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Continuing with DAY 8 (19 June) we were picked up at 4:00 PM for a 15 minute microlight flight over Victoria Falls. I’m strapped into the seat behind Grant, my pilot. I don’t know why they bother with helmets. If you fall out of the sky in this contraption, your dead no matter what you are wearing, other than a parachute. Although, it did allow us to converse over an incorporated microphone and headset. Our takeoff was smooth and exciting. It almost felt safe.

As Grant took us up higher and higher, I asked him how long he’s been a microlight pilot. He said nine months. But he has also been flying helicopter for 7 years. That cranked down my fear meter a notch or two

As we flew over the falls we give the camera on the wing a thumbs up. This vantage point gave one a completely new perspective of Victoria Falls. On our way back to the landing field Grant pointed out various animals below us. They appeared quite different from on high.

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Our landing was flawless. We taxied to the parking apron and I was helped out of the thing. We had to have our pockets completely empty, and no cameras were allowed, since the propeller was behind us, and anything falling might go aft and destroy the prop. No telling what would have happen after that. It was the lawn mower engine driving the propeller that kept us airborne. This was certainly a great experience and I’d do it again in an instant.

It is now DAY 9 (20 June) and we were picked up at 9:00 AM by our friendly guide who drove us to the Victoria Bridge. The bridge was build between 1904 & 1905. It is a parabolic arch bridge connecting Zimbabwe with Zambia over the Zambezi River.

I didn’t know the bridge was so old. It was showing its age. Also, it’s smaller than I thought it would be. Below you can see the Royal Livingstone Hotel, the reddish colored buildings on the edge of the river in the center and just above the falls.

We had gotten to the bridge early. The crew who operated the bungee jump were not even there yet. We walked up a little hill to the waiting area, and from this vantage point we could see the bridge clearly. But alas, the time came when we must approach the bridge, and the jump area.

It looks like it is a long way down, but it was only 111 meters. We have been harnessed up and are just waiting for the crew to check everything out and make sure all is in order. When we first got out on the bridge and I told the guy that I was going to jump, he started laughing, and he kept laughing. I asked him what’s the matter, and he just laughed some more. I mentioned that I had bungee jumped before (although it was 15 years ago). It was the 134 meter Nevis River Gorge in New Zealand, and he just shook his head. When the crew was ready they helped me get onto the platform began attaching the bungee to me.

The guy holding my arms out is the one who laughed at me. They said to just jump straight out, and I did, and there I go! Pete edited the video we got after we jumped, and he put it on his facebook page, is you’re interested.

I will have to admit that this jump was not as pleasant as the one we did in New Zealand. I think it is because there are different strengths of bungees. Some bungees are made for launching a Sherman Tank from a C-130 with a parachute, and I think that is the bungee used here at the Victoria Falls Bridge. Other types of bungees offer more elasticity, and are meant for lighter loads. This is what I must have experienced in New Zealand at the Nevis River Gorge. That jump was much softer in that the stretch as my weight began to pull at the length of the bungee was much more elastic, and I did not feel a sudden jerk, as I did in this jump. At least that’s my perspective, and in hind site I would not do this jump again (irrespective of what I said as I was being hauled back onto the bridge), and I cannot recommend it to anyone else. Better to go to New Zealand and experience the Nevis River Gorge jump.

Following the bungee jump we were to have a guided walking tour of the Victoria Falls on the Zimbabwe side of the Zambezi River. This is where you need a raincoat, because at some of these outlooks it is constantly raining from the mist of the falls.

That’s a lot of water. And the drop is so great that you wouldn’t want to go over these falls in a barrel. Perhaps the Nautilus in Jules Verne’s Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, but even that would be a bit risky.

The statue is of David Livingstone, who claims to have discovered Victoria Falls. I guess the natives don’t count. ;o)

There was a constant roar from the millions of tons of water falling some 355 feet (111 meters). We did not get to see the full range of the falls on the Zimbabwe side, perhaps only 25%, and we missed having lunch at the Victoria Falls Hotel, but that was just a luxury that we thought would be nice. We certainly wouldn’t starve.

The portion of the falls that we did see were certainly impressive. As it is, I think we were beginning to suffer from sensory overload. Africa is most definitely an amazing place.

These photos were taken from the Zambezi side of the falls. We walked there from the Royal Livingstone.

There were some great shots of rainbows and double rainbows. Also, these two large billed exotic birds perched in the trees.

We were pressed for time by the fact that we had to be back at the hotel for our next tour pickup at 2:30, which was our elephant ride. We didn’t want to miss that. These elephants were magnificent. Before going out to meet them, we were given a short history of this facility, and what is involved in caring for them. It’s quite an investment of both time and money. Our elephant ride will be for one hour. We got to choose which elephant we wanted to ride on.

The big bull with the slightly misaligned tusks was chosen by the kid who was there with his mother. He looked pretty excited about his choice.

The elephant I chose happened to be the mother of the baby elephant that came along with us. At one point he actually nursed from his mother. I couldn’t quite figure out how he could do it, as I thought his trunk would surely get in the way, but when he backed off, I saw that he was able to raise his trunk high enough so that his mouth could easily reach her nipple.

The guides had sacks of some sort of snack that the elephants kept putting his trunks back begging for more. It must have been like candy to them. My guide gave me the sack and let me feed the baby. His trunk was like a hand, very sensitive to everything, and able to grasp things easily. It felt really strange to feed him the snack.

Like any youngster, the baby was playful, and managed to get himself into a little trouble. He wandered off, and we heard him in the distance squealing like he was in a lot of pain. One of the guides said he probably got stung by a bee or a wasp.

The elephants were well trained, and allowed us to pet them, and feed them more treats. All in all it was a pretty rewarding experience.

This pretty much concludes our stay at Victoria Falls, and we ended it by have a nice dinner that night, with the required martini, a good South African wine, and a couple of local dishes excellently prepared.

In the morning we will be making a very interesting trip by van, ferry and lastly to arrive at the Chobe Princess, a houseboat on the Chobe River, where we will spend our last two days of guided game viewing along the Chobe River.