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victoria falls
Written by Jerem   
Friday, 20 April 2012

Victoria falls are a highlight of southern africa. The biggest quantity of water flows down at the end of the rain season which comes in april / may (ie now). This huge quantity of water falling down the 100 metres or so creates a cloud of mist just in front of the falls, which immediately condensate and gives the 'zambezi showers' : a permanent heavy rain on the viewpoints. It s easy to see it from the side.

falls from the side falls from the side

From a bit further, a photo of the path (and brigde) used by tourists to 'see' the falls.

visitor s path in the rain visitor s path in the rain

Downstream, the river continues its way at the bottom of a deep canyon

zambezi canyon zambezi canyon

From upstream, we can see the cloud of the falls from many kilometres away

falls from upstream falls from upstream

In Zambia and Zimbabwe, they still have a lot of old trains dating from the colonisation. This particular one has actualy been taken from the local museum, renovated and is now used to tour the tourists on a luxury short ride around the falls and the nearby game reserve.

old train engine old train engine

The Zambezi river is the natural border between Zambia and Zimbabwe. The falls can then be seen from bith sides, offering different views. The biggest part of the falls (they are 1,7 kilometres wide) is visible from Zimbabwe. So I tried my luck again the next day from the other side, this time well geared for the now famous showers.

vic fall s fashion vic fall s fashion

As we can imagine, the cloud facing the falls are more or less the same on both side of the river.

falls at sunrise falls at sunrise

But after a while, I could finaly get few proper views on the falls. These 2 picts shows maybe less than a quarter of the total width of the falls.

clear falls 1 clear falls 1

clear falls 2 clear falls 2

The best vistas are from the place called 'danger point', which is facing the falls almost in their middle. Be ready for this astonishing landscape :

warning sign at danger point warning sign at danger point

danger point danger point