Victoria Falls

What is the smoke that thunders?

Who discovered Victoria Falls?

What is the Big Tree?

Zimbabwe's" Victoria Falls is one. of the largest and most beautiful waterfalls in the world Here, the Zambezi River /2, 700km/, the only major river in Africa to flow to the Indian Ocean, plunges into a vertical chasm 400 ft high and 5, 580 ft wide. Livingston was struck by the river's beauty. He wrote in his diary: " Scenes so lovely must have been gazed upon by angels in their flight."

The force of the falling water -545 million limes a minute- sends clouds of spray into the air. Reaching heights of 500 meters these clouds are responsible for the Falls' African name: Mosi ao Tunya - The Smoke that Thunders. The name Victoria Falls was given by David Livingstone /1813-73/ who crossed Africa from west to east. On November 16, 1855, he became the first white man to set eyes on these mighty falls. He christened them honor of his Queen Victoria /1819-1901/. Today, a large bronze statue of Livingstone gazes east long the line of the falls...

There are five separate falls making up this natural wonder: Devils Cataract Main Falls, Horseshoe Falls, Rain­bow Falls and Eastern Cataract The lowest is 61 m and the highest is 108 m. They are twice as tall as Niagara Falls. Geolo­gist set the age of Victoria Falls at 150 million years. A small resort town has grown up near the Falls. There are five hotels, a National Park camp, and a caravan and camping site.

For the best overall view of the Falls, one can experience the " Flight of Angels" - an aerial tour over the Falls by light aircraft. On the ground, the visitor can obtain close-hand views of the falls following the paths right to the lip of the gorge.

The visitor first sees the great plunge of the Devil's Cataract, a 30-meter wide, 70-ra fall. Here between the path and Livingston's statue a Chain Walk leads down into the gorge. From me viewpoint it is possible to see into the gorge to the 93-metre-high Main Falls.

Just to the east of Main Falls is Livingston Island. It was here that Livingstone first saw the Falls. Beyond this is a narrow falls named Horseshoe Falls. It is followed by the tallest of all the cataracts, the 108-m high Rainbow Falls. Past this, is the 10-meter-higb Eastern Cataract At the end, is Danger Point offering a magnificent view of the Falls.

There is much to see in the Victoria Falls area. In the National Park /56, 000 hectares there is a wide variety of animal and bird life. The reserve is known for its large numbers of stately sable antelope. At the Crocodile Ranch the visitor may see over 2, 000 livе reptiles, ranging in size from 50 cm to 4, 5 m. Elephant buffalo and other animals may be seen coming to the river to drink and hippo in the river itself. For the fisherman the river abounds with combative tigerfish, giant vunduand many other species. Licences are not required.

In the midst of the town is the historically accurate Craft Village. Here all structures of traditional Zimbabwe vil­lage have been copied. The building styles and decorations represent the country's major tribes.

Another sight is the Big Tree, a giant baobab 16-m in circumference and 20 m high. It's about 1500 years old.

Victoria Falls at night offers sundowner cruises of the river, two casinos, vibrant traditional dancing. For souvenirs there are curio shops with products to suit every taste and pocket.

Hwange National Park is one of die world's major wildlife reserves, ft is one of thelast of the elephant sanctuar­ies left in Africa, Covering over 14, 600 sq. km, it is the largest national park in Zimbabwe. There are 107 species of animal in the park and 401 species of bird. There are 30, 000 elephants /total 1, 343, 340 in Africa/, many buffalo and rhinoceros.

There are three National Park's camps, all offering complete facilities for the visitors. From thee camps: a 482-km network of game-viewing roads leads to areas of animal concentrations. Moonlight viewing is an unforgettable experience. The species more likely to be seen around the three camps are:

Main Camp - zebra, giraffe; kudu, elephant Steenbok, impala, warhog, buffalo, wildbeest sable, lion, black-back jackal, hyena and bat-eared fox.

Sinamatella -hippo, klipspringer and leopard. Robins Camp - waterbuck, roan, reedbuck, side-striped jackal, cheetah and tsessebe. Hwange also has a variety of plant life from the teak forests to the mopani woods. There are many wonderful birds in Hwange National Park.