THE first word that enters my mind when you mention the word Africa is “wild”.
“Wild” for me means exciting, mysterious, untamed—my perception of this country which I thought would just remain on my bucket list for a long time.
However, opportunity knocked on my door much earlier than expected. Pretty soon I found myself with my husband’s travel group on a plane bound for South Africa.
We needed two visas. One for South Africa, another for Zimbabwe.
Officially known as the Republic of Zimbabwe, it is a landlocked sovereign state in Southern Africa. For those of you who wonder how we got there, this was our route.
We flew to Singapore from Cebu. From there, we proceeded to Johannesburg, cleared immigration and moved to the domestic terminal for a two-hour flight to Victoria Falls. It is confusing, but yes, the Victoria Falls is located in a town called Victoria Falls. Population is over 40,000 people. The moment we arrived, we were whisked off to a Zambezi Sundowner Cruise—a two-hour sunset cruise on the Zambezi River that moves slowly upstream along the length of the Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park.
The Zambezi River is the fourth longest river in Africa after the Nile, Congo and Niger Rivers. It flows through six countries—Zambia, Angola, Namibia and Botswana, then back along the border of Zambia and Zimbabwe, before finally discharging into the Indian Ocean at its delta in Mozambique.
Real deal
And this was where we found ourselves—on a ferry boat with Zimbabwe on one side, and Zambia on the other—sailing into the sunset. It was a perfect way to relax our plane-weary bodies, by just taking in the view and breathing in the fresh air with drinks in hand, ready to start our adventure.
The very first mammal we spotted was a crocodile along the riverbanks. Its presence generated so much speculation, that we had to remind ourselves that we were neither in a zoo, nor were we in Universal Studios. This was Africa, the real deal, so the crocodile lounging by the riverbank was happily in its natural habitat, oblivious to the city people visiting his territory for the very first time. As we cruised along the length of the river, we saw hippos, a variety of birds and more crocodiles. The highlight of it all, for me at least, was a family of elephants drinking water by the Zambia riverbank. Most of us had never seen baby elephants before, and with their little ivory tusks glowing at dusk, it felt surreal to just be able to watch them huddled together like that. As we were witnessing a truly spectacular sunset, we only had to turn and see something just as wonderful, a full moon rising at the other end of the river. Africa already had us in the palm of its hand.
Our welcome dinner was in Boma, a very popular destination for tourists, since it claimed to able to bombard visitors’ senses with the tastes, sights, sounds and smells of Africa. A tall order, but something the place seems to have mastered, since one look at the buffet spread could cause one to either be fascinated or nauseous.
On offer were local delicacies like warthog steak and game stews, and for those who dare, ethnic treats like Mopani worms. Certificates are even given out as evidence of to the experience. The presence of Amakwezi traditional dancers, Amazulu drummers, a local storyteller, face painters and a witchdoctor added to the overall ambience of a truly authentic African experience—especially when they put chitenges, traditional robes, over your clothes before you enter the main enclosure.
It was finally time to retire to the hotel with tired bodies, full stomachs and happy hearts. An early wake up call was in store for us the next day as we were scheduled for a private tour of what we came here for, the mighty Victoria Falls.
Wonder
One of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World, it is also called Mosi-oa-Tunya, which means “smoke that thunders”. It is the largest waterfall in the world based on width (at 1.7 kilometers) and height (at 108 meters). The Zambezi river, which we visited the day before, serves as the falls’ water source. It got its name from Scottish explorer Dr. David Livingstone, who named it after the reigning queen at that time.
When Zambia gained independence from the British in 1964, they changed all names of their streets, cities and buildings, except for the city of Livingstone and Victoria Falls. What this reflected was their deep respect and love for this missionary, whose statue stands proudly at the beginning of the trail.
As we alighted from the bus, we were herded to the briefing area where we learned about the history of the falls and all other pertinent information we needed for the 3.5 kilometer walk. The most basic gear one needs is a rainproof jacket or coat, flat shoes that do not slip easily, and plastic camera and phone covers.
Although the majority of the trails occur on the Zambian side of the falls, the Zimbabwean side provides visitors a greater panoramic view of the falls. Since our visit was during dry season, there were areas with more rock face than falls, but as we moved nearer and nearer to the source, I began to realize that we came at a good time. Had we waited for the wet season, I doubt if we would have seen anything more than the fog and mist from the spray of the falls. And the noise does sound like thunder.
The steady, rumbling sound was a truly spiritual experience for me. Imagine yourself, standing in a maze of mist, wet from head to toe, mesmerized by the sound of water dropping deep into the earth below, to a bottom that was not even visible to you because of the smoke. And there in front of us, for everyone to see, was a double rainbow. Magnificent does not even begin to describe it. The thought bubble inside my head? What an amazing God we have.
We reluctantly returned to our hotel after our three-hour trek and got ready to fly to Johannesburg. Grace M. Avanzado
(First of three parts)