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Victoria Falls is Mosi-oa-Tunya to Africans
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Victoria Falls is Mosi-oa-Tunya to Africans

A walking tour loop from town puts visitors on the back side of "the smoke that thunders," in a clean water play place used by locals.

Terry J. Richard
Jan 4
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Victoria Falls is Mosi-oa-Tunya to Africans
terryjrichard.substack.com
Locals enjoy the day on the Zambezi River just above Mosi-oa-Tunya, or Victoria Falls (BWO photo).

The United States did it with Denali.

Hint, hint.

The tallest mountain in North America used to be named Mount McKinley, for an assassinated American president who never saw it. It’s name was changed more than 100 years later to Denali, the indigenous people’s name that rolls pleasingly off the tongue for one of the world’s great geographical sights. The name changes came in 1980 for the surrounding national park and in 2015 for the Alaskan mountain.

Victoria Falls in southern Africa is known by locals as Mosi-oa-Tunya. Maybe it’s time to . . . . I will leave that to the people who live near the falls in Zimbabwe and Zambia to decide. The falls is even more recognized as a geographical feature than Denali, being routinely listed as one of the seven wonders of the natural world.

A bit of the Zambezi River “smoke” from just above Mosi-oa-Tunya (BWO photo).

Queen Victoria, of course, was a worldly historic figure, while William McKinley was not. The name Victoria also rolls off the tongue pleasingly, but so does Mosi-oa-Tunya, “the smoke that thunders.”

When our tour group visited Victoria Falls, most of the group included a day’s crossing from Zimbabwe to Zambia to visit Devils Pool, where you crawl/swim up to the very edge of the 300-foot falls and stare down the abyss.

Twitter avatar for @MsMariaSNiza Maria @MsMariaS
Did the devils pool today at the Victoria falls best feeling ever!!
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October 17th 2021

43 Retweets591 Likes

I opted instead for the helicopter tour, paddle rafting on the Zambezi River and the traditional walking tour of the Zimbabwe side past 30 viewpoints.

Twitter avatar for @africaupdatesAfrica Updates @africaupdates
Mosi-oa-Tunya "The Smoke That Thunders" is a waterfall on the Zambezi River in Southern Africa on the border between Zambia & Zimbabwe. Scottish missionary & explorer David Livingstone was the first European to see the Mosi-oa-Tunya on 16 Nov 1855. He renamed it Victoria falls.
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October 10th 2021

36 Retweets96 Likes

But we had a fourth day at the falls that I was not expecting.

From Victoria Falls town there’s an easy paved road walking loop that eventually puts you along the Zambezi River just above the falls. I did the walking tour solo and felt no safety concerns. I assume wild animals must come and go, but all I saw was a mama wart hog and two youngsters, from about 10 feet away once I got back into town.

The baobab tree is possibly 1,500 years old, 80 feet high and has a 60-foot circumference (BWO photo).
The big baobab tree just above Mosi-oa-Tunya (BWO photo).

The walk (or drive) leads past a huge baobab tree, makes a loop then approaches the river. Side trails lead to the water, where a dozen or more locals were enjoying the setting. A guard encouraged me to walk to the car parking lot, find the attendant and pay the fee.

I respectfully declined, figuring I was only passing through for a short time on foot and surely I had already paid $100US in park fees for my other outings to see Mosi-oa-Tunya.

Crossing to the Zambia side is a bit complicated: a double entry visa for Zimbabwe to begin with, a Zambia visa, transport to and from the international border and a tour guide to Devils Hole. A local tour operator helped our group with logistics, but I should have bought that double-entry Zimbabwe visa two weeks before when we first entered the country.

Locals enjoy the day on the Zambezi River just above Mosi-oa-Tunya (BWO photo).
Twitter avatar for @AfricaViewFactsAfrica View Facts @AfricaViewFacts
Top 10 most visited tourist attractions in Africa 2021 1. Lake Retba 🇸🇳 2. River Nile 🇪🇬 3. Lekki Conservative 🇳🇬 4. Victoria Falls 🇿🇼 5. Table Mountain 🇿🇦 6. Sahara Dunes 🇲🇦 7. Kilimanjaro 🇹🇿 8. Pyramids 🇪🇬 9. Lake Abbe 🇪🇹🇩🇯 10. Sossusvlei Dunes 🇳🇦 Source : Statista
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January 4th 2022

64 Retweets155 Likes
Twitter avatar for @Yvonne_MaphosaYvonne Maphosa @Yvonne_Maphosa
Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe 🇿🇼 2022: Travel, Food & Happiness 🕯 #TravelZimbabwe
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January 3rd 2022

17 Retweets338 Likes
Twitter avatar for @PamelaMpofu1the_media_babe @PamelaMpofu1
Victoria Falls with my ❤️ A thread
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January 1st 2022

10 Retweets130 Likes
Twitter avatar for @AfricaViewFactsAfrica View Facts @AfricaViewFacts
This is Mosi-oa-Tunya " Victoria falls" in Zimbabwe 🇿🇼
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December 24th 2021

51 Retweets211 Likes
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