Majesty

Now we understand why Victoria Falls is such a tourist destination.  It's hard to describe the immensity of these Falls.  In fact, because we've only seen them from the Zambia side, we haven't even seen the majority of the Falls yet.  And, still we're amazed. 

We walked along the Zambian National Park side of Victoria Falls today (the Zambezi River separates Zambia and Zimbabwe, with viewing from each side and Zim being known for the more expansive views).  We avoided getting wet for the most part, though many others around us were wearing ponchos and pretty soaked from the spray.   A few years ago, my dad ruined one of his cameras trying to capture the wet essence of Victoria Falls, so I brought a waterproof throwaway camera with me.  Hence, any close pictures will have to wait until we get home to get them developed.  It's a bit strange not to have these pics in digital format!

Victoria Falls is known as Mosi-o-tunya or "Smoke that Thunders" in the local language, and that pretty much describes the Falls.  The Zambezi is a very wide river, so when it reaches the steep edge, it falls hard and in massive quantities.  The water billows up an amazing amount of mist, which looks like smoke from a short distance.  It's also incredibly loud as you approach.

Almost contrasting that is the Zambezi River itself.  We stopped for a drink at the Royal Livingstone Hotel, with a bar alongside the Zambezi River as it heads towards the Falls.  You could see the smoke billowing up but not the Falls themselves.  The water was pretty calm though moving at a rapid pace, but it was almost hard to believe that just a few hundred meters downstream, Victoria Falls would spectactularly erupt from this river.

Beth & I walked to the Royal Livingstone from the Falls, enjoying the hotel and river as we walked along it through the hotel property.  As we turned the corner, following signs to the hotel bar, we abruptly stopped in our tracks.  Zebra.  On the path ahead.  Our time in Kruger with the guides had taught us to keep a healthy distance from any wild animals, even those as "tame" as zebra.  We inched closer, when Benny, the game keeper, neared us.  He brought us closer to the zebra and then even closer to the hotel giraffes (the mama giraffe is pregnant).  It was a surreal experience, passing close enough to both the zebra and giraffe almost to pet them, though Beth & I stayed as far to the other side of the path as possible. 

A few monkey encounters later, we enjoyed a drink at the bar overlooking the river, and then headed towards the adjacent Zambezi Sun resort (once again passing our friends the giraffes and zebras) to watch the England v. Germany soccer game.  The comment Beth & I have gotten most today when finding out we're from the US has been along the lines of "Sorry you lost last night to Ghana, but you played a good game."  We've heard that from just about every Zambian we met.  And after watching England get their butts kicked by Germany, I can be even more proud of the way the US played again Ghana, not embarassing themselves or their country.  The English team is going to have some wicked headlines tomorrow morning back home.

Tomorrow: off to Botswana to visit Chobe National Park.  We're scheduled for a 3 hour river safari, followed by a 3 hour game drive through the park.  Hope to have some cool pics to upload tomorrow (though we have to pay for internet access by the MB, so those pics may wait until our internet access is free again).