white person to see the Mosi oa Tunya (the smoke that thunders) in 1855.  He stood at what is now called Livingstone Island and named the falls after Queen Victoria.  He stood from the island and could see a village off in the distance called Mukuni Village.  He walked to the village and met the chief.  He is said to be the first European the villagers had ever met.

Check out my post on The 15 Safest countries in Africa to see where Zambia ranks!

Victoria Falls is classified as the largest waterfall based on the length and height of it.  It starts back in Livingstone at the Zambezi River and the water falls for 1.7 kilometres in the wet season.  We were here in the dry season (a particularly dry season) and there was hardly any falls on the Zambian size.

So once we were done with the Zambian side we went over to Zimbabwe to see the falls.  This side was much better as in there was a lot more water to see and they like to remind you that they have 75% of the falls from their side.

In Zimbabwe, I would be a billionnaire!  Not really but their money has been inflated so much in the last decade that they now use the US Dollar as their currency.

You can see a rainbow almost every day at the falls.  It was a long walk along the falls on the Zimbabwean side – 1.7 kilometres long remember.

I also did a helicopter flight over the falls which was amazing and scary at the same time.  I’d never been in a helicopter before and I found the experience a bit weird.  First off it doesn’t move like a plane but also the wind moves the helicopter back and forth.  Its an odd sensation.

I got some great shots from the helicopter such as the one above.  I’m so glad I did the helicopter ride but I’m not sure if I would do it again.  It was a great view but a bit scary for me.  I felt that the company I used, Bakota Skies, was really good and have a good safety record but I don’t know if you will get me into a helicopter again.