Thundering waterfalls, rainbows, and beautiful scenery along the Zambezi river - Victoria Falls was a nice change of pace from the dry wilderness in Kruger.
For some shots of the falls click here.
Daniel
We hop-scotched our way into Livingstone, Zambia to spend a few relaxing days to admire the famous Victoria Falls. Kimberly worked her magic and got us a last minute booking at the Royal Livingstone. The hotel is a leisurely 10 minute walk to Victoria Falls National Park. Not to mention right smack on the Zambezi River (you can see the billowing mist from the nearby falls).
Once we sipped our welcome drink in the luxurious welcome area, we checked into our river view room. To our surprise, there were two Zebra eating the grass next to our outdoor patio! The reception desk failed to mention that they have a herd of Zebra, 2 Giraffes, and some Impala all on the grounds of the hotel. With everything in order, we set out to plan activities for the next couple days: touring the massive waterfalls, whitewater rafting (or maybe not), witnessing the lunar rainbow (it was almost a full moon), a guided river safari, and finally a tour of Livingstone Island.
We actually walked around the Victoria Falls National Park a few times to see it at different times of day - especially since it was so close to the hotel. The falls are very dramatic. Watching an entire river pour into a narrow gorge that continues almost 130 meters below is impressive. (Note: We both thought that Iguazu Falls in Brazil/Argentina are easier to appreciate for their size & power...and because you can get a better vantage point of hte falls.) That said, waterfalls of this size and nature are a wonder to watch.
We spent one afternoon on a guided river safari. The river tour was on the small side, with about five other guests. Our guide, captain, and self-proclaimed bartender navigated us along the Zambezi river to see the native wildlife in the area. Crocodiles, hippos, and elephants were some of the memorable sites. I also, tested out the local brew (Mosi). A fantastic taste to complement the natural landscape. To top off the evening, we enjoyed sundowners at the hotel river deck and watched the deep orange, red sunset. Nearby, hippos in the river grunted and honked as they popped up from the water.
The next day we woke up bright and early with the intention of going white water rafting for a half-day. What transpired is probably not very exciting to you, the reader. Basically, we did not go rafting because of never ending problems with the activities desk at the hotel. No one could tell us what level rafting was involved-- and, with another month of traveling to go, we did not want any injuries or broken bones. After a lengthy discussion with one of the hotel managers, we were comped a delicious afternoon high tea and an activity for that evening - the Lunar Rainbow Walk (during a full moon you can see rainbows during the middle of the night). We also decided to treat ourselves to a riverside massage for all the hassle we had been through earlier that day.
Later that afternoon, we returned to our room greeted by champagne and fruit (we think the hotel had forgotten until then that it was our honeymoon). Given the nice weather, we opened up the patio door and brought fruit outside to enjoy on our deck chairs. Seconds later, the resident Vervet monkeys deftly stole almost all the fruit. They spent the next 15 minutes staring into our room from outside the glass patio doors after we ran in. They went away after a little bit, but when Kimberly bit into one of the apples she had saved, they all came running back....we were still inside our hotel room...and they were on our patio staring in, drooling at the fruit, even placing their hands on the glass to get a better view!
The Lunar rainbow walk was really neat to see, especially for the monochrome rainbow flicker under the soft moonlight. Since we were served drinks at the falls, another guest mentioned that the rainbow gets brighter as the night goes on. Finally our evening was capped by a special outdoor dinner by the "Monkey Tree." We had our own private candlelit dinner near the river.
Finally, on our last day in Zambia we took a morning tour of Livingstone Island. A quick boat ride brought us to the edge of the very waterfalls - the site of Livingstone Island. Our guide provided us with heavy rain smocks and had us remove our shoes to hike barefoot to the waterfalls edge. The vista overlooking the Zambezi River cascading over the edge was striking. Surrounded by the fine mist and a constant thunder the visible rainbows were all the more enjoyable. After admiring the view for a little while we trudged back (our feet were horribly muddy) for a full breakfast on the island with the swirling mist still in view. It was a great way to finish our stay at Victoria Falls.
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