Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe/Zambia by Günther Eichhorn

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As an add-on to my trip to Madagascar in May 2001, I visited Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. The falls are spectacular to say the least. It was absolutely incredible! The Zambezi River falls over a cliff that is about 1 mile wide into a gorge that is about 100m deep , but on the narrowest part only about 60m wide. You stand on the opposite side of the falls, only 60m away from a huge wall of water falling down into the gorge. During the rainy season, the noise is deafening, and you are enveloped by the spray. It is a unique experience.

To get a better view of the falls, I took a helicopter ride over the falls from the Zambia side of the falls. It was a spectacular ride.

A boat ride up and down the Zambezi above the falls was a nice excursion to see some wildlife along the river.

A ride on an elefant into the bush on the Zimbabwe side was a relaxing experience, even though we didn't see many animals, it is too close to civilization.

In Victoria Falls I saw a traditional dance performance which was very interesting.

Victoria Falls is quite separate of Zimbabwe. All the problems of Zimbabwe are kept away from Victoria Falls, since this is a major tourist attraction. It was very safe to visit Victoria Falls.

All pictures are © Günther Eichhorn

Zambezi River and Victoria Falls
Boats on the Zambezi River. (489k)	The Zambezi River above Victoria Falls from the air. (691k)	Evening on the Zambezi River. (439k)	Sunset on the Zambezi River. (587k)	Spray of Victoria Falls can be seen from the river far above the falls. (491k)
Spray from Victoria Falls from the air. (640k)	Victoria Falls from the air. (557k)	Rainbow over the Victoria Falls gorge. (545k)	Spray over the Victoria Falls gorge. (614k)	The edge of Victoria Falls. (642k)
Victoria Falls closeup. (704k)	Victoria Falls rapids below the falls. There is whitewater rafting on this part of the Zambezi River if the water flow is not too high. I was there during the rainy season, so the water flow was way too much for rafting. (741k)	Rapids in the outflow of Victoria Falls. (754k)	The bridge over the outflow of the falls is used for bungee jumping. (877k)
Wildlife
Getting ready for an elephant ride through the bush. (748k)	Elephant ride. (741k)	A buffalo carcass. (629k)	Palms along the Zambezi River. (851k)	A huge Baobab tree. (1015k)
A stork on the Zambezi River. (568k)	A snake bird. (681k)	One of the snake birds in flight. (399k)	A crocodile in the Zambezi River. (839k)	Hippo. Hippos are the animals in Africa that kill the most people. They are vegetarian, but extremely dangerous. (823k)
Traditional Dancing
Dancers in traditional costume. These and the ones in the following five pictures are Makishi dancers, mostly from the Luvale tribe. They live in Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Angola. (928k)	Dancers in traditional costume. (864k)	Dancers in traditional costume. (598k)	Dancer in traditional costume. (490k)	Dancer in traditional costume. This costume emphasized and exaggerated the breast. (842k)
Drummer. (711k)	The players warmed their drums on an open fire before they used them. (577k)	Dancers on stilts. (547k)	Dancer in traditional costume. (767k)	A dance group. These and the ones in the following two pictures are Shangani dancers. They are from Mozambique and southern Zimbabwe. (648k)
Dancer in traditional costume. (787k)	Dancer in traditional costume. (688k)	Dancer in traditional costume. (495k)	Closeup of dancer in traditional costume. (628k)	Weight lifting. He was a young kid, maybe 15 years old. He grabbed a triangular iron bar with his teeth. The iron bar weighed about 12 kg (27 lbs). (597k)
The adult lifted a 40 kg (88 lbs) bar with his teeth. We checked the bars and they were really that heavy. (625k)

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