Home » Zambia » Day 4. Tue 20th April Victoria - Falls.

Blondie and I are up at six for the "Rhino Walk" in Mosi-oa-Tunja zoological park. Spotters are already out looking for the three White Rhino (actually they are not white, the name is a corruption of "wide", referring to the shape of the mouth, White rhino are the same colour as black rhino, but have wide mouths for grazing, while black rhino, which are browsers, have pointed mouths), and are in radio contact with our guide Tony, an Australian.

Day 4. Tue 20th April Victoria - Falls.

DaveMidgley
2005-10-22 10:07:29

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and as we are boarding the bus a messenger runs up to say that the have received a phone call from the lodge asking where I am. As a result I get back to the lodge just in time to jump into another vehicle and be whisked off to the airport.
'The Smoke That Thunders'. The view of the falls from the airportMusicians at Vic Falls airport
The 20 minute flight over the falls in the Tiger Moth is absolutely fantastic, and worth every penny of the $100 it costs. As it is a training plane I get to sit in the front. I wear a headset, but it is just for protection, the pilot and I cannot talk to each other, so we must communicate via a system of taps on the shoulder. The views of the falls and the river are magnificent, and I take loads of photos, although they are a bit hit-and-miss as the slipstream threatens to rip the camera out of my hand every time I stick it outside the cockpit. I even get to steer for a few minutes on the way back to the airfield.
I hadn't realised before I came here that the Victoria Falls are unlike most waterfalls in that the water doesn't simply pour over a cliff, but actually pours into a hole caused by a rift. The water then exits at the bottom through a channel to the side of the rift, which is where the white water rafting takes place, when it's running. The bridge over the channel is where Pete is doing his bungy jump. It is the way the water pours into this enclosed space that causes the spray to fly up into the air so high, and caused the locals to give it the name Mosi-Oa-Tunya - "The Smoke That Thunders".
My Tiger MothVic Falls from the air
Vic Falls from the air. The bridge and channel.Vic Falls from the air. The view upstream.
No sooner am I back at the lodge than Ken and Blondie and I are off to meet Sunshine and Pirate at the falls. Ken has booked us on an evening river cruise, and we are to be picked up at the lodge at 3:30. Unfortunately Pete and Kathy know nothing of this additional ...

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