An adrenaline junkie’s dream
destination, the wildly impressive waterfall is not without faults,
gatecrashing crocodiles and badly behaved baboons among them
Tim Pile (15 Nov, 2018)
The Good
One of the most
spectacular sights in Africa, Victoria Falls is a mile-long marvel of mist and
spray marking the border between Zambia
and Zimbabwe.
Known to locals as Mosi-oa-Tunya, “the smoke that thunders”, the roar from the
world’s largest single curtain of falling water can be heard 40km away.
The falls were named after
Britain’s Queen Victoria by David Livingstone, the first European known
to have crossed the Dark Continent. On coming
face to face with the waterfall in 1855, the explorer and missionary incredulously
recorded, “It has never been seen before by European eyes, but scenes so
wonderful must have been gazed upon by angels in their flight.”
Chief Sekeletu, of the
local Makololo tribe, paddled the adventurous Scotsman to Goat Island, now Livingstone Island, which is as close to the
dramatic cataract as you can get. Well, almost. Today’s tourists take the same
route until they, too, are surrounded by the tossing, tumbling Zambezi River. Water levels are at their lowest
from late August to early January and this is when fearless (or foolish)
foreigners dive in and swim to Devil’s Pool. A submerged ledge enables
show-offs to lie on the lip of the falls, barely a metre from the raging
rapids, without being swept over.
The ultimate infinity pool
is reached from the Zambian border town of – you guessed it – Livingstone. The
easy-going former capital is a popular base for visitors wary of the political,
economic and social unrest just across the river.
Zimbabwe may be about to bounce back from its tourism
slump, however. Lonely Planet has included the nation once known as Rhodesia in its top 10 of countries to
visit in 2019, Victoria Falls (also the name
of the town) hotel occupancy rates are at their highest for 20 years and
300,000 people are expected this year – a far cry from 2008, when visitor
numbers dwindled to 25,000.
Tourism chiefs on both
sides of the river realise the destination they share has what it takes to
become a lucrative year-round attraction (the waterfall draws even bigger
crowds during the rainy season). Victoria Falls might be twice as high as
Niagara, in North America, but it’s a lot less
commercialised, although that’s changing.
Helicopter flights and
hot-air-balloon rides offer birds-eye views, and adrenaline junkies go
white-water rafting down the mighty Zambezi or
zip-line over it. They can also follow in the footsteps of Hollywood
actor Will Smith, who gave the local tourism industry a boost last year when he
bungee jumped off the 111-metre bridge that links Zim and Zam.
On the subject of
adrenaline sports, (Zimbabwean) ground was recently broken on a Grand Prix
circuit for Victoria Falls, bankrolled by a
Dubai-based consortium. Besides the racetrack, there are plans for convention
facilities, a medical centre and shopping mall.
Further afield, both
countries offer world-class game viewing. Safari goers have an excellent chance
of spotting the Big Five in Hwange National Park,
Zimbabwe, which is home to
one of Africa’s largest elephant populations.
In Zambia, South Luangwa
National Park
is renowned for its
walking safaris. Frankly, I’d rather sit on the ledge at Devil’s Pool.
The Bad
It’s 12 months this week
since Zimbabwe
president Robert Mugabe was ousted in a coup. After years of corruption,
financial mismanagement and plummeting exports, tourism is the only bright spot
in a beleaguered economy, which helps explain the ambitious Grand Prix project.
Local hoteliers suspect
the plans are nothing more than a publicity stunt but if construction does go
ahead, the environmental impact at the Unesco World Heritage Site is likely to
be devastating.
Meanwhile, empty ATMs and
queues for petrol and food mean panic buying and hoarding are part of everyday
life for Zimbabweans and, despite the introduction of a multiple-currency
system, American dollars are scarce. In fact, the strength of the greenback (if
you can get hold of any) has made Zimbabwe the most expensive country
in the region – another reason tourists are basing themselves on the Zambian
side of the falls. Inflation and a ballooning national debt have also resulted
in a chronic shortage of medicines. Try not to fall ill in Zimbabwe.
Failed state it might be,
but Zim is famous for its incredibly friendly people. Times are tough, though,
and street vendors have had to become persistent to survive. Even those
employed in an official capacity, such as tour guides and shopkeepers, occasionally
indulge in price gouging scams. You may not realise you’re being fleeced, or,
in some cases, robbed. In a four-month period last year, 100 Victoria
Falls hotel guests had money and other items stolen from their
rooms.
Safety and security risks
aren’t restricted to light-fingered humans, however. This is Africa
and wild animals present an altogether different kind of threat. In August, a
crocodile was captured on Victoria
Falls Bridge,
not far from where Will Smith bungee jumped. Then, in September, a German
tourist in Victoria Falls, the town, was
attacked and trampled on by an irate elephant. He survived after hawkers threw
stones at the beast to distract it.
Another tragic Victoria Falls pachyderm tale that appeared in African
newspapers last year had an air of fake news about it. The headline: “Motorist
dies when elephant falls on his car” sounds surreal enough, but read on and you
discover the 44-year-old victim was called John Banana.
Hippos are responsible for
more human fatalities than any other large animal in Africa and boating out to Livingstone Island is arguably riskier than sitting
in the Devil’s Pool. Capsizing incidents are not unheard of in these parts. In
1910, a Mr Orchard and a Mrs Moss were swept into the misty abyss after an
inquisitive hippo upended their canoes at the top of the falls. Their bodies
were later found to have been mutilated by crocodiles.
The Ugly
With long, razor-sharp
canines, baboons are perhaps the most menacing animals that tourists are likely
to encounter. From pulling power cables loose, which left 50,000 residents in
Livingstone without electricity last year, to ambushing shoppers as they carry
groceries home, the opportunistic primates are at best a nuisance, at worse
unpredictable and aggressive. In April, a baboon mauled a one-year-old baby in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, causing life-threatening
injuries.
To add insult to injury,
mother and daughter had to cross into Zambia for emergency treatment due
to a lack of medication on their side of the border.
Getting there
Ethiopian flies from Hong
Kong to Victoria Falls airport, in Zimbabwe,
via Addis Ababa.
South African connects Hong Kong to Livingstone airport, in Zambia, via Johannesburg.
