For me and the three others in our ‘party’, this was the ‘Best Victoria Falls Experience’ we could possibly have imagined; it ticked all our boxes and way exceeded our expectations. We’d been advised by friends who have seen them from the Zimbabwean as well as the Zambian side that the latter was the best. This suited us well because we were already in Zambia. 

If you are feeling a bit overwhelmed by the thought of planning a visit to these very famous falls, save yourself/ves the trouble by reading this blog. You will find good suggestions, as well as a glimpse or two of this wonder of nature. I won’t be posting too many photos though, because you simply have to see ‘THE REAL THING’ to get your ‘Best Victoria Falls Experience’!

Before the Falls

First off, I must tell you that before the Falls, we did the ‘Best Zambian Budget Safari’ we could ever have done! You can read all about that here: https://footeloosefancyfree.com/best-zambian-budget-safari/

In that blog post, I sang the praises of Cedarberg Travel and I will certainly do the same now. https://www.cedarberg-travel-com/  They specialize in African travel and the company is based in South Africa, but they do operate in Britain too, which suited us so well given that we live in the UK. Our personal agent was Ginny Russell and we can’t praise her highly enough. She needed a lot of patience dealing with these rather old, slightly doddery and indecisive clients! She put together a superb short trip for us.

Initially the plan was to do our 5 night Safari and then follow that up with two nights in the vicinity of Victoria Falls, before flying home. But that would have meant flying on a Sunday and Emirates, our chosen International airline, does not fly from Zambia to the UK on that day. So we decided to spend three nights in one venue and it was absolutely the right decision. We were able to do everything we wanted to do and more, with extra time to relax and simply soak up some warmth and sunshine before heading back to a much cooler UK. 

Our must-haves

• The best ‘water-fall’ time for Victoria Falls.

You may not be aware of the following:The wet season is officially between November and March, and there may be so much water coming over the Falls that the spray limits or even obscures your view.The dry season is theoretically then between April and November, but if you go to the Falls late in this time span e.g. in September, there may be only a minimal amount of water trickling over the falls. This could be very disappointing, so be warned.

Of course also, with climate change, these seasons are not as predictable as they used to be and there is nothing one can do about that. We had opted for ‘shoulder season’, i.e. just before peak season, for our Safari, and so our dates had to follow on after that.Our dates were 7th, 8th and 9th June 2024. and it  turned out to be the ‘best Victoria Falls experience’ with lots of water but not too much – lots of beautiful rainbows and not too many people! Apparently, if it had been a normal year the Falls would have been a lot fuller, so we were very fortunate.

• Accommodation as close to the Falls as possible.

We didn’t want to have to catch another bus or taxi to get there.

• Full catering.

We didn’t want to self cater.

• An option to do a river boat cruise from wherever we were staying.

Avani Victoria Fall Resort was what we decided on from the options Ginny gave us and it was a good choice. More about this hotel at the end of this blog.

1. Zambian flights to be booked for us i.e. Lusaka to Livingstone return. 

• Transfers to and from all venues from airports to be arranged for us. 

Ginny had advised us to do this –  it isn’t safe to just go with any taxi. 

Ginny organized all of the above through Cedarberg Travel and it was all ‘spelt out’ for us in the booklet we received by post about a week before our departure from England. She included everything we needed to know and alerted us to recent changes too. This company really has its finger on the pulse.  

Getting there

7 June: 

We bid a sad farewell to the truly wonderful Flatdogs Camp. Malama, our fantastic guide, drove us to Lusaka Airport. We had quite a long wait at Lusaka Airport before catching our Proflight Shuttle to Livingstone Airport. 

Be aware that there are not many flights a day and so one has to be prepared for longish waits. It won’t take you long to ‘do’ the touristy shops. Pass some of the time by having something to eat and drink – a limited choice though. There is WiFi however, so I was able to search for a flying colleague of my husband’s who he knew had once done helicopter flips over the Falls. He didn’t think he could still be there, but he is and now has his own company! We were able to connect and get together. 

We arrived at Livingstone at 17.45pm and then a representative from Bushtracks Africa drove us to our hotel: Avani Victoria Falls Resort. It took about 20 minutes. As we travelled, he gave us a brief history about Livingstone and the Falls, which are situated in the Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park. 

Our rooms were on the first floor and looked out onto a river.

The hotel fee is ‘Bed and Breakfast’ but they have a restaurant and so we were able to have a bite to eat.  

Our Best Victoria Falls Experience

 

8 June:

First night at Avani Hotel.

Dinner at the restaurant.

This particular Avani hotel is situated in the ‘Mosi-oa-Tunya’ National Park, which means ‘the smoke that thunders’. It comes from the Lozi language spoken in Zambia (amongst others). It is, of course, referring to the spray that resembles smoke and the thundering noise the huge volume of water makes plunging down onto the floor of the 108 meter high gorge.

We couldn’t wait to experience this for ourselves.

9 June:

Morning:

We walked to the Victoria Falls through the hotel grounds, quite early, 7.40am, to avoid the crowds. It only took us about 10 minutes to get to the entrance gate.  There are also shuttles cruising the grounds all the time and you can jump on one of these if you don’t want to walk – and we did do that as well at times.

Entrance is free for hotel guests – how marvellous is that?!  It was a perfect morning – clear blue skies and a very pleasant temperature. 

We rounded a corner and happened upon our first double rainbow! 

There are maps everywhere which highlight the key aspects of the Falls and help orientate you to where you are. The paths are excellent and you can follow them all and see the Falls from many angles. 

There are also viewing points and benches too where you can sit and marvel at this magnificent natural wonder.

It was fascinating to see how the rainbows disappeared into thin air along with the spray. This results in them constantly changing and reforming – so different to a rainstorm.

My sister and I followed the path to the ‘Knife Edge’ bridge, which was built in the 1960’s. From here you get spectacular views down into the gorges. Be warned, you will get wet from the spray – and VERY wet when the wind is blowing in the ‘right’ direction, which is what happened to us the following day!

Mid Morning:

After returning from the Falls, we indulged in an excellent buffet breakfast at the hotel.

Afternoon: 

Later, my husband and I went in search of the bird hide. For starters it wasn’t easy to find. Secondly, it was badly neglected and there was nowhere to sit. What a shame as it is in a pretty spot and there must be others who visit the hotel that enjoy birds like we do.

Looking out from the hide, we did see a kingfisher sitting on the dead branch overhanging the water on the right in this picture, but didn’t mange to get a photo before it flew off. We were amused at the ‘Beware of the crocodiles’ sign – but perhaps there are some there??

We didn’t see any….except the one in the photo below!

We did ask at the desk for chairs to be placed there for us, but there was a distinct lack of interest and not surprisingly, these did not materialize. 

I had a swim in the unusual swimming pool – it flows under a bridge and goes right up to the dining room.

Late afternoon/evening:

A fantastic Scenic River Safari with www.livingstonesadventures.com

The hotel shuttle bus took us to the start point for the boats.

The boat we went in was more expensive but so worth it. These smaller ones are propeller free, hence no noise, and they can get right up close to the wildlife on the remote islands.

We could have patted a crocodile…we were that close…

The scenery is beautiful with numerous small islands gracing the Zambezi.

You’ll see plenty of other boats (some quite unusual like the one below), on the mighty Zambezi but it doesn’t feel crowded.

We beached on one of the islands for a short while.

Evening:

We had dinner at the hotel restaurant and the work colleague of my husband’s from way back when, (whom we’d made contact with while waiting for our flight to Livingstone from Lusaka) joined us along with his lovely wife. He is now CEO of United Air Charter in Zambia. https://uaczam.com

A happy evening with this couple, the two men reminiscing about their flying days in years gone by! Luckily there were seats avaliable for us to have a flip over the Falls the next morning. We were fortunate to get these as they are very busy and seats fill up fast.

10 June:

Morning:

A flip with United Air Charter https://uaczam.com and ‘white-water rafting’ in a chopper! My husband opted out as he had flown over the Falls many times himself.

Genaas Lindeque, the CEO of  United Air Charters, was in the SAAF for many years before going private in South Africa. Then over 20 years ago, he relocated to Zambia and started flying people over the falls, eventually setting up his own company. Hi wife, Ella, is very involved with the running of the company too and does a stirling job. With all this experience, you can do no better than choosing this company to thrill you with a flip over the Falls.You can book right here: https://uaczam.com DO IT!

Midday:

We lunched at the Royal Livingstone Resort at the Kubu (which means ‘hippo’) restaurant with the ‘smoke’ from the Falls visible in the distance. What a pleasure. https://www.anantara.com/en/royal-livingstone

The Avani and Royal Livingstone hotels are linked by pathways and shuttles go back and forth all the time and that is how we got there and back. It’s walkable but we went for the easy option. 

Afternoon:

My sister and I did the circuit walk at the Falls which includes the Knife Edge Bridge and Danger Point.

We had taken our own raincoats but still got absolutely soaked on the Knife Edge Bridge – we regret not asking someone to take a photo of us dripping wet….! It was very busy. Some people had special bags for their phones but we didn’t, hence the paucity of images – but you will be doing it and now you’ve been warned so be prepared! Note: If you omit bringing a raincoat, there is a shop selling waterproof gear on the walk. 

A ‘Best Victoria Falls Experience’ had been on my bucket list. Tick. I can die happy now!

We lazed away the rest of the afternoon by the pool. Then it was time to pack. A last night in our comfortable rooms.

10 June

One more excellent buffet breakfast and an enthusiastic farewell dance by the dance troupe just before we boarded the bus for our transfer to the airport. My brother-in-law gamely joined in – what a shame I can’t include that video!. 

And so concluded our Best Victoria Falls Experience. Go ahead and book yours now!

Just a note on the Avani Victoria Falls Resort. 

The good

• This is the closest hotel to the Falls on the Zambian side.
• You can walk through the hotel grounds to the Falls.
• There is no entrance fee to the Falls for hotel guests.
• There is a big curio market right near the entrance to the Falls. There is an amazing array of qaulity goods for sale. We find bargaining very hard though, so brace yourselves for that!
• Rates include an excellent buffet breakfast.
• There is a restaurant at the hotel so one is able to have other meals there too.
• The Royal Livingstone Hotel is accessible by shuttle and has two excellent restaurants as well.
• You can book river cruises directly from the hotel.
• Transfers available to Livingstone airport.
• Zebra and impala graze in the grounds!

• We rather liked the quirky African decor, especially the outdoor metal sculptures of animals and birds.

• It might not be to everyone’s taste to see that the whole hotel is a bright terracotta colour, but it is appropriate given that Avani means ‘earth’.

The not so good

• It’s a huge hotel. We far prefer smaller ones, but we chose it for its proximity to the Falls. As we were there early in the season it wasn’t too busy. We would not want to be there when it is full!
• Sometimes communication was a problem – the language barrier perhaps?
• The bird hide is in a shocking state, which is a pity. There was a lack of interest by hotel staff when we told them about this. We’d asked the staff to put some seating in there, but nothing happened.
• There were a couple of occasions when we had no water! Fortunately this was rectified fairly quickly.
• The constant noise of helicopters can get rather annoying but you have to tell yourself that it ‘goes with the territory’ and is a ‘necessary accompaniment to the location’?! 
• All in all, it was the right location for us. Be sure to ask for a ground floor room if you have mobility issues. This would have been better for us, but we hadn’t asked.

 

We loved Zambia and its people. What wonderful memories too of its spectacular scenery and wildlife.  All in all, our Zambian Safari and Victoria Falls experience made for an excellent holiday.