Second, how long can you spend at a water fall? Is it really that impressive? I have seen Niagra Falls do I really need to see Vic Falls? I went through all these thoughts when Charlotte and I were deciding where to go. Eventually, we agreed we should probably suck it up, pay the cost and go to see Victoria Falls. We added on the Okavango Delta in Botswana to sweeten the decision a little.
In the end, Victoria Falls was amazing. I am definitely glad I did not concede to my misgivings. Our first day, Charlotte and I started at the zimbabwean national park. The falls is such an interesting geologic phenomenon. The Zambezi plummets into a narrow transverse chasm where there was a fault line. The water then all is directed out a narrow outlet to the gorge. Because this chasm is so narrow the path you are walking on is amazingly close to the falls. So close in fact that the mist from the falls had us soaking wet and convinced it was actually raining. We were there during the rainy season so the water was quite full. 
I tested the limits of my camera on this walk and unfortunately found the limits. It is called the danger point. After this picture at the danger point, my camera will still take pictures, but the screen does not work any more. Oops. 
The falls are impressive from the ground, but it is hard to get the full expanse of the falls. It was not until I did the helicopter tour that I got the full impact of the 5600 feet wide falls. 
Even from the air it was hard to get a picture that captured the entire length of the falls. The picture demonstrates how the water does not fall from a mountain or high land, which is how I tend to think of waterfalls. Rather it falls into a very narrow chasm in a otherwise flat plateau.
The falls are impressive from the ground, but it is hard to get the full expanse of the falls. It was not until I did the helicopter tour that I got the full impact of the 5600 feet wide falls. Even from the air it was hard to get a picture that captured the entire length of the falls. The picture demonstrates how the water does not fall from a mountain or high land, which is how I tend to think of waterfalls. Rather it falls into a very narrow chasm in a otherwise flat plateau.After walking along the falls, Charlotte and I moved onto the beginning of our adventure activities. Neither of us were brave enough to do the bungee jumping or the gorge swing, but we did do the flying fox, zip line and abseiling. All enough of an adrenaline rush for me.
We started with the flying fox. This is basically a zip line with the harness on backwards so you are facing down over the gorge about 80 meters below you. Obviously the hardest part was building up the courage to run off the platform. 
The flying fox offered an amazing view of the gorge, but was somewhat slow and our least favorite of all of the activities. 
Next on the list was abseiling or repelling down into the gorge. 
I have always been interested in trying this. Now I it is not easy to make yourself walk off a cliff mentally or physically. Before starting they made us lean back and let go to demonstrate how secure the harness was. I just tried not to look down. 
My arms were really tired by the time I made it down. 
Charlotte was much better than I was. 
Our final adventure was the zip line, which was by far our favorite. It was longer than the flying fox, it was faster and it dove down into the gorge. You can try to follow the small dot in the pictures below to get an idea of just how long it is. 
After our adventures, we headed back to the lodge, showered, and had a sundowner on the deck before heading to dinner. 
We ate dinner at The Boma restaurant on the premises of our lodge. This was an interactive "African" experience. This was the first time I was pulled up to the dance. I think I must give off some, "I am willing to make a fool of myself vibe". I cannot wait to carry on the Hummert female tradition of embarrasing your children by being willing to do anything I was the only one to be pulled up to dance with these dancers then later in the drum circle was picked to be the one to start the dancing.
The next day, we went whitewater rafting on the Zambezi.
On the cruise, we came the closest to hippos that I have ever been. Even though we were on a large boat, the captain said if we got too close the hippos could destroy the hull.
On the cruise, were two young children, a little boy about 4 and girl about 6, who were sitting on the top deck with their parents. Shortly after taking off though the children came down to wreak havoc on the lower deck. I think the captain was about to blow a gasket. The boy kept asking how fast he could drive the boat then would precede to tell the captain he could drive it faster. They were climbing all over everything. The little girl at one point was on top of the bathroom. The captain had to stop the boat once to pull the boy off the front of the boat because he was afraid he was going to fall in. We were sitting right by the captain and had been having a discussion about where the children were from. I was of the opinion that the children were from the developed world, but had to have been living in Africa for a significant period of time. In an attempt to save the sanity of the captain, I made friends with the kids. I was correct in my assessment. The children were Swiss, but lived in Johannesburg. They were both incredibly sweet, but definitely mischievious. At one point the little boy had climbed up on to my lap with the girl standing next to me. When I asked Charlotte to take a picture of us, the little boy scampered off. Here is the little girl. She reminded me of Pippy Longstocking for some reason. 
After the booze cruise, we headed over to the Victoria Falls Hotel. This a huge old colonial hotel that sits in the national park itself. 
That night there was a full moon so the view was amazing. You can see the mist from the falls. Because the landscape is so flat this is visible from a great distance away from the falls. 
Our initial plan had been to have dinner there, but then we decided it was too formal so we decided just to have an "I presume" drink on the porch then head back to our humble lodge for dinner.
The next morning before heading to Botswana we decided to visit the market. I have never encountered people so willing to trade. They wanted anything and everything from t-shirts and shoes to my hair rubber band and candy. Charlotte was buying a metal turtle and topped off the money with a handfull of melted together hard candies, a bag of peanuts and a cookie. If only I would have known I could have outfitted the Zimbabwean nation in Kansas Jayhawks t-shirts and gotten a whole suitcase full of crafts.
The flying fox offered an amazing view of the gorge, but was somewhat slow and our least favorite of all of the activities. Next on the list was abseiling or repelling down into the gorge. I have always been interested in trying this. Now I it is not easy to make yourself walk off a cliff mentally or physically. Before starting they made us lean back and let go to demonstrate how secure the harness was. I just tried not to look down. My arms were really tired by the time I made it down. Charlotte was much better than I was. Our final adventure was the zip line, which was by far our favorite. It was longer than the flying fox, it was faster and it dove down into the gorge. You can try to follow the small dot in the pictures below to get an idea of just how long it is. After our adventures, we headed back to the lodge, showered, and had a sundowner on the deck before heading to dinner. We ate dinner at The Boma restaurant on the premises of our lodge. This was an interactive "African" experience. This was the first time I was pulled up to the dance. I think I must give off some, "I am willing to make a fool of myself vibe". I cannot wait to carry on the Hummert female tradition of embarrasing your children by being willing to do anything I was the only one to be pulled up to dance with these dancers then later in the drum circle was picked to be the one to start the dancing. The next day, we went whitewater rafting on the Zambezi.Because the water is so high we were only able to do the second half, but it was well worth it. I got thrown out of the boat for the first time ever while rafting during the Terminator 2. Myself and the guy sitting next to me went in. I like to think that I was sacrificing myself because the guide said if we had not gone in then the whole boat would have flipped. I came up right by the boat and before I could even figure that out the guide yelled grab the rope. I looked up, grabbed the rope and before I knew it was back in the boat. I wish I could get the clip of me flying out of the boat onto the blog, but I am not that talented.
That evening we went on the sunset cruise, aka the booze cruise. Again, pulled off the boat to dance. I must look all to eager to join in.
On the cruise, we came the closest to hippos that I have ever been. Even though we were on a large boat, the captain said if we got too close the hippos could destroy the hull.On the cruise, were two young children, a little boy about 4 and girl about 6, who were sitting on the top deck with their parents. Shortly after taking off though the children came down to wreak havoc on the lower deck. I think the captain was about to blow a gasket. The boy kept asking how fast he could drive the boat then would precede to tell the captain he could drive it faster. They were climbing all over everything. The little girl at one point was on top of the bathroom. The captain had to stop the boat once to pull the boy off the front of the boat because he was afraid he was going to fall in. We were sitting right by the captain and had been having a discussion about where the children were from. I was of the opinion that the children were from the developed world, but had to have been living in Africa for a significant period of time. In an attempt to save the sanity of the captain, I made friends with the kids. I was correct in my assessment. The children were Swiss, but lived in Johannesburg. They were both incredibly sweet, but definitely mischievious. At one point the little boy had climbed up on to my lap with the girl standing next to me. When I asked Charlotte to take a picture of us, the little boy scampered off. Here is the little girl. She reminded me of Pippy Longstocking for some reason. After the booze cruise, we headed over to the Victoria Falls Hotel. This a huge old colonial hotel that sits in the national park itself. That night there was a full moon so the view was amazing. You can see the mist from the falls. Because the landscape is so flat this is visible from a great distance away from the falls. Our initial plan had been to have dinner there, but then we decided it was too formal so we decided just to have an "I presume" drink on the porch then head back to our humble lodge for dinner.
The next morning before heading to Botswana we decided to visit the market. I have never encountered people so willing to trade. They wanted anything and everything from t-shirts and shoes to my hair rubber band and candy. Charlotte was buying a metal turtle and topped off the money with a handfull of melted together hard candies, a bag of peanuts and a cookie. If only I would have known I could have outfitted the Zimbabwean nation in Kansas Jayhawks t-shirts and gotten a whole suitcase full of crafts. 
1 comment:
Wait a minute - What's this about the Hummert female tradition of embarrassing your children? Are you talking about Aunt Barb, Aunt Betty, or Aunt Dorothy? I hope their feelings won't be hurt :-)
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