Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe
PS to last night.
Last night’s event surrounded an old steam engine train. I forgot to bring the iPad to take pictures (that’s the way to edit the photos for the blog) but luckily pictures from my iPhone transferred over to the iPad.
The train took us to the bridge and the Zambia part of the Falls.
As mentioned in yesterday’s blog the Falls on the Zambia side are not as impressive as the Zimbabwe side due to water diversion for hydroelectric purposes.
We walked across the bridge …
to take a look at the steam engine…
..,and thenback to the passenger cars for a 5-course dinner in an old restored dining car.
Back to today and the Falls.
Victoria falls is the reason we came here. It is twice the height and twice the width of Niagara Falls.
This is the dry season and yet so much water spills over the Falls the resulting mist falls on the rainforest bordering the Falls.
When our bus arrived at the Falls after a short 5 minute drive from the hotel we were met with men and boys dressed in native leopard skin costumes dancing and singing for tips.
The usual handicrafts were offered for sale on every corner,
Dr. David Livingston, the first European to “discover” the falls in 1855, is honored at the entrance.
Even in the dry season they are spectacular…
As our group walked the cobblestone path the width of the Falls…
the views got better. A rainbow is unusual in this spot.
And they are deep. I was impressed.
These are the “main falls”:
As we got closer to the main falls the falling water turned to mist which rose and fell back on the rain forest…and me.
In the wet season these gorges would be full of water.
I share this last photo of the Falls Park just because I like the shape of the tree truck:
After lunch I took a walk to “Elephants Walk” shopping center, passing wild baboons…
and a sculpture park..
The way back was slowed by these signs. I inserted this for Tony: we have a shared appreciation for “interesting” signs.
Tonight is our final dinner together as a group. Some-like us-continue on the 4-day Rovos Rail train trip, others head for Kruger Wildlife Park and some to Tanzania.
The final dinner was wonderful. Three different groups of Zimbabwean singers and dangers entertained us throughout the evening.
They even sang a happy anniversary song to one couple and helped another celebrity the birth of the grandson yesterday. Luke is the new grandson of Darryl and Susie. The head ornaments were supplied by the dancers.
Tomorrow we leave on the final segment of our trip: four days and nights on the Rovos Rail train, a 1930s train that has been remodeled with bedroom suites, a dining car and an observation car.
Our South African Adventure 