The Victoria Falls

"Mosi-oa-Tunya"

It was on the 17th November 1855 that David Livingstone first saw the greatest waterfall in all Africa and named the site after the British Queen. Generations of local Makololo people knew the area as "Mosi-oa-Tunya" (the smoke that thunders).

At the point where the Zambesi descends into the gorge, the river is 1717 metres wide which makes the Vic Falls the widest waterfalls in the world. The average height is 92 metres and at the end of the rainy season in April/May it is said that 333000 cubic metres of water flow over the falls every minute.

The Victoria Falls Bridge was completed in 1905 and was then the first bridge to span the mighty Zambesi. It was initially only a railway bridge with 2 tracks but was converted to a road & rail bridge in 1930. The bridge is 202 metres long and is 90 metres above the river. The centre of the bridge marked the border between Rhodesia & Zambia and it was on this spot that a South African Railways carriage was placed to host talks between the Rhodesian Government & the gooks in August 1975.

The Victoria Falls Hotel was just one of the many fine tourist resorts that were developed in the area. The Casino Hotel was next door; the Rainbow was at the edge of the national park whilst the A'Zambezi River Lodge and the ill-fated Elephant Hills Country Club were further upstream.

In 1978 Bed & Breakfast at the 3-star Victoria Falls Hotel cost Rh$13.00 single and Rh$23.00 double.

Entrance into the National Park to view the splendour of the falls was free.