Things to do
5-
Devil's Pool
A rock lip at the very edge of the falls holds back a natural pool that swimmers can enter when the river drops, usually between August and January. Access is by boat to Livingstone Island with a licensed guide, in timed groups through the day. The current beyond the rock is lethal, which is why the season and the guiding are not negotiable.
-
Livingstone Museum
Zambia's oldest museum sits on the main street and runs from Stone Age tools and Tonga ritual objects to letters and instruments belonging to David Livingstone himself. Displays are old fashioned and lightly lit, which suits the material. An hour or so here does more to explain the river and its trade routes than a day of activities on the water.
-
Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park
Upriver from the falls, a small park along the Zambezi bank holds white rhino under armed guard, along with zebra, giraffe and buffalo on open grassland. Rangers lead walking approaches to track the rhino, which is the main reason to come. Circuits take a morning, and the riverside road doubles as a quiet approach to the falls entrance.
-
Victoria Falls
Smoke that thunders is the local name for the curtain of water the Zambezi drops into a basalt gorge more than a hundred metres below, and the spray column is visible from far off. The Zambian side runs along the Knife Edge Bridge, which gets soaked at high water and gives the closest view of the eastern cataract. Raincoats are rented at the gate, and shoes with grip help on the wet path.
-
Victoria Falls Bridge
Steel arched across the gorge in 1905 to carry the Cape to Cairo railway, the bridge still links Zambia and Zimbabwe above the boiling river. Walkers cross from the Zambian post to the middle of the span for a side view into the gorge, and bungee jumps launch from the deck. A guided walkway runs beneath the girders for anyone wanting the engineering up close.