African Safari -- Victoria Falls

As we walked across a long bridge into Zambia, we could hear loud sounds of water splashing and crashing. On a bridge, we could see the Zambezi River swirling below and several rocky zig-zag gorges. This remarkable place is known for its history, size, geology, and beauty--and we were going to see it firsthand.

The indigenous people called the waterfall Mosi-oa-Tunya ("the smoke that thunders"). Dr. David Livingstone, a Scottish missionary, physician and explorer, gave it its present name when he "discovered" it in 1855 during his travels from the upper Zambezi to the mouth of the river between 1852 and 1856. Livingstone aptly wrote of the falls:

"No one can imagine the beauty of the view from anything witnessed in England. It had never been seen before by European eyes; but scenes so lovely must have been gazed upon by angels in their flight."

It isn't hard to imagine Livingstone's surprise when he saw what would one day become one of the seven natural wonders of the world as well as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The source of the falls is the Zambezi River, Africa's fourth largest, which begins in Angola in the western part of the continent and crosses eastward through eight countries to empty into the Indian Ocean in Mozambique. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Victoria Fall Bridge connects two of those countries: Zambia and Zimbabwe. It is 131 feet long and 4.3 feet wide. Below is the road and walkway on the bridge as it enters Zambia. The tourist trade has afforded people have the option of bungee jumping at 364 feet off the bridge or walking below the road and over the arch of the bridge. Neither of those activities appealed to any of us on the safari.

The Victoria Falls Bridge was part of John Cecil Rhodes' (1853-1902) dream to construct a railway line to transport goods, newly discovered mineral deposits, and passengers from Cape Town, South Africa, to Cairo, Egypt. Rhodes was a British diamond mining magnate (he established DeBeers Diamond in 1888) and a South African politician. Although the railway was never completed, the dream to provide east-west access through the southern part of Africa was partially realized with this bridge in 1968.

The bridge was designed and assembled in sections at the Cleveland Bridge and Engineering factory yard in Darlington, UK, before being shipped to Africa. Its main arch spans over 500 feet and it is 420 feet above the river surface. It was constructed in 14 months between 1904-1905 at a cost of 72,000 pounds (11 million pounds today) or almost US$14 million.

The main arc of the bridge was joined on April 1, 1905. The two center girders of the arc were in place by March 31 but they overlapped by 1.25 inches. When work resumed at sunrise the next morning, it was found that the bridge had contracted by exactly 1.25 inches. The two center girders had dropped into place and fitted perfectly! The bridge was officially opened on September 12, 1905 by Professor George Darwin, grandson of Sir Charles Darwin. 

Victoria Falls Bridge is currently the only rail link between Zambia and Zimbabwe, and a leopard was the first creature to cross the bridge upon its completion.

Paved pathways and a small pedestrian bridge were built along the length of the falls in order to see its different sections at different angles on both the Zambian side and the Zimbabwean side. In certain sections of the trail we were "baptized" by the Victoria Falls.

This photo of the falls show the zig-zag gorges the river follows. The falls had previously occupied these U-shaped gorges thanks to uplifts over the past 2 millions years. Volcanic activities that occurred 200 million years ago also shaped the geology of the area. The current waterfall is its 10th gorge and starting to create its 11th drop. The falls present the largest curtain of naturally falling water in the world.

The falls' gorge is over a mile long and its rock wall is 354 feet at its highest point. It was declared a national monument in 1959 based on evidence of human habitation and interaction with the falls area during the Stone Age. Its water spray is visible 18 to 31 miles away.

Since the mid 20th century, the falls has been an increasingly important source of tourism revenue. Among the offerings for visitors is a helicopter ride. Simone Jarrett, one of my Australian friends (left) went with her South African friend, Ida, for a ride to enjoy the view from above and took these three "snaps".

 

 

 

I've visited some great waterfalls including Niagara (NY, Canada), Yellowstone (WY), Tahquamenon (MI), and now Victoria. Each one is dynamic in its own way. 

 

 

This is a statue of Dr. David Livingstone, a Scottish missionary and the first-known white man to have sighted the Falls on November 18, 1855. It stands in the national parks on both the Zambian side and the Zimbabwean side.

He named the "Victoria Falls" after the then-Queen of England. He first came to Africa in 1841 and made three explorations in Africa lasting a total of 33 years. The statue was erected in 2005 to commemorate 150 years of his sighting the Falls.

Livingstone died in Zambia in 1873. His internal body parts were buried in a Chitambo village, Serenje District in the Central province of Zambia while his body was embalmed, preserved with salt, and carried to the coast by his workers for transportation to Britain. It took nine months for his remains to reach Britain, and  he was finally buried on April 18, 1874.

Livingstone is one of the few revered white Europeans in Africa. He helped the native people rather than dominate them. He was a missionary, but he never converted anyone. And, he fought against the slave trade that was secretly going on in Zanzibar and contributed to its abolition.

During the rainy season, the falls cover the walls of the gorge. We were there during the end of the dry season so there were a lot of streams just dribbling.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Home Visit

 

 

One of the best things Overseas Adventure Travel does is set-up a dinner and conversation with a local family in their home. We meet the couple and their children and share a bit about our lives. Grace and Martin and their two sons, Martin, Jr. (16) and Charles (19) graciously welcomed us.

 

Charles is getting ready to take his final exams in high school. He will then go on to college.

Martin, Jr., is in high school and he likes soccer. Judging from his knees, he is a pretty good player.

 

Martin has driven a cab and now he drives a truck. Grace recently started her own catering business. In her kitchen you could see some pretty big cooking pots. Martin and their sons help Grace when they can.

 

We spent some time in conversation over drinks before dinner. Then the cooking began with a little bit of our help.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Grace had us try our hand at stirring the rice for our meal. Tina (blue top) turned out to be the best one for the task because of her Chinese background. Stefani and I worked hard at getting the job done despite our lack of technique.
 

 

 

 

 

Grace demonstrated the traditional Zimbabwean way to prepare for the meal: on her knees, she pours water for her husband and then serves him his meal. However, this couple is modern, and I don't think this is what they regularly do.

 

 

We all helped ourselves to a delicious meal of chicken, rice, beans, greens, and carrots with African spices.

 

Victoria Falls Hotel

 

On our second trip to Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, the last three days of our trip, we had some time to look around. A few of us walked to the Victoria Falls Hotel, an historic luxury hotel. 

The hotel was opened in 1904 to accommodate passengers on the newly built line on National Railways of Zimbabwe, part of Cecil Rhodes' plan for a Cape to Cairo Railway. Later the hotel served as a staging post for the BOAC flying boat service between Southampton and South Africa.

The hotel has been the site of many important political meetings like the creation of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland in 1949 and the 1963 Victoria Falls Conference that led to the breakup of that federation. In 1975, another Victoria Falls Conference tried to sort out Rhodesia's Unilateral Declaration of Independence that followed the break-up of the Federation.

Main corridors and simple but elaborate stairways and entrance ways

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The hotel tended to attract special guests like Princess Christian of Schleswig-Holstein and her daughter, Princess Helena Victoria in September 1904, and King George VI and his family (with the future Queen Elizabeth) in April 1947. So it made things look and feel comfortably royal.

 A sitting room with accompanying classical busts and royal paintings

Two of the four statues representing the four continents -- all in Roman togas!

King George V (1910-1936)                                                                              Queen Mary

The gardens with a flagpole marking the miles between Cairo and Cape Town for the proposed railway between the two African cities

The garden terrace provides a dramatic view of the Victoria Falls Bridge, which straddles the Second Gorge. 

 

Hallway to the gardens and a covered outdoor porch

 

 The Victoria Falls Hotel would be a wonderful place to stay, however, the minimal cost for a room with two single beds was 699 Euros. Not in my budget!

 Zambezi River Cruise

 

We had been on safari for two weeks and this unforgettable experience was coming to a close. For our last evening together, we were treated to a farewell dinner in the garden overlooking the Zambezi River. However, before dinner, we took a cruise on the river where we saw hippos, a crocodile, birds, and other cruisers like ours. This band provided a little entertainment on shore.

 

 

 

Mist from Victoria Falls

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hippos in the river and a crocrodile guarding her nest on shore 

 

 

Members of our safari enjoy the evening river cruise before we say good-bye to MC, our trip leader, and each other.

                                The last sunset of our safari of two glorious weeks

 

Good-bye Zimbabwe

 MC had a special treat for us as we said good-bye after breakfast on our last day. First, we listened to a lecture about Dr. John Livingstone from a retired guide. Then MC walked us over to the other side of the hotel to listen to this group who sang with some pretty spectacular harmony.

Sources

 The National Heritage Conservation Commission of Zambia

https://www.thevintagenews.com/2017/10/06/with-his-railroad-cecil-rhodes-pushed-to-make-cape-to-cairo-a-reality-for-great-britain/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victoria_Falls

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victoria_Falls_Hotel

African Safari -- Last Morning at Camp Becomes a Menagerie

 

Something incredible happened on our last morning at the Santawani Okavango Delta Camp in Maunnia, Botswana: many of the animals appeared for us to see them one last time. It's as though they knew we were leaving and they were saying good-bye. It's easy to anthropomorphize animals, especially in the wild, but the uncanny synchronicity of the event was too much to NOT to believe that they were here for a reason. They hadn't done that before during the previous two mornings we were here.

 From my tent's "front porch" I first saw the wildebeest enter the scene.

 

 

 

 

By the time I made it to the dining room, a giraffe presented itself at the the pond for a drink of water. (I had hoped to get a photo of drinking giraffes since I missed a pair a day or two before, and here he was!) Such splendor and balance with his long legs!

 

 

 

 

Then the zebras appeared. They and the wildebeest typically hang together because zebras can hear better. This is a protective measure against predatory lions, leopards, and cheetahs. 

Soon afterward, the impalas took a stroll into the scene.

 

The quality of this extraordinary scene beyond its anthropomorphic significance was its absolute peacefulness. It reminded me of American folk painter and Quaker Edward Hicks (1780-1849) who painted "The Peaceable Kingdom". 

Then it was time for us to leave the camp and head for our bush plane that would take us to Victoria Falls. As is customary, the staff sang good-bye to us. Listen to the women ululating and the men whistling. MC, our trip leader (far right) joined the singing group.

 

 

However, our animal sightings weren't over. The landing strip for our bush plane was only 10 minutes away, but our drivers took us the long way for a mini-game drive--and came upon these lions! We were, of course, titillated and whipped out our cameras for photos. Fortunately, the lions had recently eaten and our noise didn't distract or frighten them. They just posed as cute kitties with full bellies as though they were expecting us.

I love this photo that Susan took because it aptly captures the intensity of our sightings over the past 15 days.

photo by Susan C. Brown

Before our planes arrived, MC, our trip leader, led us in a dance of "Jerusalema", which he recorded. He even brought a speaker! Here we are trying to execute it.

 

 

In 2019, Master KG of Johannesburg, South Africa, was inspired to write the music that would become known as "Jerusalema". He called African singer Nomcebo at night to listen to it and then asked her to write lyrics. When she first heard the beat, it gave her goosebumps, she said, and by midnight she had come up with the lyrics. The words are in Zulu language and it soon caught on globally just as the pandemic began. People from all over the world began recording it with their own dancing and posting it on social media. Currently "Jerusalema" has over 186 million views on YouTube. It was a song and dance that united humanity when we needed it most.

The staff had collected our baggage from the camp and placed it neatly on the runway to await our two bush planes. Our "egg carton" duffel bags were ready for transfer. We were given these bags for our bush plane rides.

It took about an hour to fly from the camp to the airport. This particular region of the delta was all bush with no buildings or villages to be found. There was an eerie beauty to this vast expanse of land that has never seen development. We were seeing pristine land.

 

               landing strip (left) and camp (right)                                                        

 

We traveled this dirt road on the day before in order to track a pride of lions.

 The last day at camp was truly an incredibly memorable experience!

 

Resources

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/10/16/africa/african-voices-master-kg-jerusalema-shazam-spc-intl/index.html

 

 

African Safari -- The Okavango Delta Meets Ecological Challenges

 

 

The Okavango Delta, one of the largest inland deltas in the world, began forming 60 million years ago during a time of great tectonic activity that resulted in depressions and uplifts on the plateau. Then, 20,000 years ago the land in between the two fault lines sank and filled with water, which formed the inland delta.

The headwaters of the Okavango River originate in Angola and flow across the Caprivi Strip (Namibia) to northwest Botswana where an alluvial fan forms into what is today known as the Okavango Delta. The southern part of the delta empties into Lake Ngami while the northern part bifurcates on the Cuando River, a tributary to the Zambezi River that flows into the Indian Ocean.

The total size of the delta is almost 6,200 square miles, about the size of Texas. The length of the rivers from Angola to the furthest tip of the alluvial fan is 932 miles.

Sustaining the delta requires rain from Angola, which gets three times more rain than Botswana does. The rainy season lasts three to four months from December to March. Unfortunately, the rain is not as plentiful these days as it was in the past. Our safari group was traveling in the delta in late December, and we experienced only one day of rain in two weeks.

The delta sports several dry lands that are like islands formed around minor rivers. There are also permanent and seasonal swamps depending on the amount of rain. 

The delta's natural beauty and ecological importance has earned it several romantic nicknames including the "Jewel of the Kalahari", "the Louvre of the desert", and "Africa’s Last Eden". This natural phenomenon was created by a unique combination of geographic, climatic, and biological conditions where the natural fauna and flora have adapted to an ever-changing ecosystem, according to Africa Geographic (AG), an organization that focuses on safari travel and conservation. AG points out several threats to the delta that are changing it.

Animals like zebras and wildebeest have migrated from the areas where the rivers have dried up. They prefer the more permanent swamps because there are water and grazing areas. 

One of the major challenges of the delta is the free movement of the animals. Since beef cattle were threatened by wild animals, a fence was built in 1980 to separate the wildlife in the east and cattle in the southwest. Cattle are an important part of Botswana's economy. In 2022, beef was the country's fourth largest export ($96 million) after diamonds and gems ($7.2 billion), minerals ($322.4 million), and electrical machinery and equipment ($166.7 million).

Human encroachment has created another threat to the delta in the form of hoof and mouth disease in cattle. This infectious and viral disease can cause high fever followed by blisters inside the mouth as well as lameness. 

Invasive plants like the Kariba weed (a.k.a. salvinia weed) and water lettuce are suffocating fish and shooing away crocodiles, according to Dr. C. Naidu Kurugundla who wrote a paper on the subject. Since 1972 the government has been trying to get rid of this free-floating fern that inhabits still and flowing fresh water bodies. It has tried  herbicides, manual elimination, and now uses an Australian weevil that feeds on these plants, which has proved successful. 

Water lettuce is a minor weed in Botswana because of its limited distribution. The weed reproduces primarily through a seed bank, said Dr. Kurugundla. To arrest further additions to the seed bank in infested areas, the weed had been physically removed from 1999 to 2003 before the flower formation.

The negative impacts of the Kariba weed and water lettuce, he said, include blocking streams and channels, choking back water bodies, affecting navigation and recreational activities such as fishing and tourism, eliminating indigenous vegetation, and causing an eye sore to the tourists who visit the wild life areas of the wetland systems.

Game driver/guide Gulley of Camp Santawani talked to us about the delta's geography and ecological challenges. He said that climate change is having a great effect on the delta. Rivers used to be much bigger and there was more rain; now the rivers are more often dry as the intense heat evaporates the water. Trees are also dying. They provide interesting sculptures, but unfortunately signal that something is wrong.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Okavango Delta is a UNESCO World Heritage site that is managed by UNESCO. There are no dams on the waterways although at one time Namibia wanted dams for hydroelectric power. The other countries in the Delta all agreed not to build any dams lest the ecological balance of the region be upset.

The delta is very important economically to the region. It supports tourism, which is Botswana's second largest revenue-producing industry. Tourism, in turn, provides employment. It is a source of water for plants, animals, and people as well as a source of food--plants and fish. Certain plants are used for basket weaving, which is another source of income for women who make the baskets.

 

Resources

https://africageographic.com/stories/understanding-the-okavango-delta/ 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalahari_Basin

https://www.water.gov.bw/images/Salvinia_website.pdf

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foot-and-mouth_disease

https://www.worldstopexports.com/botswanas-top-10-exports/?expand_article=1