Victoria Falls (Zimbabwe/Zambia)

1. River Zambezi, the river that forms the Victoria Water Falls is the fourth largest African River after River Nile, River Congo and River Niger
2. Victoria Waterfalls are the largest in the world. They measure 1700 meters  wide and varies in height from 108 meters.

When I was young one of the few computer games that I had (in a floppy disk) was the Livingston I guess.  It was super pixel arcade game that I spent hours playing.

So visiting Victoria Falls was really exciting and sentimental for me. Despite of having seen some waterfalls throughout my travels I had never seen such great ones.

We visited the waterfalls from the Zimbabwe side. There is nothing else but a town created only for the visit of the waterfalls, hotels, restaurants, an airport...the only thing that let you know that your are in Africa is the stamp in your passport.

Even through I visited them in November which is low water season and there are some parts (those close to  Zambia that are completely dry) still is impressive. It took me around 2 hours to cover the walk. At the beginning of it you find a statue of Dr Livingston (who discovered the waterfalls back in 1855).

The tour takes you through different viewpoints where you can see the spectacular nature of the waterfalls. It is built in a way that does not adulterate the environment and you can find animals. In the rainy season, even lions have been seen in the surroundings. In some of the viewpoints, you have to be careful with the camera because you can get wet (even in November)

The roar of the water falling to the the Zambezi River Between 60 and 120 meters high, is really impressive

Apart from the visit of the waterfalls there are plenty of activities that you can do: taking an helicopter to see the waterfalls from above, bungy jumping, sunset cruise… I choose rafting.

Rafting in the zambezi rivers is one of the best rafting destinations in the world. It can only be done when there is low water level. Starting just below 110 meter Victoria Falls (around 30 walking down, see the photo below). The river has class IV and V rapids that are really fun. In total, there are 24 rapids within 24 km.

The day that I did it my raft was the only one that didn’t flipt. There ares some parts where you can jump in the water to swim a little bit, but always taking care of the guides instructions, because there are crocodiles (I sow a couple of small ones)

I crossed the bridge that separates Zimbabwe from Zambia on foot, at the border I only had to wait about 30 min, from there I caught a taxi to my accommodation. The truth is that in Livingston you have the feeling of being in Africa for real, Victoria Fall Town was more of an amusement park.

I walked around livingston city and visited a market and one afternoon I went to have a drink at the Royal Livingstone Victoria Falls Zambia Hotel, it is a luxury hotel where staying is prohibitive but it has a spectacular terrace-bar (free entry) from where you can see hippos in the river and also around the garden you can find zebras grazing as they please. Is so close to the falls that you can see the spray of the water. I went with some friends and we had a couple of cocktails and stayed till sunsent. Worth it!

The main reason why I went to Zambia was not only because there are cheaper flights but mainly because I wanted to visit the Devil’s pool.

Devil's Pool is adjacent to the famous Livingstone Island situated on the edge of the Victoria Falls. It can only be visited during low water season (September - January). The photo above is taken from the zimbabwe side.

I arragenge it through my hostel in Zambia, and the trip is called “Livingstong Island walked” it is around 1,5h. I met the guide at the entrance of Falls park and then we made our way through the river walking to the island which allowed us to have stunning views. Then you swam in to the Devil’s pool, which is just a natural hole. Each of us had the time to be at the edge of the falls, (with the guide by your side, there had been some accidents in the past).

At the end of  the trip I had the chance to visit the waterfalls from the Zambia side but they were completely dry. On the photos below Zambia on the left side and Zimbabwe on the right

This activity is really expensive and I did it in the cheapest way possible, the trip cost me 65$ plus 20$ for park fees  (The expensive version of this trip is called “livingston island” and you will get to the place by boat and after swimming in the pool you will get a breakfast/lunch or hight tee, prices  changes  98 for breakfast, 158 for lunch, and 133 for high tee, prices at Nov 2016).

Well that the depends in Zimbabwe you have iconic view of the main Fall and water flowing all year round.  In Zambia you have  exceptionally close-up waterfall viewing, but only if you go in high-water season. On the other hand in low water season you can visit the Livingston island and the Devil's pool.

I'm really happy that I visit them in low water season, even though some parts where completely dry (specially Zambia the view from Zambia) it allows me to do the rafting and visiting the devil's pool. 

Even in low water season the spay of the water got me wet and I had to be careful with the camera, so I guess that in high water season is better to take the pictures with an aquatic camera.