Journal
Victoria Falls: Why You Need to See It From Both Sides
Victoria Falls had been on my travel wish list for almost a lifetime.
Known locally as Mosi-oa-Tunya — The Smoke That Thunders — it is one of those places whose name alone creates an image in your mind. But nothing quite prepares you for the scale of it.
We began on the Zambian side, staying beside the falls at the Royal Livingstone. There is something quite magical about being so close that the falls become part of the rhythm of your stay.
But crossing into Zimbabwe gave me an entirely different perspective.
The Zimbabwean side offers a much broader sense of the immense curtain of water. Walking the viewpoints, you begin to understand just how vast Victoria Falls really is.
My advice? Don’t choose between Zambia and Zimbabwe.
See both.
And if you can, see the falls a third way — from above.
Taking a helicopter over Victoria Falls completely changed my understanding of the landscape. From the air you see the Zambezi carving its way towards the enormous fracture in the earth before disappearing into the gorge below.
On foot you experience the power.
From the air you understand the scale.
It is exactly why I believe some places deserve more than one perspective. If you have travelled this far, it makes little sense to see only half the story.