We spent four nights in Victoria Falls, a great little town named after it’s claim to fame. Vic Falls, as it’s affectionately called, is one of the three largest waterfalls in the world and is an absolutely incredible sight to see. The town is also home to a host of adventure activities and we had a great few days posted up here exploring this part of the world.

On our first day, we took a long walk around the town and wandered to get our first glimpse of the falls. We ended up spending a few hours in the afternoon cheering on our friends who decided to go bungee jumping, one of the most popular adrenaline activities in town. Neither John nor I had a real interest in bungee jumping ourselves but we certainly got a kick out of watching the others.

We also found ourselves spending quite a bit of time at The Lookout Cafe. This restaurant is the home of a whole host of adventure activities, including various swings into the gorge, zip lining, and more. More than once, we found ourselves posted up at a table for food and drinks so we could, again, cheer on friends who were brave enough to try the different activities. It was also a great excuse to chill out in one of the most beautiful places I’ve seen. Check out that view from our lunch spot!

On our second day in Vic Falls, John and I peeled off from the group to go zip lining in the gorge adjacent to the waterfall which was so much fun. We zipped back and forth across the river over a series of 9 lines, each time getting another opportunity to see the gorgeous views of the falls and river below. John had been zip lining before on a family vacation to Costa Rica, but this was my first zip lining experience and I loved it! The views were incredible and it was fun to glide through the trees and over the river.

On our third and final full day, we went white water rafting on the Zambezi River! Again, John had already tried this in Costa Rica but this was my first rafting experience and I was nervous! I imagined we’d be going over huge rapids (like seriously, I pictured us going over Victoria Falls in a raft. Obviously, that is not what happens). It also didn’t help to hear the guide say the river is home to crocodiles, despite his assurances that they stay out of the rapids.

We drove about an hour to the launch spot and then hiked about 30 minutes down a steep incline to the river. We did a safety briefing with our guide and spent some time practicing paddling, turning, and ducking down into the boat with the other 7 people in our group. Finally, we were off. We hit the hardest two rapids first and while I got a face full of water and thought for sure we were going to flip, we emerged on the other side of the rapid in the boat and with huge smiles.

The next hour rafting was a ton of fun and almost leisurely – I could have even done with some more serious rapids! The day ended with a tough, steep hike out of the gorge and then delicious lunch before driving back into town. I really liked the rafting and look forward to trying it again! Sadly, we don’t have any pictures of this – we didn’t want to risk bringing our camera and opted not to pay the $60 for the group photos. Dang!

On our last day in town we finally got around to visiting Victoria Falls. You know, that waterfall everyone comes here to see. Because we visited in “high season,” the water level in the river was high and the falls were especially powerful. Walking along the edge was like walking through a crazy rainstorm and we got totally soaked; the falls spray a really intense mist into the air that looks like a dark cloud and there’s no escaping the water! Check it out:

The falls are beautiful and more massive than I even could have imagined. We spent awhile walking along the edge and checking out the various viewpoints to get different views of the falls. In some places, visibility was low because of the mist but in other areas we got a sense of how powerful the falls are. It was stunningly beautiful!

In addition to the adventure activities, killer views, and massive falls, a highlight from our time in Victoria Falls was getting to experience local food and culture. When we’re on the truck we rarely get to try local foods; we cook breakfast and dinner as a group at our campsite and pick up our own groceries for lunch. Here, with four days to explore, we had plenty of time to check out the local eats. On one of our nights in Victoria Falls, we went to a great restaurant called “In-Da-Belly” where we got to watch some locals performing traditional song and dance and we tried some wild foods like crocodile, impala, and warthog. We also loved The Three Monkeys which had surprisingly awesome pizza, like probably the best from the whole trip. Who knew the best pizza of our trip would be in Zimbabwe?! We also had a great time at our hostel, Shoestrings Backpacker Lodge, which was particularly lively and a great place to meet locals and other travelers alike.

Overall, we had an amazing few days visiting this world wonder and it’s adorable hometown. Next up: crossing into Botswana! Can’t wait for our 3rd African country!