“Why would anyone want to visit the Victoria Falls in November?

“The Falls are all dried during that month, don’t you know?”

“Don’t even bother. You won’t see anything. It won’t be worth it. Trust me.”

Why would anyone want to see a dried up Vic Falls?”

I’ve heard it all, especially as I was towards the final stages of finalizing all my travelling plans for the Victoria Falls trip, funny enough. I have a thing for nature and ‘that thing’, is quite deep. It’s an interest that has evolved from a long-standing passion to even a professional career that now earns me a living.

One thing about me, if I’ve made up my mind about something, it becomes very difficult to convince me otherwise. Especially when November is the only month where my leave from work is due. So, if it means, I needed to see the majestic Vic Falls over a seemingly dry month, then so be it.

I have recently made a huge step in my life and felt the need to celebrate by taking some much-needed time off and The Victoria Falls beckoned.

So the flight tickets were now booked and we were all set and ready for the trip. We were headed for Victoria Falls for a week beginning on the 18th November 2019. Our voyage was set to make us explore Zambia, Zimbabwe and Botswana all in one week. So, it’s completely up to you how you’d like to target Victoria Falls. Some people choose to fly directly to Victoria Falls international Airport in Zimbabwe. We chose Livingstone because we felt it will add an extra dimension to the tour as it will enable us to have an experience of the Victoria Falls from the Zambian side as well.

We flew out from Johannesburg (OR Tambo International) to Livingstone (Zambia) and landed comfortably at a scorching Harry Nkumbula International Airport.

When planning to embark on a similar trip from Mzansi, please arrange, well in dvance, with your bank to authorize for payments at all the countries to be visited. While I am still on such reminders, remember your yellow fever shot for health precautions.

When we got to Zambia, we were comfortably shuttled to the hotel, which was in Zimbabwe. While on the shuttle bus, operated by Wild Horizons (The bus pictured below), we were given a brief and welcomed guide of the Livingstone town.

It took us less than an hour from the airport to get to the Zambian border control in order to get into Zimbabwe.

And what a seamless process this was having to transfer from one country to the next. I must also say, having to drive across the famous Victoria Falls bridge (which was constructed between 1903 – 1904 and officially opened on the 12th of September 1905) connecting Zambia and Zimbabwe next to the falls, was spectacular.

Then, just like that, we were in Zimbabwe!

The kingdom hotel was simply spectacular and the nicest thing was, it’s a 10 minute walk to the Victoria Falls. If you listen carefully out into the horizon, while inside the hotel room, we could hear the blissful sound of the Falls in the background. The hotel room also had a mosquito net, though there was not much need for it during our stay.

We took the following day to set the scene and walk around the town to familiarize ourselves with our new surroundings. Walking around the town is quite safe, almost everyone does it as there is no need to be transported around, even at night, but be aware of some harmless creatures that are common in the area.

I’ll talk about the food hang-out spots to look out for on a later section.

There sure is plenty of activities, especially for adventure enthusiasts, to do at Victoria Falls from Bungee Jumping (160 USD), scenic helicopter flights (from 150 USD) to gorge swinging (240 USD), you name it – you can do it here. Just be mindful of the costs, the more activities you plan on taking, the more the costs. I’d advise to take on a package of activities as opposed to single picking where a package can offer some great discounts.

We chose a great package of activities with Wild Horizons and got some welcomed discounts. Will talk about the activities we did later on as well.

Then we took the following day to see the famous Victoria Falls as a bid to determine whether or not the Falls is drying up or not.

You do get a guided tour of the Falls, which comes at a cost of 23 USD (we opted not to have a guided tour to cut costs) & there is an entrance fee of 30 USD payable upon arrival. There is a discount to the entrance fee though for visitors from SADC regions and all you need to do is to present your passport upon arrival and it will be automatically applied.

We then entered the Victoria Falls National Park – one of the seven natural wonders of the world.

The Victoria Falls tour has a total of 16 viewing points along the recommend and marked route as part of the tour which makes it easy to navigate the Falls without a tour guide. The first viewing point has a majestic statue of Scottish missionary Dr David Livingstone, who is credited for discovering the Falls on the 16th November 1855.

We start the route at the Devils Cataract mark overlooking the mouth of the Zambezi River. Shortly thereafter it’s the Chainwalk mark, which marks the second point of the tour. The chainwalk has 38 steps that take you down to a point where the Falls are clearly visible.

These two points of the route mark the first sight of the actual Falls, not very spectacular but offers you a glimpse of the entire Falls as an obscured section-view, leaving you with a desire to see more of it at an even better angle. The Zambezi River has an average flow rate of below 500 cubic squares per second, the lowest flow rate throughout the year. It’s highest flow rate is 5000 cubic squares per second during the mid-February and May months of the year. I would think those two months would be ideal times to best see the Falls at its maximum peak. Although, November has the lowest average flow rate, it’s not entirely dry, I would predict that the flow around November is just under 25% of its maximum.

Points 3 to 6 along the route still showcase the sideview of the Zambezi River mouth and some interesting flora around points 4 to 6 for all the ecology enthusiasts to enjoy.

The experience of the Falls builds up as you go along. Point 7 along the route marks the Cataract Island View which is overlooking Zambia. At this point, the famous Devil’s Pool, located in Zambia over the distant horizon, can be seen.

The peak view point of the Falls has to be at number 8 (Main Falls View).

Splendid, therapeutic, majestic, spectacular, commanding and breathtaking are some of the adjectives to best describe our feeling at his point. It was at this point, where I was convinced that the Falls are not dry at all. Luckily we had our ponchos to protect us from the dampness. I did not use mine. It can get really slippery and wet, so be extra careful as you enjoy this part of the tour.

Viewpoints 11 to 14 were completely dry and the bedrock as a result is exposed. These parts of the Falls are called Horseshoe, Armchair and Rainbow. The basalt rock type, bedrock Geology of the Falls, is seen along this area. The basalt is dark in colour and is very slippery in nature. The area was very quiet yet equally spectacular, scenic and peaceful. The fault area that resulted in the gorge formation can be clearly appreciated along these view points of the tour.

The tour then ends with viewpoint 16 which shows the famous bridge connecting Zambia and Zimbabwe along the Falls. The entire Victoria Falls tour takes about less than 2 hours. And I believe the tour settles the long-standing debate about which country has the bragging rights over the Victoria Falls. Yes, both the Devil’s pool and the Zambezi River come from the Zambian side but for spectacular views of the Falls, Zimbabwe takes it hands down.

Aside from the Falls tour itself, we also got the chance to explore the restaurants around Victoria Falls and do some thrilling activities.

– Three Monkeys

This was by far our favorite food hang-out spot in town. Their gourmet burgers, chilling vibe and atmosphere coupled with friendly waitrons made for an excellent and warm overall experience.

– Shearwater Cafe

The shearwater Cafe is also an alternative food-hang out worth exploring at Vic Falls. It offers some live music experience with a good variety of pasta dishes.

As mentioned previously, we got a package of activities to do from Wild Horizons and we opted to do the dual Zipline and Gorge Swing. The Zipline costed 45 USD while the Gorge Swing was around 150 USD per person before discounts were applied. We did the activities at the park where the popular Lookout Cafe is located but because of the fire that had affected it, it was still under reconstruction.

Activities, I feel are a must, for the adventure enthusiasts and for those who have budgeted for the costs. A lot of them can dent the wallet. So choose carefully and enjoy nonetheless. They are not only thrilling but safe and memorable.

We also took advantage of seeing Botswana on the Chobe Day Trip. The trip is around 170 USD per person and includes transport to and fro, a boat cruise along the Chobe River, lunch and a game drive at the Chobe National Park.

My partner and I always aim to taste the country’s most popular beer as we go about experiencing each country. We tried the St Louis in Botswana and the Zambezi in Zimbabwe (both are pictured below). Between the two, I am not much of a beer drinker as a disclaimer, I enjoyed the Zambezi lager more.

Until our next escape…

Keep safe.