Victoria Falls Through The Lens: Field Notes From Elsewhere

Mist, thunder and the art of looking twice

A small alert for waterfall lovers: Victoria Falls is not a place to rush.

And yes, Sarah-Jane, this includes you.

On the Zambezi, the falls are something you gradually absorb.

The first visit is for wandering.

You follow the paths, stop at viewpoints, stare into the spray and try to take in the sheer volume of water disappearing over the edge.

It is almost too much at once.

The sound arrives first.

Then the mist.

Then the scale.

And somewhere between viewpoints, Victoria Falls provides its own very efficient humidity check.

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  Lush rainforest frames view of Victoria Falls, Zambia

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  Victoria Falls is synonymous with fractured light creating rainbow arches

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  Sheets of pounding water create a permanent rainforest eco-system for Victoria falls park

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  Mightly Zambezi River 1 - 2 km from Victoria Falls

Through The Lens

This is a place that rewards patience with a camera.

The obvious photograph is the enormous curtain of water, yet the details are just as interesting: spray catching the light,

wet rock,

vegetation clinging to the gorge,

people appearing and disappearing into the mist,

and the Zambezi gathering itself before taking that extraordinary plunge.

Photographically, it is wonderfully difficult.

One moment you can see across the gorge.

The next, everything vanishes behind spray.

That is part of the experience.

Go back the next day

If you can, visit twice.

The first day, wander without trying too hard to understand everything.

Then return the next day, ideally with a local guide.

That second visit changes the experience. A guide points out details you walked straight past, explains how the river and falls change with the seasons, and helps you begin to understand an overwhelming landscape.

You notice more because you are no longer trying to see everything.

I visited Victoria Falls with Dennis Smith of Nat Hab as part of a tour (as an independent traveller)

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  Rainbow alley, Victoria Falls

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  Twin sharfts of light illuminate the tourist hotspot Victoria Falls

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  Vegetation clings to rock walls of Victoria Falls canyon, Zambia

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  Visitors framed by lush rainforest, Victoria Falls

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  Narrow rocky canyon pounds the water into a fine mist coating visitors, rainforest and your poucho

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  Aerial view of towering mist created by Victoria Falls

Field Notes From Elsewhere

Victoria Falls reminded me why slow travel works.

Large landscapes encourage us to race between viewpoints because we fear missing something.

Sometimes the opposite is true.

Stand still.

Let the mist soak you.

Listen to the water.

Gawp at the sheer volume.

Then come back tomorrow and look again.

That is usually when the place starts revealing its best bits.

Best Bits Travel normally explores Australia and New Zealand. These Field Notes From Elsewhere are occasional observations on photography, landscapes, wildlife and the art of noticing while travelling further afield.