Beyond the Victoria Falls: Forays into Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia, by Gill Staden

Beyond the Victoria Falls: Forays into Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia, by Gill Staden.

Beyond the Victoria Falls: Forays into Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia, by Gill Staden.

Beyond the Victoria Falls features the Victoria Falls as well as wilderness areas in Zimbabwe, Zambia, Botswana and Namibia.

Gill Staden  

The largest curtain of falling water in the world, they were declared a World Heritage Site in 1989. They are also revered as one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World, so it is not surprising that they attract thousands of tourists, keen to see this marvel of nature for themselves. The Zambezi River flows quite placidly between Zambia and Zimbabwe towards the Victoria Falls, ambling between the low hills on either bank. It reaches a width of some 2 km before suddenly cascading in a barrier of water more than 1.7 km wide. The yawning, narrow chasm into which the falls crash - more than 100 m deep but only about 80-90 m wide - is called First Gorge. From there the roaring mass of water is compressed into Second Gorge, a tight channel just 110 m wide, through which the river is squeezed. It is difficult to describe the effect of all this water being squashed into such a confined space. The spray billows up and engulfs the gorge, as well as anyone walking nearby, while the noise is deafening. It truly has to be experienced; when you do find yourself near the lip of this mighty waterfall, you'll understand why the locals call it Mosi-oa-Tunya, which means 'the smoke that thunders'.

Having plummeted over the falls, the water rushes madly for several kilometres through zigzagging gorges - formed over the last 100000 years as the river exploited a series of fault lines in the underlying sheet of volcanic basalt. The river then continues through a deep ravine, similarly cut over hundreds of thousands of years, before pouring into Lake Kariba, some 170 km downstream. The water continues to cut into the softer rock on the Zimbabwean side at Devil's Cataract, the lowest point of the lip of the falls; however it is unlikely that we will see any noticeable difference in our lifetimes. We are simply fortunate that over the past millennia Mother Earth has seen changes, and that she has left us with such a stunning landscape.

The falls are protected in the Victoria Falls National Park, which straddles Zambia and Zimbabwe. This park in turn is part of both the Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park on the Zambian side and the Zambezi National Park on the Zimbabwean side, each of which extends to conserve the greater falls area on each side of the Zambezi River. To see the falls from either side it is necessary to enter the national parks. Pathways along the edge of First Gorge, opposite the falls on both the Zimbabwean and Zambian sides, afford spectacular views. The walk on the Zimbabwean side, along which it is possible to see different sections of the falls, is about 1.2 km. From the Zambian side a shorter section can be seen by following a 0.5-km trail, but this option has the added thrill of crossing the narrow Knife Edge Bridge over a precipice. It is also possible to reach the Boiling Pot (where the river has carved out a deep chasm over which the water swirls and 'boils' during high water) via a pathway from the Zambian side.

The areas surrounding the falls on both sides are open on full-moon nights; then visitors are invited to enjoy the eerie experience of seeing the falls by moonlight, made all the more spine-chillingly delightful when you are dampened by the spray. The lunar rainbow is a memorable sight. The zigzagging gorges below the falls also offer some incredible views. During the rains, seasonal rivers, such as Zambia's Songwe and Zimbabwe's Masuwe, spill down the chasms into the Zambezi in yet further waterfalls. The length of the Zambezi through the gorges is an Important Bird Area (IBA), and the rare Taita falcon and other raptors offer added attractions.

The Victoria Falls have distinct moods, depending on the amount of water flowing in the river. During the early dry season, after it has reached its peak in late May, the water volume progressively decreases until, in November or so, the falls have dried up on the Zambian side. The remaining water (about 10 million litres per minute) tumbles down on the Zimbabwean side via Devil's Cataract and Rainbow Falls, leaving a massive wall of black basalt along most of the face of the drop. When the rains start again the river level begins to rise, and the falls begin to extend again along their entire width. In March and April the water level is at its highest as the Zambezi is fed by flow from the Barotse Flood Plain - one of the continent's most significant wetlands - and the Chobe River. (...)

This is an extract from the book: Beyond the Victoria Falls: Forays into Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia, by Gill Staden.

Book title: Beyond the Victoria Falls
Subtitle: Forays into Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia
Author: Gill Staden
Publisher: Random House Struik
Cape Town, South Africa 2011
ISBN 9781770078567
Softcover, 15x21 cm, 176, pages, throughout colour photos

Staden, Gill im Namibiana-Buchangebot

Beyond the Victoria Falls - Forays into Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia

Beyond the Victoria Falls - Forays into Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia

Beyond the Victoria Falls features the Victoria Falls as well as wilderness areas in Zimbabwe, Zambia, Botswana and Namibia.

Weitere Buchempfehlungen

Luangwa: Afrikas einzigartige Wildnis

Luangwa: Afrikas einzigartige Wildnis

Ein hochwertiger Natur-, Wildnis- und Kulturführer für das einzigartige Luangwatal in Sambia.

Botswana. Okavango & Victoriafälle (Iwanowski Reiseführer)

Botswana. Okavango & Victoriafälle (Iwanowski Reiseführer)

Voller Reisetipps und Tourenvorschlägen für Individualreisende in die Regionen Okavango und Victoriafälle in Botswana.