The Smoke That Thunders – Victoria Falls

Victoria Falls is a 1.7km wide waterfall that drops up to 107m into the Zambezi Gorge forming the largest curtain of water in the world. The falls which are located between the border of Zimbabwe and Zambia are feed by the Zambezi River. The Falls were named Mosi oa Tunya ‘the smoke that thunders’ by the locals but when David Livingstone “discovered” the Falls 1885 he renamed them after the reigning queen of the British Isles, Victoria. Victoria Falls have been designated a World Heritage Site under the UNESCO World Heritage Convention.

In days gone by whenever Victoria Falls was mentioned, Zimbabwe was sure to be part of the conversation as it was the most popular country to visit the falls from. This is due to the fact that when you are on the Zimbabwean side of the falls you can stand right opposite the falls and the majority of the falls are in Zimbabwe. Over the last few years, tourists wanting to visit the falls have been doing so from the Zambian side and they are marketed as Victoria Falls, Zambia. Whenever I see or hear this my heart sinks as I think of how things used to be.

The rapid decline of visitors to the Zimbabwean side is due to the political situation in the country. Zambia is really profiting from it as tourists visits to the falls from the Zambian side increase. Vic Falls is not the only area of tourism to suffer. Other areas such as safaris have also suffered. As a result Zimbabwe has lost out on millions of dollars of revenue. This much needed revenue is something that could help to get the country back on its feet.

This is the wonder that is Victoria Falls: