“Scenes so lovely must have been gazed upon by angels in their flight”

~David Livingstone upon catching a glimpse of Victoria Falls for the first time.

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After stopping at South Luangwa National Park on our way back across Zambia from Lake Malawi, my friends and I concluded our holiday travels with a visit to the most highly-anticipated destination on our three-week circuit and one of the continent’s greatest natural wonders–Victoria Falls.

In all, I could not have asked for a better vacation. Nor could I have thought of a better way to end our trip than by spending a few days soaking up the beauty of one of nature’s crowning achievements.

Nicknamed the ‘Smoke that Thunders,’ Victoria Falls is 5,604ft wide and 354ft tall and constitutes the largest falling sheet of water in the world. It straddles the border of Zambia and Zimbabwe and is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Africa.

When I first caught sight of them, the falls left me speechless, as I marveled at one of nature’s great miracles.

Then, after a few minutes of staring in wonder, I ran down the path at the edge of the falls and let the water shower me in all its glory.

As I stood atop the granite cliffs overlooking the raging waters, I could feel every one of my senses becoming overwhelmed by the powerful fury of the waterfalls–my eyesight, my hearing, my feeling and my sense of smell. I could even taste the waterfall, as the mist from the powerful falls ran in rivulets down my face and landed in my gaping mouth.

Countless authors, tourists and intrepid travelers have witnessed the falls and attempted to string a series of words together that capture the feeling of standing on the edge of the cliff, overlooking the roaring water.

Yet, though my friends and I had read countless descriptions of the magical waterfall and heard travelers praise its beauty, nothing quite prepared us for the sheer magnitude of this natural wonder. No descriptions or reviews could suffice in describing to the magnificent and overwhelming feeling of standing at the Knife’s Edge bridge and feeling the spray as it swept over us and drenched our shivering bodies from head to toe.

I visited the falls during the rainy season, when the Zambezi river was flowing in full force. The thundering waterfall generated a tower of mist that would spiral upwards and often obstruct our view of the falls. In each direction, we would witness a great wall of whiteness, only to see it momentarily vanish and give way to a fleeting glimpse of the falling water.

I wrapped my camera in countless shopping bags, stuffed it inside my raincoat and did my best to protect it from water damage and from pesky baboons.

The four of us walked along various trails around the falls and took in many of the viewpoints. We scrambled down the steep steps to the base of the Batoka Gorge and admired the lush, tropical surroundings. The powerful mist from the waterfall has created an environment akin to a tropical rainforest and, as we walked through the canopy to the Boiling Point, I had the familiar feeling of being in one of the jungles of Central America.

After viewing the falls from the many lookout points along the gorge, we decided to spend an evening on the fancy deck of the Royal Livingstone Hotel, overlooking the powerful spray from the banks of the Zambezi River.

That evening, we watched the mist in the distance and gazed over the waters as the setting sun painted the tranquil waters with lovely pastel colors. We let the raging sounds of the waterfall be our soundtrack.

As we watched the mist from the thundering waterfall rise in smoke-like spirals, we could see exactly how the waterfall got its name.

Locals deemed the waterfall Mosi Ao Tunya which, in English translates into “the Smoke that Thunders.”

There is no doubt that Victoria Falls deserves its nomination as one of the Seven Wonders of the Natural World. It is not only the grandest of Zambia’s waterfalls, but it is also one of the most beautiful on Earth. Its sheer magnitude has inspired local myths and legends. It has attracted millions of sightseers and brought travelers to their knees in awe.

The waterfall is raw and wild, pure nature at its best.

Visiting it marked the perfect ending to our wonderful trip. It was the grand finale of a journey that highlighted the incredible natural beauty that Africa has to offer.

The post Mosi ao Tunya–The Smoke that Thunders appeared first on Erika's Travels .

After a few relaxing days in Malawi, we said a painful goodbye to the stunning lake and headed back westward, toward home.

Perhaps it was because of the paradise we found at the lake, or perhaps it was because we knew that going back through Zambia only meant that our three-week adventure was coming to a close, but departing Malawi was difficult for all of us.

And perhaps Malawi was sad to say goodbye to us too for, though we tried our best to travel from Cape Maclear to Chipata in one day, we weren’t even able to make it out of the borders of the this tiny sliver of a country by nightfall. I like to think that our inability to leave Malawi was the country’s desperate attempt to hold on to us.

Since we were unable to reach Chipata before dark, my friends and I found a hostel in Lilongwe, relaxed for the evening and left for Chipata early the next morning.

The trip from Lilongwe to Chipata took the better part of the morning and brought us into Zambia by the early afternoon. From there, my friends and I discussed our onward plans. After a lengthy discussion and hours of evaluating our best options, Abby and I decided to travel onward to South Luangwa National Park, while our friends would continue to Victoria Falls.

Thus, later that afternoon, Abby and I found ourselves in a car, headed to the park that many consider to be one of Africa’s best kept secrets.

South Luangwa National Park sits in the lush Luangwa Valley of Eastern Zambia. To reach there, we drove for three hours from Chipata to the city of Mfuwe, passing traditional villages, open savannas and verdant mountains. We were both giddy with excitement, for we had heard some people even refer to the park as one of the best wildlife sanctuaries in the world.

The driver took us directly to Croc Valley, our campsite that overlooked the gently-flowing Luangwa River.

We did not have much time to settle into camp, for we had already arrived a bit late for our safari. Unfortunately, due to time and money constraints, we were only able to accommodate one safari drive in the park and had to choose between a night drive or one in the early morning. We both decided it would be interesting to go on a night drive, since we had already seen many animals during the day on our walking safari in the Okavango Delta and since we had been told that our chances of seeing the elusive leopard were higher after dusk.

    

It was still light when we began our safari, and we were able to spend the first two hours absorbing the beautiful nature of our surroundings.

Every few minutes, one of our guides would point out animals and let us stop for pictures. Before the sun set, we saw many different varieties of antelope, including kudu, puku and impala. We were also able to see warthogs, hippopotamuses, crocodiles and a variety of birds.

As the sun began to set, we stumbled across a stunning herd of Zebras. We drove directly up to the animals and spent a few minutes admiring their delicate coats.

Not long after our zebra sighting, the sun sank lower and darkness engulfed our surroundings.

When darkness fell, the nocturnal animals came out and intersected our path. Hippos emerged from the water in search of food and civets and genets–two raccoon-like cat species that are widespread across much of Africa– got caught in the vehicle’s headlights.

About three quarters of the way through our drive, however, we spotted the most prized sighting of the night–a beautiful leopard sitting under a tree. The leopard was eyeing a puku and getting ready to pounce on its prey.

The secretive leopard is the most elusive of Africa’s Big 5. Leopards are generally pretty hard to find because they are shy and often hide in trees. I feel so grateful that luck was on our side during our safari and that we were able to see the beautiful animal up close.

Unfortunately, the low light and my lack of tripod made it difficult to capture a good image of the leopard and each attempt turned out to be a bit fuzzy.

In my memory, however, the image of the leopard stalking its prey is more beautiful and more defined than any high resolution image could ever be.

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