THE SMOKE THAT THUNDERS

The first glimpse of the mighty Victoria Falls makes your head spin.

 

 

You feel genuine fear reaching from the deepest pit in your belly snaking its way through to the finest veins in your legs, your arms, the core of you until you climax in a burst of awe. Numbness follows. You cling to the handrails, you plant your feet firmly to the stone path, you grab anybody next to you; because you’re jelly.

 

Congratulations, you’ve just been hit by the giant. All 1,708m by 108m of it. But it hasn’t even touched you. Not physically. Not even close.

 

Until you gather the courage to cross the puny metal bridge because you HAVE to get a closer look, however unconvincing the structure feels. That’s when monsoon strikes. And yet, that’s not the full force of the giant’s power, just a tease.

 

Have you ever seen anybody more happy to be caught in torrential rain? Crossing the Knife Edge Bridge in Victoria Falls. A waterproof camera is essential.

 

Then you discover that the giant has a softer side. It plays with the sun and dances in the mist and lo and behold, the giant creates not one, but two rainbows, with glee.

 

Twin rainbows by the waterfall. We also saw a full semi-circle that goes UNDER the bridge. In moonlight, you’ll see ‘moonbows’.

 

The 1.3km Victoria Falls Bridge; the border of Zambia and Zimbabwe, and the bungee jumping station right smack in the middle.

 

The rainforest embraces the nurture of the giant, as the rocky dry land too far from reach, sits and watches, hopelessly forlorn, barren.

 

The rainforest.

 

And the dry half of the land, within the same vicinity of the falls.  

 

They call it Mosi-o-tunya, the Smoke That Thunders. And rightly so.

 

 The annual flood season runs from February to May, peaking in April. The spray of the falls rises to a height of over 400m, creating an inverted rain at the Knife Edge Bridge.

 

 

It’s too dangerous to white water raft in the Zambezi River this season. I have to say, I was a bit disappointed as I was looking forward to it.

 

This is mother nature’s great wonder. The experience hard to fathom. The giant never forgotten.

 

ZAMBIA - RESEARCH PART 1

Capital: Lusaka
Population: 13 million
Official Language: English (other languages include Bemba and Nyanja)
Currency: (Zambian) kwacha


Truthfully there's little that I knew about Zambia until I started to seriously think about this trip. The only reason why I knew it existed is because it's the other country that starts with the letter 'Z' (the other one is not New Zealand by the way).

I've heard so much about Victoria Falls that is 'somewhere in Africa'.

1. Victoria Falls a.k.a. Mosi-oa-Tunya (The Smoke That Thunders) ~ I like how cool the names are like the Dragon Mountains in South Africa

Located on the Zambezi River, southern Zambia near Livingstone, it is the largest waterfall in the world. Don't be confused, it is not the highest nor the widest waterfall but the combination of the two make it the largest sheet of falling water.

A visit is a must and so is a photograph. The challenge may just be finding the right spot to capture it at its best.

A more adventurous option is to bungee jump from the bridge. Mind you, if you ask me 5 years ago I'd say yes in a heartbeat. But I'm well past that stage and now I opt for, hmmmm....white water rafting.

Knowing my fickle mind, that may change.

I think I'll die at the monstrous rapids THEN die with a rope around my ankles.

- images from lonelyplanet.com and amazingplaces.onsugar.com respectively

....this piece of info doesn't seem much but I'm feeling a bit lost without the books I left in Kuala Lumpur.