BEST OF ZIMBABWE - Volume 1

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River’s peak flow. Victoria Falls is made of five different waterfalls. Four of these are in Zimbabwe: The Devil’s Cataract, Main Falls, Rainbow Falls and Horseshoe Falls. The other, The Eastern Cataract, is in the bordering country of Zambia. According to David Livingstone this was, “the most wonderful sight (he) had witnessed in Africa”. Not only does the falling sheet of water present one of the finest natural spectacles in the world, but the Zambezi River offers one of the most diversified adventure tourism products in the world. David Livingstone was the first nonindigenous person to see and write about the Victoria Falls. Enchanted by the sheer beauty of the Victoria Falls, he went on to describe “scenes so lovely (they) must have been gazed on by angels in their flight”. Victoria Falls is situated on the western tip of Zimbabwe. The Falls, known by the local Kololo tribe as Mosi oa Tunya meaning the smoke that thunders, is one of the ‘Seven Natural Wonders of the World’ and one of the largest and most spectacular waterfalls on earth. You will see the ‘smoke’ from kilometres away as you enter the Victoria Falls town either by air or road. It appears like a fine smoke rising from the gorges and one would be forgiven for thinking that there was a burning fire somewhere. As you draw closer, the sounds begin to be audible, at first seeming like a consistent but low thunder, becoming a bolder rolling thunder up close. Witnessing the ‘smoke’ or spray rising is phenomenal. The ‘Rainforest’, as the Victoria Falls National Park is affectionately known, mimics a typical tropical rainforest in many respects. From the everyday spray, which turns into heavy showers in most parts of the park, to the ecology of the Park, which includes typical tropical rainforest vegetation, it is easy to understand the ‘Rainforest’ nickname. Lake Kariba Also known as ‘Zimbabwe’s Riviera’, it was created by the construction of the Kariba Dam in the 1950s. Lake Kariba is among the four largest man-made lakes in the world and the second largest in Africa. The shoreline is over 2,000 kilometres long. Kariba is home to numerous species of flora and fauna and is an exciting and unique safari destination. The Matusadonha National Park is located on the shores of Lake Kariba and several

Lake Kariba

Lake Kariba

fine lodges and resorts are located there. Kariba Recreational Park is based around the Zambezi River, which was initially dammed so as to build a hydroelectricity generation

utility for the benefit of both Zimbabwe and Zambia. The dam wall with six floodgates was built between 1955 and 1959 and is 128 metres high and 617 metres wide. The

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