Ain’t No Sunshine

Question: What happens all day, every day of the year in the Victoria Falls Rainforest that happens nowhere else on earth?

Answer: Rainfall

A weather forecaster in the Victoria Falls Rainforest might as well just phone it in and then go back to bed, because what it’s going to do is rain—24 hours a day, every day of the year. Rising water vapor and persistent spray from the Falls has resulted in a unique micro-climate that bathes the rainforest in permanent rainfall.

Although some would argue that this is not all "natural" rainfall, we shouldn’t get hung up on technicalities. When you walk through this lush rainforest on the Zimbabwean side of the Falls at any time of day or night, bring a poncho because you’re going to get wet. Besides, if you insist on getting technical, in ecological terms the Victoria Falls Rainforest isn’t a proper rainforest at all—it’s an extension of the riverine fringe dependent on the spray from the waterfall for its formation that has developed into a unique eco-system. But forget all that, it’s a rainforest.

Or consider Victoria Falls itself—at 355 feet high, it’s not the tallest waterfall; at a mile wide, it’s not the widest; but with an average flow of 33,000 cubic feet of water per second (the world’s largest sheet of falling water), it is the biggest and most powerful. Regardless of how you define it, many consider Victoria Falls the most majestic waterfall in the world.

Smoke on the water …

When the Scottish missionary and explorer David Livingstone first glimpsed what the local Kololo tribe called Mosi-oa-Tunya— "the smoke that thunders"—in 1855, he was overcome by the grandeur of what he saw. "On sights as beautiful as this," he wrote, "Angels, in their flight must have gazed." Despite the fact that the massive curtain of water already had a powerful indigenous name, his next order of business was to rename it in honor of his queen (more on that later).

Of course, Livingstone wasn’t the first person to glimpse the sheer power of the Falls. He was just the first European to set eyes on them—local tribes had known and revered Mosi-ao-Tunya for centuries. But the heart-pounding thrill of standing on the edge of the precipice high about the raging waters that Livingstone described still resonates for those who witness Victoria Falls for the first time.

Recording how the ancient Batoka chiefs used Kazeruka and Boaruka—two small islands located on the lip of the Falls—as sacred places of worship, Livingstone would go on to write: "It is no wonder that under the cloudy columns, and near the brilliant rainbows, with the ceaseless roar of the cataract, with the perpetual flow, as if pouring forth from the hand of the Almighty, their souls should be filled with reverential awe."

As if the view wasn’t sweet enough …

On Livingstone’s second expedition to Victoria Falls in 1858, he was joined by the English artist and explorer Thomas Baines. Livingstone and Baines had opposing temperaments and did not get along well. An argument over sugar rations ended up with Baines being (unfairly) accused of theft and being dismissed from the expedition.

Hoping to reconcile with Livingstone (and clear his name), Baines returned to the Falls in 1862. He missed his chance with Livingstone, who had already left the region, but Baines stuck around to do some painting. The sketches and lushly rendered watercolors of the Falls that Baines created over a 12-day period would eventually make it back to England—and his now famous artwork would be instrumental in spreading the fame of this natural wonder to the rest of the world.

It would take quite a while for anyone other than hardcore explorers like Livingstone, Baines, and the indigenous population, of course, to witness the grandeur of Victoria Falls, however. A few decades later, British politician and diamond magnate Cecil Rhodes (who, along with Queen Victoria, never even saw the Falls in person) led an ambitious project to construct a railway from Cape Town to the banks of the Zambezi near Victoria Falls—which included the construction of a controversial "bridge across the Zambezi where the trains, as they pass, will catch the spray of the Falls."

With the completion of the railway in 1904—along with the opening of the Victoria Falls Hotel the same year—followed by the bridge in 1905, a South African publication would now boast that "The average man in the street has hardly yet realized that the Victoria Falls are within reach of anybody having a couple of months to spare."

So, if you were in England early in the 20th century, all you had to do was take the train to Southampton, then catch the Union Castle mail steamer for the 16-day sail to Cape Town. After that, it was just three days by train to Bulawayo, and one more day to Victoria Falls. Piece of cake!

While making Victoria Falls an increasingly popular destination for British travelers, the new railway also enabled Britain to impose imperial rule in the area. Advertising that had once featured ominous images of "Darkest Africa" began talking about the "Brightest Africa," with Victoria Falls being promoted as a destination for "tourists, sportsmen, invalids, and settlers."

A river runs through it …

When someone asks, "Where is Victoria Falls?" the answer isn’t so clearcut. That’s because the Falls lie on the Zambezi River, which serves as the international border between two countries—Zimbabwe and Zambia—with each nation managing its own side of the Falls. The Victoria Falls Rainforest, which offers uninterrupted views of the widest section of the Falls, is located in Zimbabwe; while popular viewing spots like Knife-Edge Bridge, Devil’s Point, and Livingstone Island (the small outcrop of land where Livingstone first laid eyes on the Falls) are located in Zambia. And while Livingstone the town is located in Zambia, Livingstone the statue is on the Zimbabwean side of the Falls.

What’s in a name?

So why do we continue to refer to one of the world’s greatest natural wonders as Victoria Falls instead of its indigenous name Mosi-oa-Tunya? At a time when monuments throughout the world are losing colonial names in favor of their given indigenous names, Victoria Falls seems to be hedging their bets a little—with concerns about a loss in tourism dollars from an official name change being one factor.

Livingstone’s legacy is also complicated, with some considering his statue a monument to courage and discovery—and others viewing it as a reminder of an era when Africa’s natural wonders were claimed and renamed without consent. If or until an official name change takes place, UNESCO has chosen to refer to both Mosi-oa-Tunya and Victoria Falls.

A few more fascinating insights into the early days of Victoria Falls:

• We wonder if it reigned—While Queen Victoria never got to see her namesake falls, Queen Elizabeth II visited Victoria Falls in 1947 with her family, when she was still a princess.


• One assumes he carried his big stick—Theodore Roosevelt made it to Lake Victoria but didn’t quite make it to Victoria Falls in 1909 on his year-long the Smithsonian-Roosevelt African Expedition, whose goal was to collect specimens for the Smithsonian’s new natural history museum. Roosevelt’s personal score for the safari was 296 head of big game, including nine lion, eight elephant,13 rhino, and six buffalo.


• Thanks but no thanks—When Livingstone returned to England aboard a British warship, he was accompanied by a local African. But when his African companion became so unnerved by his new and unfamiliar surroundings, he jumped overboard.


• Tipping canoes and hippos, too—In 1910 two bodies were discovered in the second gorge of Victoria Falls. Later identified only as "Mrs. Moss" and "Mr. Orchard," they had been swept over the falls after their two canoes were capsized by a hippo above the falls.

Visit Victoria Falls (where the rain never ceases, but neither does the beauty!) during O.A.T.’s Ultimate Africa: Botswana, Zambia & Zimbabwe Safari adventure.