{"id":1403,"date":"2020-10-27T14:06:26","date_gmt":"2020-10-27T14:06:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/toonsarah-travels.blog\/staging\/?p=1403"},"modified":"2021-03-18T11:32:50","modified_gmt":"2021-03-18T11:32:50","slug":"lens-artists-challenge-120-what-a-treat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/toonsarah-travels.blog\/staging\/lens-artists-challenge-120-what-a-treat\/","title":{"rendered":"Gallery: Victoria Falls – what a treat"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Smoke that Thunders<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The indigenous name for Victoria Falls is Mosi-oa-Tunya<\/em> or The Smoke that Thunders, and it is a fitting name. The constant spray is as thick as smoke, and the roar of the water is indeed like thunder.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We were staying in Victoria Falls for just a few days, as an add-on to our holiday in Botswana, and had decided to treat ourselves to a helicopter flight over the falls. We were picked up from the hotel after breakfast and taken to the helipad a couple of miles out of town. There we were briefed on the flight path and weighed! There were to be five of us on the helicopter and seats were allocated to balance the weight. We were strapped in, given headphones (which served both to muffle the engine noise and provide a commentary) and we were ready for take-off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"River
Approaching the falls<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Once in the air we flew towards the falls, approaching from the upper reaches of the Zambezi. The flights are designed to take a figure of eight route, so that everyone gets the same views, and Chris and I had the falls on our side at first. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The falls from the air<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Our guide Patrick had told us yesterday that 70% of the falls were here in Zimbabwe and just 30% in Zambia, and now I could see what he meant. From above I could appreciate what we had failed to see through the spray at ground level: the topography of this natural phenomenon. Unlike other falls I have visited, which usually lie at right angles to the river\u2019s banks and face directly downstream, the Victoria Falls face an abrupt narrowing of the river and therefore look towards an escarpment. The river flows away through a narrow gorge, creating a sort of wonky T shape, with the smaller right-hand arm lying in Zambia and the larger part on the left in Zimbabwe. <\/p>\n\n\n\n