Friday, October 25, 2024
More Victoria Falls
Posting that photo from Shutterfly yesterday prompted me to look up more photos from my visit to Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, in August 2006. For some reason I never uploaded these photos online, and I should, because right now they all live on a hard drive and they need a backup. Maybe I'll make that a weekend project.
I went to Victoria Falls as part of a trip through South Africa, Botswana and Zimbabwe with my Peace Corps friend Liz and her friend Jessica. We went with a safari company called Drifters, sleeping nightly in tents and rumbling around the countryside every day in a covered truck with open sides. Except for sleeping and eating, we pretty much lived on that truck, along with a bunch of Italian, Dutch and French people, mostly about our age. It was a lot of fun and we saw a lot of wildlife -- elephants, giraffes, zebras, antelope of all types, warthogs, wild dogs, you name it.
Victoria Falls came at the end of our camping safari, a rare opportunity to stay in a (modest) hotel in a town with tourist conveniences. As I wrote in my journal at the time, "I have never needed a shower so badly in my life!"
Victoria Falls are on the Zambezi River where it tumbles into a deep gorge along the border of Zimbabwe and Zambia.
Blogger Dana (aka Bug) also visited Victoria Falls when she lived in Zambia back in 1988, almost 20 years before my visit. She posted about it much later and mentioned the ubiquitous rainbows at the falls. We saw them too!
Here I am near the gorge. It is a massive, deep cleft in the earth, and there are no guardrails. You can walk right up to the edge if you're foolish enough.
A highlight of the trip was visiting the colonial-era Victoria Falls Hotel, where as I wrote in a blog post at the time, "you half expect Robert Redford and Meryl Streep to come strolling through the lobby, with all its Rhodesian memorabilia." Yes, I know, "Out of Africa" took place in Kenya -- but it's the same vibe.
We had coffee on that massive veranda and my memories are tainted by the fact that I was incredibly hung over from a party the night before. Despite the beautiful surroundings, I was in agony. I don't think I've had a worse hangover before or since. Something about that African beer!
The hotel is perfectly situated to look up the gorge toward the bridge that crosses into Zambia. You can see the mist from the falls at left, but you can't see the falls themselves because the gorge bends to the left after the bridge. To look up the length of the falls, you have to cross...
...into Zambia, which is said to offer the best overall view. Unfortunately this picture doesn't really capture it because I was shooting into the sun, but you can imagine the Zambezi River, on the right, thundering straight into that gorge.
(I still have that t-shirt, though it's quite ragged now!)
See that pedestrian footbridge behind me to the left? There are people walking right along the cliff on the Zimbabwe side. Again, no guardrails!
And just for fun, here's a photo of me with a chameleon we found while walking through town. I think it was just hanging out on a tree or a bush. We put her/him back after taking his/her picture.
The photo I posted yesterday, of me, Liz and Jessica at the falls, is indeed also one of mine. I haven't looked at any of these in so long!
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Wonderful shots. You've been around!
ReplyDeleteI'm doing my best!
DeleteGreat photos. My husband spent a year in Botswana 60 years ago with VSO. ( Voluntary Service Overseas). He has many photos that he has arranged into a slide show and talk that he gave a few months ago at his luncheon club.
ReplyDeleteHow cool. Those must be amazing pictures. Botswana is still relatively wild and unspoiled, or was when I was there in 2006.
DeleteVictoria Falls is so gorgeous
ReplyDeleteIt really is! Such an amazing phenomenon.
DeleteLooking back... what a nice blogpost. A great adventure for the three of you in more innocent times. One of The Drifters' greatest hits was "Some Kind of Wonderful".
ReplyDeleteAlso a John Hughes movie!
DeleteWhat terrific photos and memories.
ReplyDelete"I had a farm in Africa, at the foot of the Ngong Hills". Loved it.
Yes, one of the most memorable paragraphs in literature, for sure!
DeleteBeautiful views Steve. I LOVE waterfalls.
ReplyDeleteThe big ones really are spectacular.
DeleteAn amazing and memorable trip. Is the chameleon attempting to match your colour?
ReplyDeleteHa! I'm pretty sure he was that color when we picked him up, which may be why he stood out. (Though a lot of vegetation in Africa is that same sere brown.)
DeleteI have heard that Africa is really the most beautiful place in the world.
ReplyDeleteIt's a tough competition and entirely subjective, I suppose, but it's definitely one of my favorite continents. Unfortunately a lot of it isn't particularly safe these days.
DeleteGorgeous shots of the falls and that grand hotel! Beautiful country.
ReplyDeleteIt really is an amazing place.
DeleteIt really is lovely there (or it was in 1988). I forgot to mention that prior to that trip with my mom & grandmother, I went rafting down the Zambezi! We put in at the base of the falls. I thought I was going to die - not in the river, but the climb out at the end. Oof - my face was SO RED because I was so out of shape!
ReplyDeleteWe took a boat trip on the upper Zambezi, before the falls, and I kept thinking, "We better not lose power!"
DeleteFantastic trip. The Falls are amazing. The cliffs are dramatic.
ReplyDeleteThe veranda is gorgeous.
Showers were not available daily.... You are a true camper.
Surely we must have had showers at some point. I honestly can't remember what we did. Maybe camp showers?
DeleteI've never been very fond of camping! You were quite the adventurer back then, Steve. What a glorious trip! Would you visit there again and stay in that grand hotel?
ReplyDeleteIf I went back I would probably splurge on the hotel, yes! My camping days are over.
Deletenice trip down memory lane. thanks for the photos. the closest I'll ever get.
ReplyDeleteAs I always say, you never know!
DeleteFascinating! I've never had the urge to travel to see Victoria Falls so I love seeing photos of it. (saves the trip and expense!)
ReplyDeleteIt IS an awfully long way, especially from the western USA!
DeleteWhat a fantastic tour of the falls and that hotel is beautiful. Great memories from your trip. You are so lucky to have seen so much of the world.
ReplyDeleteI really have been fortunate in that respect.
DeleteI enjoyed this post! The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency books make me want to see Botswana. Just hearing you talk about no guard rails makes my heart drop into my stomach!
ReplyDeletePrecious Ramotswe! Wasn't that her name? Yeah, the lack of rails was interesting. I didn't get any closer than you see me in that picture, and I don't think I took that pedestrian bridge at all.
DeleteSpectacular. And 18 years later, you look exactly the same.
ReplyDeleteYou need glasses, Mitchell. :)
Deleteagreeing with Michell!
ReplyDeleteWhat a cool place to have visited while in peace corp! You have had a lovely life so far- keep doing that! the photos are amazing! Dramaitc falls!
This was actually long after Peace Corps -- 12 years after, to be exact!
DeleteVictoria Falls is amazing and the fact that you could walk right up it is even more stunning. Your photos are great, as are your memories.
ReplyDeleteI would be terrified if I went there with children. They'd be on a leash!
DeleteThat is a beautiful part of the world and probably not someplace I'll get to visit, so thank you for letting me visit vicariously.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad I thought to post the pictures. It's funny I've never put these online before. Glad you enjoyed them!
Delete