A Visit to Victoria falls

Article by guest author Peter Brooker

From the Stanley and Livingstone Boutique hotel in Zimbabwe, our guide Nixon drove us to Victoria Falls. The Zimbabwe side is the dry side, even in rainy season (November). The Zambia side is where the Zambezi River tumbles over the valleys. You can visit Devil's Pool in the dry season, and the Angel's Pool in the wet season on the Zambia side, but I'll go into that on future posts.

Victoria Falls was founded by David Livingstone, who was venturing down the Zambezi River and thought he could see a bush fire on the horizon. When he reached the Falls, he realised the fire was the mist from the falls, which can soak you even from the other side during wet season so make sure you bring some overalls.

The spray from Victoria Falls (which has a lyrical name locally; Mosi-oa-tunya, meaning the smoke that thunders) can be seen over 18 miles away and is twice the height of Niagara Falls.

'Was anything filmed around here Nixon?' I asked on the drive down.

'What do you mean?' He replied, not taking his eye off the road.

'Any films I would have heard of I mean.'

'I don't know. I’m just a bush man.'

'Your parents named you Nixon after Richard Nixon right?'

'I was born when he just got into power."

'And you've seen Frost/Nixon right?' I press, getting an elbow in my ribs from Anastasia. She's not a fan of me making Western small talk with the guides as it must come with an air of arrogance or belittlement, although I can assure you it comes from a genuine place of interest. Films are my thing. I don't design logos, I don't wrangle cattle, I don't tailor clothes. I've spent nearly 3/4 of my life being single and broke, and with that, you get to watch the world through your television.

'What is that?' Nixon asks, now inspecting me in the rear-view mirror.

I tell him it's a film about his namesake Richard Nixon being interviewed by a famous TV talk show host David Nixon. I reenact the scene where Nixon asks Frost if he did 'any fornicating over the weekend.' Which he enjoyed immensely.

A cricket ground is being built nearby to the falls in preparation for the Cricket World Cup which will be hosted here in 2027. On the entrance to the car park a baboon with a broken arm hobbles across the road. There is no baboon hospital out here in Zimbabwe unlike there is a Koala Hospital in Brisbane.

Nixon showed us round the Falls. There are roughly 15 lookouts, that all offer an interesting vantage point. The grass is littered with fireballs beneath the Victoria Falls Bridge where monkeys play. Below is a pool called the Boiling Pot where you can Kayak but not swim. Every day the pool is manned by a guard who clocks off at 4pm. Every day the locals come down after 4pm and swim.

'Anyone died here Nixon?'

'A few years back, someone slipped over there and fell, in front of their family. That was horrible.' Nixon points to an assuming spot on the ledge nearby. 'The bungee jump from the bridge, the rope snapped once, and the woman fell to the river. But she survived.' Precisely why I don't do bungee jumps.

According to Anastasia Victoria Falls pales in comparison to Iguaçu Falls but is more natural and less touristy than Niagara Falls. 

The visit was part of a tour organised by Off2Africa, who are not endorsing or supporting this post.