June 2, 2016, Thursday:
To Victoria
Falls:
We had reached Johannesburg
airport by 9.15 am for our 11.25 flight. We browsed around in the lovely Out of
Africa show room admiring the craft pieces. Here's Mandela all in beads!
I lost track of time and we had to
run to our boarding gate at 11.10 when an announcement came calling our names!
Our British airways flight from Johannesburg
to Victoria
falls (11.25 am –13.05) got us to our destination 20 minutes ahead of scheduled
time. We had yummy vegetarian pasta too!
We saw the famous spray from the falls right from the air-- the pilot had assured us we won’t get a view
of the falls, yes it was a side view of course as we were not flying over it.
Cresta Sprayview Hotel:
We queued up at passport control and got our visa stamped in
our passport after showing our online application. We said no to a guy
approaching us for taxi and asked the girl at the info counter for official
taxi. She called the same guy and told us it’ll be $30 to the city. That’s the
rate we had read about and we got into his taxi and reached our hotel Cresta
Sprayview hotel in ½ hour.
The driver Victor gave us his card and asked us to call him
for our ride back to the airport on June 4—he’d give us a discount and fare
will be $20! (yes, we did use him for our return transfer though umpteen other
drivers offered the same rate)
Mosi-oa-Tunya/ Victoria Falls:
The Victoria Falls is
ranked as one of the natural wonders of the world. It's particularly spectacular
when the Zambezi river is in full flow and a
great deluge of water thunders into the gorge below causing spray to fly up
into the air that can be seen from many miles away.
It's situated in southern Africa on the Zambezi River on the border between Zimbabwe (north western corner) and Zambia (south
western corner)
The town on the Zimbabwe side is Victoria Falls, the town
on the Zambian side is
Livingstone and the actual Falls themselves are called Victoria Falls or Mosi-oa-Tunya meaning the Smoke that
Thunders!
Cresta Sprayview hotel is lovely and reasonably priced for Victoria Falls .
Great set of rules... brought a smile to our face and enhanced our good mood! No indemnity notices here as in obnoxious Airport Lodge, JNB !
The country is in economic trouble and
the currency used in USD now. A while ago we had read of crime and complete drop in tourism on Zimbabwe side. Then we read about a special group of Tourist Police who escorted tourists to the Falls from the town, to ensure safety. Thankfully, now there are no safety concerns and we walked or took a local taxi without fear!
We checked in and called for a taxi at the hotel
and went straight to the Falls. It’s just 2 km, priced at $3 but our hotel asked
for $6 and we ended up paying 5. It was around 3 PM and when the driver offered
to come and pick us up we told him to come at 6 at the car park.
Even the poles at the entrance have lovely carving... do notice it when entering!
There are very good info boards and directions right at the
entrance but we just rushed on.
When we reached the place where there is a fork
saying to Livingstone statue and to the falls, we of course took the one to the
falls. We were in view point no 3 and watching the full flow of Devil’s cataract.
The other fork would have taken us to viewpoint no 1 with Livingstone statue where the river
Next is a set of stairs going down to view point no 2 called
the “Chain Walk”– where we can see the Devil’s Cataract.
The full designated path takes us to 16 view points along
the edge –as we come along to the main falls some of them are wetter than
others. The main streams are named, in order from Zimbabwe
(west) to Zambia
(east): Devil's Cataract (called Leaping Water by
some), Main Falls , Rainbow Falls Main Falls and Livingstone island after Main Falls
David Livingstone:
David Livingstone, the Scottish missionary and explorer, is popularly
credited to have been the first European to view Victoria Falls on 16 November
1855 from what is now known as Livingstone
Island Victoria of Britain , but the indigenous name,
Mosi-oa-Tunya—"the smoke that thunders"—continues in common usage as
well
The inhabitants of the Victoria Falls
area have had contact with the outside world since at least the 17th century.
The glass beads found at many of the early sites are believed to have been
trade goods that came in from the Indian Ocean
coastline over a thousand kilometers away. Many writers believe the Portuguese priest Gonçalo da
Silveira was the first European to catch sight of the falls back in the
seventeenth century
The colonial writer George Lacy wrote that Englishmen in South Africa
first became aware of Mosivatuna, the "smoke that sounds" in 1840.
The Falls were correctly located on the
1852 map in William Desborough Cooley's book, Inner Africa Laid Open, a good
three years before Livingstone first set eyes on them. Cooley's map was,
however, riddled with other errors, principally that the upper and lower Zambezi were reflected as separate rivers.
David Livingstone epitomised the spirit of colonial
exploration and spent 33 years travelling through Africa ...
During his 1853 expedition to try to find a route across southern Africa from west to east, Livingstone decided to find the
Falls he had earlier heard of. Two years later, in November 1855, he managed to
get the chance.
Along with Chief Sekeletu of the Mokololo and 200 of his
supporters, Livingstone traveled down the Zambezi from what is now Sesheke in
western Zambia .
They were forced to abandon their canoes at Katambora rapids and decided to
walk the rest of the way.
Two days after leaving Old Sesheke, Livingstone reached Kalai Island
Sekeletu had intended to accompany him but, as only one
canoe could be found, he had to stay behind. Livingstone reports that 20
minutes after leaving Kalai he first caught sight of the rising columns of
spray, like the smoke from a large-scale bush fire.
About one kilometer upstream of the Falls he transferred
into a smaller, lighter canoe and proceeded to the island between the Main and Rainbow Falls
which is today called Livingstone
Island
He and his brother Charles made more accurate measurements
and observations in 1860. Livingstone and his brother are believed to have
explored the rain forest at that time, which may have been the only crossing
Livingstone made on to the Zimbabwean side of the river. Indeed, some historians
believe he never set foot on the southern banks of the Falls at all!
Statistics:
The Falls were also measured later that year by the English
hunter William Baldwin, who was surprisingly close to the mark in his
assessment that the Falls were 2000 yd (more than 1800m) wide and 300 ft (91m)
high.
It is neither the
highest nor the widest waterfall in the world, it is classified as the largest,
based on its combined width of 1,708 m (5,604 ft) and height of 108
m (354 ft), resulting in the world's largest sheet of falling water.
The river's annual flood season is February to May with
a peak in April. September-October is supposed to be low water season. We have
to bear these in mind and analyze current conditions while planning a visit
according to our priorities!
Statistics can present facts but impact is felt by the
individual. We LOVED our visit to Victoria falls .
The evening visit was great. After the 10th view point, we put our
cameras in their water proof bag, wore our ponchos and enjoyed the heavy spray
in the remaining view points. We wore our hiking sandals for safe tread on the
slippery wet surfaces!
Saw the Zimbabwe-Zambia bridge and then retraced our way.
We
went toward the 1st 2 viewpoints we had missed, time was running
out. We did not climb down the 38 steps in view point 2. We saw view point 1
with Livingstone statue and rushed back.
We came out couple of minutes before closing time, crossed over to the car park. Hotel driver was no where to be seen. After a little wait, we got into a taxi there and reached the hotel for $4.
We came out couple of minutes before closing time, crossed over to the car park. Hotel driver was no where to be seen. After a little wait, we got into a taxi there and reached the hotel for $4.
In the evening, we took the hotel taxi to the market and
bought some provisions for our meals. The driver said he had come and looked
for us at the Falls car park after a little delay… we think he ditched us as he
had got a longer ride!
We were very happy we had had a great visit to the magnificent
Mosi-oa-Tunya right on the day we had landed.
June 3, 2016, Friday:
Activities:
We had this one full day for activities to enjoy the falls.
We were interested in a helicopter ride, a sunset cruise,
ziplining, canopy, and jetboat.
Jetboats don’t ply till end of June.
Ziplining and canopy seemed to be from the Zambia side and we could not cross
the bridge as we did not have the visa.
Microlight flight had been a huge attraction but that was
also ruled out as that’s also from Zambia .
We wanted to go to Victoria falls
again to enjoy the morning sunlight play on the falls. 6 am opening seemed
awesome but we were out the hotel grounds only by 7.30. Their taxi is ready
only after 9 am, so we walked to the town center….. just 1 km. Only issue is the
monkeys near the train tracks, but they ignored us, thankfully.
A tout approached us for activities and
invited us into an office in the market. We looked at some souvenirs and then
walked into the office Royal linkers and asked for rates for heli ride and
cruise. When 2 activities are booked
with the same company, we get better discounts as I had read in brochures!
Going rate for heli
ride: $150 for 12 min ride; sunset cruise $50.
We asked for their best price and they quoted $120, $40. We
said we’ll ask around other places and come back. We saw Shearwater office was
also open just a couple of doors away. They are the main operators, we felt
they’ll give the best prices. They did not budge from the rack rate. So we went
back to Royal linkers and booked with them asking for immediate slot for heli
ride and pickup from the office right there. They made their phone calls and
said a vehicle was on the way to pick us up. We waited for 10 minutes and a van
turned up and took us to the helipad.
Royal linkers had given us receipts for the full rate
(though we paid a discounted rate!). We had learnt that agents can give better rates than the real operator!!
Helicopter ride over the falls:
We got a briefing at the helipad with our 4 co-passengers,
and got weighed.
The video guy got talking to us and said he loves yoga! Our
family is very much into yoga, husband and son are excellent at all asanas, I’m not too bad either! Video
guy was excited and was asking about awakening the 3rd eye. We told
him about the meditation techniques we practise and he was very impressed. He
told us “Go, stand near the gate at this fence, you’ll get good seats!”
The young couple was already at the gate filming the
helicopter coming in, I approached the guy and asked for a little space for my
photographs. He moved a bit and I started filming. Now our escort came up,
opened the gate and asked us to follow in a single file. So by default, I was
the 1st in line and son followed me ahead of the young couple.
The staff asked me to get in the front seat near the pilot!
I wanted to step back and ask son to take the prime seat but did not want any
reassignment which will make us both lose the seat. So I got in.
Son was asked to get in the back. He chose the corner seat
near the big window!
As you can see the front window is smaller and the seats
face the rear.
The back seat has the larger window but 3 were crammed there
now!
I guess everyone does get a good viewing but there does seem
to be some better seating. Things depend on the weight too and people might get
assigned specific seats. Anyways it was GREAT to have the prime seat!
We saw great views as the pilot circled the falls again and
again. Totally AWESOME!
Toward the end, the pilot said something to me and pointed.
I tried to look in the direction pointing my camera randomly; the pilot pushed
the camera in the right direction and I saw some 5 elephants near the water!
WOW, Elephants! I exclaimed. I didn’t know if the camera had caught it but I
had seen them very well! (they are in a blink and you’ll miss shot in the
video!). Here they are in the picture at the right bottom corner!
We came back to the helipad after a 15 minute ride! OK, I must confess I wished I had remembered not to wear white! It reflects on the glass and ruins shots!!
They
had mounted a camera in the helicopter which had clicked pics at regular
intervals. Other than that they had taken a video of us in the beginning and
they had attached it with their official video. They offered the pics and
videos separately at $30 each or a package of both for $50. We took the
package. Their official video has narration and visuals and has a mark in left
bottom corner. A lot of propaganda at the end! There is no live video of what
we get to see on the particular day. So I combined our live video with theirs
after deleting the parts with other passengers and I’ve footage that’s relevant
for us!
Falls visit again:
We got dropped back at the falls and enjoyed the falls for
some 3 hours! This time we started from view point 1. The morning lighting
created rainbows in different areas and it was again a GREAT experience!
This is view point 2 and the steps leading to it...
This is view point 2 and the steps leading to it...
Both the times we were almost alone in the park, there were
just a few others on the scene once in a while! Guess in peak season it’ll be
very crowded! The choice of this particular season had paid off handsomely for
us!
Our sunset cruise pickup was at 3.30 from our hotel. For
this day’s outing we had not carried any food with us as we normally do… scared
of the monkeys as we had read horror stories! We went back to our hotel around
2.
On the way we stopped in the Casino hotel, The Kingdom, went in for a
look-see. Lovely ethnic décor!
We had our food and relaxed till we got picked up for the
cruise.
Zambezi sunset cruise:
We reached the pier. There was a nice ethnic dance/music
welcome! I loved it and filmed it but the operator whispered it was not part of their cruise package, so we can walk on! We tipped the dancers and got on to the boat.
They gave drinks and snacks. Plenty of choices for the meat
eaters. We just got 2 little vegetarian quiches and tiny spring rolls and a
soft drink. Alcohol flowed freely. We did not even get a second helping of the
snacks while co-passengers ate up whole platters and got high!
It was a very pleasant
cruise!
The falls were tumbling down just 2 km from us … there were jokes that
if we want we can go down…but it’s going to be a one way trip! Lovely rainbow
and spray!
Then of course the sun was starting to set! REALLY
SPECTACULAR!
My camera’s 32 GB memory card became full at the critical juncture
when the round orb dipped into the water! So no pics, but it was a stunning sight!
Now the small point and shoot camera stepped up for the next day’s little
shots!
Mosquitos had started snapping at the feet, we had forgotten
to take our repellant! We hurried back
to the van, enjoyed the long ride back to the hotel!
It had been a wonderful day!
We called Victor and asked him to pick us up for airport
drop at 11am.
June 4, 2016, Saturday:
We had to check out at 10.30. We walked to the town at 9 and
bought some souvenirs. Admired other great but overpriced stuff...
We enjoyed the many lovely street sculpture!
We enjoyed the many lovely street sculpture!
The tout who had directed us to our agent was there and
he got me the flag patches I was looking for… South
Africa , Zimbabwe
and Victoria falls sew on patches for $10. We
had earlier got a couple of Vic falls souvenirs…. Things are too expensive
here. SA is the place to buy craft pieces!
We walked back, packed up and reached the airport.
We had just 3 hours gap between landing at Johannesburg and our international flight. Of
course the BA flight got delayed…. by ½ hour. So instead of 3.30 pm we reached
JNB at 4 pm. We walked on to international transfers by mistake and then
realized there was no way to collect our checked bag from there. We went back,
collected our bag and had to go through passport control re-entering the
country. Then we stood in long checkin lines, and then went through passport
control exiting the country again and security. Thankfully we made it in time
for boarding.
So always try and get the last bunch of flights on one
ticket!
Also, booking activities on the same day had worked because it's not high season!
Also, booking activities on the same day had worked because it's not high season!
Our videos:
Our helicopter ride over the falls; ellis at 7.31min
our Zambezi sunset cruise… ethnic
welcome dance for the 1st 11/2 min
It had been a FANTASTIC vacation. Love you, Africa ! We hope to be back!
The next 2 posts are about our recent road trip in California
http://adventuretrav.blogspot.com/2016/07/california-road-trip-yosemite-sequoia.html
I'll return to Europe reports after that!
The next 2 posts are about our recent road trip in California
http://adventuretrav.blogspot.com/2016/07/california-road-trip-yosemite-sequoia.html
I'll return to Europe reports after that!
