Five Vic Falls adventures with Wilderness

To give you a taste of what’s to come, here are five exceptional experiences awaiting you in Victoria Falls…

 

1. Tour the Falls

Visit the Falls, locally known as Mosi-oa-Tunya or the Smoke that Thunders, from either the Zambian or Zimbabwean side, and get happily drenched when the river is at its highest. David Livingstone and other explorers celebrated the Falls’ beauty, the former describing it as “scenes so lovely they must have been gazed upon by angels in their flight”. And you won’t be disappointed.

 

Announcing itself kilometres away with tall spumes of spray and a deafening roar, the Falls is the largest sheet of falling water on Earth, dropping 108 metres to the Zambezi. Wandering through the rainforest trails on its edge, meet vervet monkeys, perhaps spy one of the local raptors and other bird life. Picnic on Livingstone Island at the Falls’ lip, or when the water is low, swim in Devil’s Pool as tonnes of water cascades below you. It’s an African baptism, one you’ll never forget.

 

 

2. Brave the white water

Rafting the Zambezi rapids below the Falls is widely hailed as the best white-water rafting in the world. Paddle hard through class 3-5 rapids, then drift awhile across one of the many tranquil pools. Marvel at the steep gorges and riverine forests, at the power of the Zambezi river itself, said by the local Tonga people to be the home of Nyaminyami, the River God.  

 

Raft for a half day or a whole day, depending on your whim and the season (the low-water season of August to October being the most favoured). Or combine rafting and river-boarding – zooming down the rapids on a boogie board, with helmet and flippers – for an additional rush. Not up to the rush? Try something a bit tamer – canoeing through the channels of the upper Zambezi, navigating much gentler rapids just above Kandahar Island, perhaps sighting a few bobbing hippos at a distance.

 

3. Cruise the Zambezi River

Gentler still is a river cruise, looking out for game and birdlife along the Zambezi while sipping a G&T or snacking on some delicious tapas. Look for hippo surfacing and submerging, crocs slithering into the water, elephants quenching their thirst. Search and listen for the African fish eagle as well as many other water birds.

 

 

Some cruises to choose from:

• Breakfast Cruise – Perfect for early risers and keen birders at a fresh hour with lovely light;
• Lunch Cruise – You might want a nap after the long, lazy lunch cooked on board;
• Sundowner Cruise – The classic toast to spectacular African sunsets, G&Ts included;
• Jet Boat Sunset Cruise – Photographers and naturalists love this trip to parts of the river once accessible only by canoe;
• Dinner Cruise – Night sounds of myriad insects, birds, and grunting hippos make this three-course supper evening almost surreal;
• The Ra-Ikane Sunset Cruise – Period décor, historic memorabilia, and fine dining recall the ambiance of a bygone era; 

• Bird Watching Cruise – The bird-watcher’s dream. Lookout for endemics and other specials that live in this river system; 

• The Zambezi Explorer Cruise Boat – Really splash out on the flagship Zambezi Explorer, a 140-seater boat and the first of its kind on the Zimbabwe side of the Falls;

• Dinner Cruises on the Zambezi Reflections and Zambezi Breeze (formerly the Ma Robert) – Watch the red-orange sun sink, relish a delicious Mediterranean supper, and scout for wildlife all around you.

 

4. Pump the adrenaline in Africa’s adventure capital

Victoria Falls and nearby Livingstone are magnets for adrenaline junkies. For heart-stopping adventure, try some of the high-wire activities on the edge of Batoka Gorge, 300 metres from the Falls. Soar through air and forest like one of the local birds. Free. Exhilarated.

 

Depending on your degree of daring, here’s what’s on offer:

• Bungee jumping at speeds of up to 120 km/h;
• Bridge swing on two 65-metre static-line climbing ropes; 

• Bridge slide from the Zambian bank of the gorge to the Zimbabwean side;
• Gorge swing, 95 metres long and 120 metres above the river;
• The longest zipline in the world;
• Flying Fox running jump into thin air over the chasm with the river below;
• Victoria Falls canopy tour – a network of slides, trails and rope-bridge walkways within the canopy of the river’s hardwood forest;
• Adrenaline half-day – a combination of three activities, namely bungee jump, bridge swing, and bridge slide.

 

Back on the ground, blaze a trail on Honda TRX 250cc four-stroke quad bikes, or two specially-designed quad bikes for children. Choose a village or bush trail, or both. Around bends, through ditches, and over humps, experience the thrill of possibly encountering game along the way.

 

5. Take to the skies in a helicopter

By helicopter, swoop over sensational views, seeing the Falls from different perspectives you won’t get at ground level. Whether you take the Flight of Angels (13 mins) or the Zambezi Spectacular (25 mins), prepare to have your breath taken away.

 

Fly right over the Falls, over dramatic Batoka Gorge, along the python-like Zambezi River, and above Zambezi National Park, spotting wildlife below – always an exciting take on game viewing. The helicopters have bubble windows, expanding your view and photo ops. When describing the Falls and the Zambezi, ‘photogenic’ is an understatement.