A Word A Week Photo Challenge: ‘Spray’ from Mosi-ao-Tunya

This challenge from Sue of ‘A Word In Your Ear’, got me looking back at my pics from Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe. They are so perfect for the ‘Spray’ theme, that I’m sure you won’t mind seeing some of them again.

‘The smoke that thunders’ is the literal translation of the indigenous name  ‘Mosi-ao-Tunya. When the Zambezi River is in full flood (usually February or March) the Victoria Falls form the largest expanse of falling water in the world. During these months, over 500 million litres of water per minute go over the 1,708 m wide falls.

This impressive curtain of falling water, as viewed from the front seat of a helicopter. No, I wasn’t the pilot. 🙂

Rainbows are a permanent feature here, and I’ve read that at night, one can even see a moonbow, which is a lunar rainbow. Victoria Falls are one of the few places on earth where this natural phenomenon occurs regularly. Unfortunately I wasn’t aware of this when we were there, or I would have gone out to search for one.

The force of the water sends spray up to a kilometre high into the air that can be seen from 30 km away. There is never a quiet moment at Vic Falls, as the exhilarating sound of water cascading over the rocky cliffs, is always present. The spray cloud at the Falls, forms a constant rainstorm, which soaks the land, and supports the delicate flora of the ‘Rain Forest’.

I would advise the ladies not to bother blow-drying their hair either, as with all that spray flying around, it’s sure to get wet. I actually did get soaked to the skin, but that’s all part of the experience.

Wishing you all a very happy and relaxing weekend.

To see more entries for Sue’s challenge, just click here.