This sunset was none like I had ever seen before. The clouds appeared as fleeting wings of orange and yellow like glowing flames of fire. Over the clear waters of the mighty Zambezi River, the skies swirled with bold hues of colour transitioning from orange, to red before fading into twilight. There were quiet gasps, silent murmurs and coos of awe among those aboard a boat on an evening cruise as the radiant sunset cast golden shadows on the expansive water body marking a colorful end to an eventful day.

Four hours prior to encountering this splendid sunset, we had landed at Victoria International Falls Airport, Zimbabwe with a group of delegates who were in the country to attend a wildlife conference. At the newly built modern airport opened in 2016 in a small town of Victoria Falls that borders Botswana and Zambia, we were received by dancers performing the Indlamu dance. Dressed in strands of animal skin and fur, the dancers swung their legs in high kicking motions dropping them to the beat of the native Ndebele music.

This being my first visit to Zimbabwe and specifically Victoria Falls, which is the country’s tourism hub, everything seems exciting. Right after leaving the airport’s entrance, we drive past a ruggedly beautiful terrain to Victoria Falls Town 20 Km away. The small town hosts three national parks, lies on the Southern bank of Zambezi River while the splendid Victoria Falls (the largest waterfalls in the planet) cascade from its Western side.

From viewing the scenic Victoria Falls, bungee jumping on the falls, game drives in the parks, taking sunset cruises along the Zambezi River -the fourth longest river in Africa after Nile, Congo and Niger, taking chopper rides above the falls and skydiving we are spoilt for choice on what to sample in the small town during our four-day stay. 

Our adventure begins with a sunset cruise along the Zambezi River with Captain Victor Madzimbamuto steering the vessel full of delegates past papyrus lined riverbanks.We spot zebras, gazelles and impalas grazing on the semi-green foliage of Victoria Falls National Park that’s set along the riverbanks. 

Elephants swimming

Further along the river, we encounter a herd of elephants swimming as hippos float their large heads on the water. We can hear the distant roar as a thundering mass of water tumbles off the Victoria Falls.

In the ensuing days, we visit a Lion sanctuary set on 1,500 acres of land carved outside the parks in Victoria Falls. The sanctuary hosts ageing lions that would otherwise have difficulties surviving in the wild that are kept inside huge enclosures that mimic the natural environment. On one of the evenings we enjoy a sumptuous meal of Huku Nedovi— a Shona dish of chicken served in peanut sauce. We experience the full glory of the small charming town on the last day of our tour when we visit the falls. Few rivers evoke mystery and a sense of wonder like the Zambezi River. From its source in Zambia, the 2,700 km long river flows through six countries before it pours into the Indian Ocean. The river meanders into Zimbabwe through its North-Eastern side before cascading spectacularly into the deep gorges at Victoria Falls, 80km further along.  

At this point where the Zambezi River is more than 2km wide, it flows over basalt rock plateau and plunges up-to 108 metres downward resounding in a deafening roar. As the speedy waters fall off the plateau it generates mists that can be seen like a billowing silver smoke up to 20km away. The sprinkles of water from the waterfalls sustain an incredible array of plant and wildlife in an adjacent dense rainforest.  So intense are the splatters of mist that one either has to be armed with an umbrella, wear a raincoat as they walk along the falls or risk getting drenched. At the Victoria Falls entrance, we pay an entry fee of Sh3,115 (30 USD) as international visitors before walking along mahogany, fig and palm trees vistas. 

Heading eastwards along the trails inside the rainforest, we walk past the statue of David Livingstone, the British explorer and missionary said to have discovered and named the falls in 1885. The fall is named in honour of Queen Victoria, the reigning British monarch at the time.

In the local Tonga language, the falls is christened “Mosi oa tunya”, (the smoke that thunders). With our faces splashed with the heavy mist that at times obscures our view and our shoes squashing with water, we end our trip along the falls at Victoria Falls Bridge, the architectural marvel constructed in 1905 crosses over the Zambezi River and links Zimbabwe to Zambia. Not even the raincoats we had put on could have saved us from being sprayed by the plume of mist that locals consider to be spiritual.