Victoria Falls

We are back home safe and sound, after an amazing 3000 km roundtrip to Zambia. Victoria Falls was absolutely worth seeing, and it was stunning to see the forces of the falls up close. Mist from the waterfalls can be seen more than 20 km away, and the thundering roar can be heard long before the falls can be seen.

Victoria Falls was inscribed as a World Heritage Site in 1989 for being one of the most spectacular waterfalls in the world, and it is right on the border of Zimbabwe and Zambia - and occurs where the powerful Zambezi River plunges down a series of basalt gorges in a breathtaking display of several waterfalls. Between 20 000 and 500 000 cubic metres of water a minute crash into the Batoka Gorge. The spray from the thundering water is partly responsible for sustaining the "rainforest" opposite the falls.

Victoria Falls has also become known as the adrenaline capital of the world because of the exciting activities on offer: from white water rafting on the Zambezi to the world-famous bungi jump into the breathtaking gorge (Sammy just had to try to bungi of course!). Until recently, the 111m plunge into the Zambezi river was considered the highest jump in the world.

The city Livingstone

The town is 10 km from the falls, and has been relatively unknown until recently, however the political problems in Zimbabwe have led to a lot of tourism on the Zambian side of the falls. People we talked to in Livingstone told us that the town Victoria Falls on the Zimbabwian side is more or less a ghost town now, all the hotels are closed, and there is no tourism anymore. Very sad thinking about all those jobs and the income the locals have lost because of politics.

Relatively compact, with around 140 000 local inhabitants, Livingstone is easy enough to walk around. The main street of this colonial town is the Mosi-oa-Tunya Road, sections of which are lined with classic colonial buildings. Very beautiful. In Livingstone, our first day, we ran into a norwegian-danish family whom we actually met in Mozambique for christmas, and Erik, Victor (5) and Maja (soon 7) were extatic! We ended up walking over to Zimbawe with them (a crazy moment, crossing the border at foot, besides huge trucks waiting to cross, with no passport), viewing the falls from the other side, whilst watching Sammy bungji jump into the gorge!

The Royal Livingstone hotel

We have heard a lot about this hotel, and decided to take the kids there for breakfast. It was like entering into a different time and different world.....Architecturally, the buildings take their cue from African resonances. The Royal Livingstone Hotel, stretches luxuriously along the banks of the Zambezi River. The main hotel is a sequence of thatch-roofed buildings, most African in their influence, and incorporates the lounge, restaurant and bar, and a sweeping timber deck is planted in the swirling water of the Zambezi. While we were eating, a dazzle of zebra's walked accross the lawn, and the kids got very excited! The lawn between the hotel and the Zambezi was big, green and with swings and, chandeleirs hanging from the enourmous trees-and Erik met a boy whom he played qrocket with, and we had a very nice time there.

Driving home from Livingstone, we drove through Okavango delta where there are crocodiles and hippos all over the place. The camp we stayed at, Ngepi, (which we also stayed at last year), frequently have hippos in the campsite, and they have a "pool" in the river where you can swim safely (a cage in the river, to make sure crocs and hippos cant get in). Erik discovered someone speaking Norwegian, and was happy to meet Andreas, a boy his age, also living in Africa (Gabon), and they became instant friends! The Okavango river is breathtaking, and you can see a lot of wildlife from a mokoro, the local wooden canoe.

Pictures

I have posted new pictures from this trip on our Family photoalbum for those who are interested! Also, I will try to upload the video of Sammy bungji jumping!