An incomparable show
David Livingstone stumbled in 1855 on one of the most dramatic natural accidents of the world, the falls of Mosi-Oa-Tunya ("The smoke that thunders"), whom he renamed as the Queen of England, Victoria. They are a World Heritage Site since 1989.
The numerous expeditions of the philanthropist before making such beauty known to the world are now reduced to a comfortable flight which lands on Livingstone.
The city was named in his honor in 1904 and held the title of capital of the British Protectorate of Northern Rhodesia until 1935, when the country became independent as Zambia and Lusaka became its capital. Another option is to land on e he beautiful Victoria Falls airport , a flirtatious city in Zimbabwe with colonial airs and located on the other bank of the Zambezi River, the natural border of the two countries.
Arriving at our destination
THE ROYAL LIVINGSTONE HOTEL, A STRATEGIC LOCATION IN ZAMBIA
The journey is fascinating water taxi to ** The Royal Livingstone Hotel-Zambia ,** in the heart of Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park. At a considerable speed, the boat crosses the waters adorned with small islets , dodging the whirlwinds and following the unstoppable current of the river.
is close to that vapor cloud that can be seen in the distance and that is nothing other than the mist of the falls falling.
And it gets closer and closer, until it seems that is going to join to the aquatic curtain formed by the Zambezi River as it plunges over a height of 108 meters. But it's only one boatman's ruse, that, after stimulating adrenalin of the visitor, turns smoothly and docks next to the deck, under the natural umbrella of an acacia, where the entourage of The Royal Livingstone waits to give the most warm of welcomes.
Once the threshold is crossed, the influence of David Livingstone and his time can be seen in every detail: upholstery with floral and animal motifs, mahogany furniture, fans with wooden blades...
On the walls hang adventurer pictures with his explorer or missionary outfit, and each painting gives off that character that his friend and companion Stanley defined in his diary: "His hair is brown; near the temples, some gray lines, and if the mustache and sideburns turn gray, the light brown eyes retain their vividness and the look is very penetrating ".
A very Livingstone hotel
Tea time it is sacred; tables and sideboards are filled with trays with cucumber sandwiches, brioches and other accompaniments of the typical British Tea.
The hotel staff dress attractive and colonial uniforms that enhance her dark complexion and elegant demeanor; there is a butler assigned to each room who is aware of the minimum gesture to accompany the guest to his rooms in a golf car, respond to any request, or report on the many activities that can be arranged, such as a visit to the livingstone island , just 100 meters from the falls, in the middle of the Zambezi River.
It is a nice place to have breakfast or tea at the edge of the abyss ... and even venture to swim towards the famous Devil's Pool (the devil's pool), above the falls but well protected from the currents.
VICTORIA FALLS HOTEL, A STRATEGIC LOCATION IN ZIMBABWE
The Victoria Falls Hotel belongs to the Leading Hotels of the World chain and is familiarly known as The Grand Lady of the Falls . style edwardian , is surrounded by ponds of water lilies and tropical flora. From its viewpoints and rooms, especially from the Stanley's Terrace , spectacular views of Victoria Falls are contemplated.
In the book _100 Years 1904-2004 (history of The Victoria Falls Hotel) _, John Creewel judges the accommodation as one of the most special places in the world . Built by the British in 1904, the hotel was conceived to house the railway workers from Cape Town to Cairo. Today, he remembers those times of glamor and elegance that have earned him the epitome of Grand Luxury Travel.
The Grand Lady of the Falls
Its construction was a dream of cecil rhodes , who entrusted the design of it to his friend Charles Metcalfe and, although the project was never completed, it served to raise his legendary bridge , today a mecca goming (a jump into the void, supported by safety connections on the ankles attached to elastic cords).
Designed by G.S. Hobson , was completed in 1905 , crossing the Zambezi River and thus separating Northern Rhodesia from Southern Rhodesia, Zambia and Zimbabwe
FROM THE HELICOPTER
The morning air smells clean, and among the blue of the sky, the foggy curtain that form the cataracts in their precipitation, resembling a rising rain. Glades and clouds shape the day making the helicopter flight over the river and its falls is full of lights and shadows.
Through a window appears the vast flow in all its extension; On the other hand, you can see the islets that divide it, forming estuaries surrounded by lush vegetation that end up in the rapids, before launching that aquatic avalanche over the gorge that from the air seems to emerge from the depths, and that gives rise to the Victoria Falls.
The legendary bridge from the air
WALK THROUGH THE FALLS
The walk along the falls unravels the wildest face of the river when, entering that magnificent nature crowded with fig trees, acacias and baobabs, one enters into communion with the epic of the Doctor Livingstone.
At the beginning of the route, you can feel the mist that, like a dungeon, dampens your clothes and hair if the rainy season runs. During the dry months, the falls are displayed in all their splendor, and that is when you can see the herds of elephants, impalas, lions...
The roar of the falling water becomes more and more ostensible, until, at the foot of the great waterfall, it becomes deafening. The view of the falls from the Zimbabwe riverside, in the Hwange National Park , it's more complete that from Zambia.
Passages like the Horseshoe Falls, Livingstone Island, the Rainbow Corner or the Devil's Pool appear and disappear. Unsurpassed the spectacle of the rainbow of the moon, that you rarely have the luck to see.
The falls can also be visited "from the inside": equipped with vests and helmets, it is a real adventure raft down the rapids of the Zambezi River through canyons and gorges, for ten or 16 kilometers, depending on the season.
The rainbow in the falls, spectacular
THE WAKE OF DOCTOR LIVINGSTONE
The discovery of the largest curtain of water in the world with almost two kilometers wide and 100 meters drop gave Doctor Livingstone one of the most great of his life and the confirmation that the Zambezi River, from the rapids of Kabrabasa, became innavigable because of his numerous jumps and falls.
Livingstone disappeared for several years, and surely nothing more would have been heard of him had it not been for those strange tricks with which he plays destiny. In this case, he took the form of James Gordon Bennett, director of New York Herald , who, attracted by the legend and personality of David Livingstone, entrusted one of his favorite journalists, Henry Morton Stanley , The mission at any price and without deadline to find the explorer, wherever he was.
Stanley set out on an expedition full of calamities and also of emotion . When he was about to give up, he found himself in Zanzibar ,in the city of Ujiji, to Livingstone's servant, Souzi , that quite naturally and as if it were a known thing, he clarified that the doctor was in town.
Stanley's curious reflection when, before uttering the famous phrase when meeting the philanthropist-"** Dr. Livingstone, I suppose? **"-, he hesitated whether to hug him. But the doctor was English, he thought, and he held back...
"Dr. Livingstone, I presume?"