Visiting A Natural Wonder of the World: Victoria Falls

The world does not suffer from a shortage of lists of World Wonders.  I assume that the tourism industry has caused the proliferation of more and more lists to ensure each tourism board has a local site referenced on a list. 

On my last trip I had the opportunity to visit a wonder from the list of Natural World Wonders.  The list of Seven Natural Wonders includes:

• Grand Canyon in the United States
• Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Australia
• Harbour of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
• Mount Everest in Nepal
• Northern Lights / Aurora borealis
• Parícutin volcano in Mexico
• Victoria Falls in Zambia and Zimbabwe
  

I have been blessed to explore the Grand Canyon on a weeklong river rafting trip down the Colorado River.  I have also enjoyed the Harbour of Rio de Janeiro.  While on Safari in Zambia and Botswana I made sure to include a visit to Victoria Falls to check another one off the list.
 
I remember being amazed by Niagara Falls when I visited as a child but was blown away by the shear size and power of the Vic Falls.  We visited shortly after rainy season when much of the rain received upriver of the falls was making its way to the one-mile wide and 360-foot drop.  The high water made it a challenge at times to see the depth of the falls as the resulting spray surrounded us. The locals call it "Mosi-oa-Tunya" or "Smoke that Thunders".  Despite having a misty view at times I was in awe of the falls.  The combination of the thunderous roar and the nearly constant pelting of water surprisingly enough made for a very peaceful environment. When David Livingstone first came across the falls he stated "scenes so lovely must have been gazed upon by angels in their flight".

There is debate as to the best ways and places to see the falls.  Many will tell you that the Zimbabwe side gives you a grander view, as much as 80% of the falls can be viewed from the Zimbabwe side.  Although, the Zambian side only borders 20-30% of the falls it has some advantages. One advantage is that you can dip your feet in the waters upriver from the falls and if you are brave enough even wade through the waters.  The Zambian side also allows you to view the falls from above while also offering a wonderful base-level view that can be found by walking down a rain-forest footpath.

At times the Spray can rise as high as a thousand feet and be viewed from nearly 30 miles away.  It surely makes for an amazing photo opportunity.  I took the cheap way to capture a photo of the spray of the falls by snapping a photo over my pilots shoulder as I arrived on my commercial flight into Livingston.  If you have the time I would suggest taking a helicopter view to get an memorable aerial view of the falls.