Safari Day 12 - The Falls

Highlight of the day: Getting drenched by the largest waterfall in the world.

We spent the entire morning walking around Victoria Falls. In the local language, the Falls are known as Mosi-oa-tunya, "the Smoke that Thunders". The total width of Victoria Falls is more than 1.5 kilometres. The height of the falls range between 100 and 116 metres. The amount of water that falls over is a mere 20,000 cubic metres a minute at its lowest, and an impressive 500,000 cubic metres a minute at its highest. Since it is the tail end of the wet season, we saw the falls in all of its thundering glory. Well, 'saw' is arguable. The mist from the water rises up out of the gorge and into the sky, making it nearly impossible to see all of the falls. There is so much water in the air that in some areas it was as if we were walking through a rain storm. We walked along the length of the gorge, getting glimpses here and there trough the mist when the wind shifted. They are absolutely stunning, and we were surprised at how they seemed to go on and on the further we walked. I had no idea they were so long. The morning sun meant that we had a few rainbows to see as well. By the time we walked the length and back, we were dripping from head to toe. We should have just worn our bathing suits. But, at least our clothes came out clean. It was fun to stand on the edge and feel the power of the water and the wind it creates, all the while trying to keep our eyes open wide enough to get a decent view.

We ate lunch at the local Wimpy Burger, sitting in the sun to dry ourselves out. We then headed to the markets to bargain for some local crafts before showering and meeting up with everyone for dinner. Since it was our last night with all 17 of us, we all headed to a pizza place for dinner and a few beers. We are lucky to have had such a fun group who all got along so well. I think our whole group had an excellent last night together.