My trip to Victoria Falls

When I first decided to go to Victoria Falls, it seemed to me that I had a rough idea of what was waiting for me. I saw photos, watched videos, and read the stories of other travelers, and I was sure that after all this, it would be difficult to surprise me. As it turned out, photographs do not convey the scale of this place at all, and videos are not able to show either the humid air, the constant roar of water, or the feeling when you stand in front of one of the most impressive natural attractions in Africa and realize that no camera can properly convey what it sees.

I had allocated only one day for Victoria, so I decided in advance not to try to turn the trip into an endless list of points. I wanted to see the waterfall itself in peace, walk along the main viewing platforms, look at the Zambezi and leave at least a little time just to stand and realize exactly where I am. However, the word "calm" in my case turned out to be quite conditional, because in the morning I realized that I just couldn't walk calmly in front of such a place.

Morning – the road to the waterfall

The morning started quite early because I wanted to get to the waterfall before it got too hot. As I drove, I kept trying to imagine what my first look at Victoria would be like, even though I was well aware that it was impossible to mentally prepare for such a place. The road gradually led me to the national park, and at first I didn't see anything particularly impressive at all. There was the usual African nature, trees, dry land, bright sun, and somewhere ahead a light fog was already beginning to appear. At first, I didn't even pay attention to it, but the closer I got, the louder the noise became.

Victoria Falls Bridge

That's when I realized for the first time that the waterfall was already very close, first I heard the water, and then I saw it. And that was the moment when all the photos and videos that I watched before the trip stopped mattering. A huge wall of water opened up in front of me, which collapsed with incredible force, and a cloud of water dust rose above the gorge. I just stood there and watched, trying to figure out the magnitude of what was happening, and at some point I caught myself thinking that I had forgotten to get my phone out at all. It was unusual for me, because when traveling I usually take pictures of everything, but here for a few minutes I just couldn't look away.

The first viewing platforms

Then I started moving along the route along the main viewing platforms. And here it became clear that one glance at the waterfall was absolutely not enough, because from each new point it looked different. Somewhere you could see the main wall of water better, somewhere you had a view of the gorge, and somewhere the water dust rose so high that it seemed as if a real tropical rain was falling in front of you.

I realized pretty quickly that light clothing and Victoria Falls are a controversial combination. In some places, the spray was so strong that after a few minutes I looked like I had just stepped out of the shower, and without any prior agreement with nature. First I tried to cover the camera, then the phone, then myself, and then I just gave up. After all, if you arrived at one of the largest waterfalls in the world and came out completely dry, then you probably stayed too far away from it. The constant roar of water was especially impressive. It didn't stop for a second and gradually became part of the surrounding space, so after a while it seemed strange to imagine silence here.

The Zambezi and the huge gorge

In addition to the waterfall itself, I was very impressed by the Zambezi River. Before the trip, for some reason, I imagined it exclusively as a beautiful wide river, but it was only on the spot that I realized how much of a role it plays in this whole landscape. After the waterfall, the water flows with incredible force into a deep gorge, surrounded by rocks and dense greenery. I went to the viewing platforms several times and just looked down, trying not to get too carried away with photographing, because next to such a cliff, I still wanted to maintain at least a minimum concentration.

The most interesting thing happened when the water dust rose up and rainbows appeared in the sunlight. Sometimes they appeared literally in front of you, and then disappeared after a few seconds when the angle of light or the direction of the spray changed. I tried to catch them with my camera several times, but I quickly realized that nature was clearly not going to work according to my schedule.

Rainbow over Victoria

At some point, I stopped near one of the observation decks and saw a huge rainbow over the waterfall. The double rainbow appeared so successfully that phones and cameras literally went up all around at the same time. I also started taking pictures, and I took so many shots that I couldn't figure out how they differed from each other. On one, the rainbow is slightly to the left, on the other, slightly to the right, and on the third, I accidentally took off my own hand. But it is precisely such moments that remain in the memory later. You're standing among people from all over the world, the Zambezi is rumbling around you, millions of liters of water are falling in front of you, and a rainbow appears above it all. And at this point, it doesn't matter at all how successful the photo turns out to be.

A little trip with a local character

At some point, I decided to move away from the main tourist routes a little and just walk around the territory. It turned out to be a good decision, because there were always new species, birds, and unusual plants around. However, I quickly remembered that I was not in a city park and that I shouldn't get too involved in photographing every animal I met. 

I walked quite calmly, but from time to time I looked carefully around, because after several warnings about the local nature, I was already beginning to perceive every rustle as the beginning of an adventure. Fortunately, the most serious challenge for me was the usual hot air and my own fatigue. By the middle of the day, I had already realized that the sun was not joking here at all, so I started looking for shade at every opportunity.

Lunch after the waterfall

After a few hours of walking, I decided to take a break and have lunch. It was that rare moment when I really wasn't thinking about the next attraction and was just enjoying a meal and a cool drink.

Sitting in the shade, I looked at the photos on my phone and tried to choose at least a few of the best ones. The lesson turned out to be pointless, because almost every photo reminded me of some moment that I wanted to preserve. In the end, I left everything as it was and put the phone away. This was probably the main conclusion of my day: sometimes it's better not to try to save everything in the phone's memory, but just look around.

A last look at Victoria

In the afternoon, I returned to one of the viewing platforms again. The light has already changed a little, the sun has become softer, and the waterfall looked completely different than it did in the morning. I stood at the railing for a long time and looked at the water. In a few hours, I managed to walk several kilometers, get wet from splashes, dry in the sun, take a lot of photos and completely lose track of time several times. And still it seemed like I had just arrived.

That's probably why I like such natural places. There is no need to constantly look for entertainment, because nature itself does all the work for you.

How did I feel after this trip

As I was driving back, I caught myself thinking quite simply: I was expecting to see a large waterfall, but I saw much more. Victoria turned out to be more than just a wall of water that you can photograph and tick off your travel list. These are noise, humid air, rainbows, rocks, Zambezi, water dust, the sun and the feeling of the incredible power of nature, which cannot be conveyed by one photograph.

One day was enough for me to see the main thing, but it was definitely not enough for me to realize everything. Already on the way back, I began to think that next time I would like to stay here longer, see the surroundings more calmly and, perhaps, see the waterfall from the other side.

But for the first acquaintance, one day turned out to be perfect. I arrived in the morning with a lot of expectations, and left in the evening with the feeling that nature was able to surprise me again. And that's probably why we go on such trips. Not to say, "I was at Victoria Falls." And in order to stand in front of this wall of water one day, hear its roar, feel small drops on your face and realize that something so big is happening in front of you that for a few minutes you just forget about everything else. And I will definitely remember this moment for a long time.