“One of, if not the most transcendentally beautiful natural phenomenon on this side of Paradise.”

Such is the description of Selous in 1881 regarding the Victoria Falls- named by locals as ‘Mosi-oa-Tunya’, meaning ‘the Smoke that Thunders’. ‘Smoke’ because of the column of spray formed after the 1,708 meters wide mass of water falls some 90m and 107m into the Zambezi Gorge and ‘thunders’ because of the earsplitting sound made from the average of 550,000 cubic meters of water plunging per minute (9 million liters /sec) . The whole volume of the Zambezi River pours from this tremendous height! After this breathtaking show of nature’s power, the water falls through the First Gorge’s and then enters a zigzagging series of gorges designated by the order in which the river reaches them.

How exactly did this spectacular natural wonder form?In his travel through central Africa explorer David Livingstone held the theory that the falls were formed by a cataclysmal rifting of the earth’s crust. This idea was held by many 19^th century explorers. Geologists later discovered though that about 11 million years ago, today’s upper Zambezi may have flowed southwards to join the Orange River in South Africa; afterwards, a gentle upwarping across the river’s course may have resulted in the water forming an inland sea in northern Botswana. These waters later spilt eastwards across a depression in a basalt slab creating the Batoka Gorge. The softer material that filled the basalt’s zigzag traverse faults was excavated by the river, creating a succession of waterfalls-the Victoria Falls being the latest in this series of faults.

Aside from the sheer beauty of the falls, many other activities can be enjoyed to make your travel worthwhile. Rafting the wild rapids below the Falls is a very popular adventure so is bunging jumping, kayaking,, fishing, walking safaris, horseback riding and lunch on Livingstone’s Island. Now just how can you get to this spectacular place? Well, if you’re from anywhere in Africa, there are many airline cheap flights to Livingstone. If you’re from the other side of the world like Asia or Europe, step number one is to get to South Africa-many trains run run via the Messina-Beitbridge border crossing either via Bulawayo to Victoria Falls . Surely, no matter how many miles you travel or what travel conditions you endure-the falls’ awe-inspiring beauty will definitely be worth it! Yes, the Victoria Falls are a realization of our insignificance and a glimpse of our Creators omnipotence!

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