I've always wanted to see Victoria Falls and compare them to Niagara and Iguazú in Argentina. Niagara is the smallest in height, width, and volume of water. Victoria is the highest only, while Iguazú is the widest and carries the most water volume. Victoria's height is 354 feet. Width is 5577 feet, wider than a mile. For comparison, Iguazú is 8858 feet wide and 275 feet high.
This is a shot of the back of the Victoria Falls Hotel facing the falls, built in 1904, and visitors arrived via steam train from Bulawayo. It's now a beautiful Victorian-style hotel with high ceilings, but originally it was a tin roof structure built for the engineers that built the bridge spanning the Zambezi River between Zimbabwe and Zambia.
This photo was taken on the back terrace where we had lunch the first day we arrived.
One of the interior courtyards where herbs are grown for the kitchen.
This is the view from the back of the hotel looking toward the falls, which can be identified by al the rising mist. You can also see the bridge between Zimbabwe and Zambia. The bridge was built in England and shipped to Africa. It was constructed from either side and connected in 1905. Quite an engineering project for the time period, pre-dating most major bridges in the United States.
One evening we went out to an elephant preserve. After a brief introduction, they had a surprise waiting for us out on the veranda. This cheetah 's mother died while it was still a young cub; it's eyes not even open yet. It's mother never had the opportunity to teach it to hunt, so they use it as a mascot for the camp. They named him Sylvester.
Sylvester is fully grown now. He is surprisingly lean and yet still huge.
On Saturday, July 4th, we started our day with a walk along the opposite side of the falls. We were given ponchos and told that it would be wet from the mist. It was more like a monsoon, and people without ponchos were soaked. Some of the walk was dry, but, for the most part, it was a drenching rain-like mist that fell on us. I protected my camera with the poncho.
There were plenty of opportunities to get some good shots, and each turnoff from the main pathway offered a different amazing view
Another shot from a different angle.
Here's a close-up view of the bridge connecting Zambia with Zimbabwe.
Here I had to climb out on some slippery rocks to get this shot. Some people were climbing way out to the very edge and posing for photos. I took a more conservative position away from the precipice.
We had the good fortune to be able to take a helicopter ride over the falls and surrounding areas. It was a 25- minute ride of a lifetime! From here you can see most of the falls and even the international bridge.
This photo shows the mighty Zambezi River just before the falls. It's hard to imagine that the falls dry up almost completely by the end of the dry season which is in November.
And here's a video clip of part of the ride!!!