LearnServe Zambia 2019, Day 14: A dry Falls and my first safari
Having visited Victoria Falls for the second time and going on a Safari of the first time was such an amazing experience. Every time I visit the falls I have beautiful adventurers moment and just get to appreciate how great our natural resources are and how they can contribute to uplifting the lives of the Zambian people. On the other hand the safari was a whole different experience, as it made me realize the importance of not cutting down trees for animals needs it and climate change has really affected nature in a negative way.
Sunday started with a visit to the Victoria Falls. Situated about 10km from the city of Livingstone, it is one of the most spectacular natural sites in the world, "The Victoria Falls."
The Vic Falls, one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World, which is supposed to offer breath-taking views that are almost too spectacular and majestic to describe by humans. But because of little water in the Zambezi it is not as spectacular as it is supposed to be. This partly because of two things:
They has not been so much rains this year.
Water from the Zambezi is been directed from a point way before the Victoria falls to help run electricity power generators.
Because of this two reasons a unique attractions on the Zambian side is going to waste, this include the Boiling Pot.
Then we had a chance to see a big baobab tree which is over a hundred years old.
Then we visited the Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park is situated along the upper Zambezi River. It includes the Victoria Falls and stretches for about 12 kilometres up the Zambezi River above the Falls.
It is only 66 square kilometers, the guide explained that the Park is the second smallest park in Zambia and has only 35 different animal species. We were accorded a wonderfully relaxing drive alongside the river for much of the circular route, which ended with photo shoots, snacks, drinks and nice view of the sunset, during the drive we could see a wide variety of species easily. The Park provides a home for numerous antelope species which we saw, giraffes we saw a good number of them, warthogs we saw, and a variety of birds and smaller animals too. We also saw Elephants eating in the the Park and the surrounding area. We also saw 10 the white rhinos which are protected by game rangers 24/7 because if not they would be killed by poachers, The only animal we were not able to see was the zebras.
We took a pleasant drive around the Park in a couple of hours and all the animal species were seen at close quarters. Since there are no predators in the Park, the animals are very relaxed and afford some excellent photo opportunities.
Having visited both the Victoria falls and the safari was one opportunity I will never forget, I will for ever be grateful and cherish, many people in Zambia have never been to those places, which makes me feel like more work needs to be done locally.
Japhet Chulu, Programmes Officer at Africa Directions, LearnServe Zambia in-country partner