Bungee jumping*

The town of Victoria Falls is a sleeping shadow of its former days of glory. Gone are the money changers and the hordes of craftsmen hawking their wares. The upmarket hotels are still here, and thankfully still a few backpackers’ places. There are still plenty of ways to spend money through a variety of adventure activities however – abseiling, ziplining, rafting, bungee jumping, helicopter rides, microlight, elephant safari, Zambezi river cruises, the gorge swing – to name a few. We thought about doing one of them, but which one to choose?

First however, we needed to see the Mosi oa Tunya, “the smoke that thunders”. We were a little concerned that the visibility would not be good because of the flooding further up on the Zambezi River. While there were still a few viewpoints obstructed by extremely heavy mist and downright torrential spray, we saw more than we expected as it was a sunny (and quite hot) day. The volume was higher than it has been a long time, certainly much more than we’ve seen before at this time of year. It was absolutely spectacular; words cannot describe the immensity or sheer beauty of this natural wonder.

We watched a couple of people bungee jumping from the bridge, their torsos plunging in a straight line until the dramatic bounce at the end, their bodies snapping in different directions. My one thought was I bet they need some chiropractic work after that.

Our first choice of activity was a microlight flight, but it was only offered on the Zambian side, which because of our single-entry Zim visa and the cost and process of getting a Zambian one made it more than we wanted to deal with for fifteen minutes in the air. But that would have been fun. The water was much too high for rafting (and will be for a few more months), but that was one of the best values for money on the adventure menu. Sadly, the steam train does not run anymore, but we did get a tour of the 1900’s dining cars, and Russ checked out the coal-burning engine.

In the end, we instead went for (low-risk) high tea at the grand colonial-era Victoria Falls Hotel, which oozed old world opulence with white glove table service, mounted African game trophies, and converted old boy smoking rooms. While Russ would disagree (mostly because he does not drink tea), I think there is nothing more delightful than a proper high tea in the late afternoon. It was his first experience, and I think he enjoyed the delicate finger sandwiches, flaky scones, and small cakes while watching, from the Hotel’s veranda, the mist pounding from the Falls. This hotel had the best view outside the national park and a great way to end the day.

*It was never a serious consideration, but I figured it would catch people’s attention.