Ok, so we're now at the end of our first full day in Vic Falls, and what a day it's been. I had two of the most amazing firsts today.
1. I had my first sighting of the falls themselves.
This has to be one of the most awe inspiring sights I have seen in my whole life. The water level is very low, which bodes well for tomorrow's visit to Livingstone Island and the Devil's Pool (we could see people swimming in the pool today from this side of the falls and it looked awesome although possibly a tad scary!), it means the falls are not as impressive as they would be at their peak. There were long stretches of bare rock which I am informed would normally have water cascading over them. None the less, this is an imposing place which takes your breath away. The noise and the mist are massive. It's no wonder the natives refer to the falls as the smoke which thunders. I am going to have to come back and see it again at high water, no question!
2. Even more awesomely, I saw my first ever wild elephant!
We weren't expecting elephants today, there had been a couple of points during yesterday's journey where we might have seen some but we drew a blank. Today elephants were not on the list. That said, I had just had my first glimpse of the falls and we were following the tourist path past the Livingstone monument. At the end you can go no further and turn back to go see the rest of the falls. We were just about to do just that when I spotted something on one of the islands in the river. Sure enough it was my first wild elephant and much to our delight he came right out into the open. As we watched he waded out into the river and crossed to another island, stopping on route to play in the water. At one point he seemed to submerge himself completely and he looked to be thoroughly enjoying his cooling swim! It was an amazingly moving experience for someone who has only ever seen these wonderful creatures in the zoo, safari park (UK style) or on tv, and one which will stay with me forever. We got some really good video of the moment too so as soon as I can figure out how (and find bandwidth) I'll get it posted.
The evening has been spent dining out at The Boma. A restraint on the site which specialises in providing an African dining experience for guests. I'm not sure how authentic or accurate the experience is but it is a great fun evening for all that. On arrival you are greeted and issued/dressed in a sarong style wrap after which you can go find your table. The food is good and there are some very interesting items on the menu, tonight I tried warthog, crocodile and elland for example. The main highlight of the evening is the entertainment however. There were some amazing and very pretty (the girls at least) native dancers and afterwards a drumming group in which the whole clientele of the restraint got bongos and were able to join in! It finished with a kind of local version of 'everyone on the floor' and was, all in all, jolly god fun. There was also a face painter. Not British style, he drew pictures on your face rather than painting the entire face, and as Amy as getting one Deb decreed it a 'team thing' so we all had one. Amy had a giraffe, Deb had a zebra, Travis a crocodile and, in honour of my earlier first, I had an elephant.
I'm writing this now sat listening to the night noise of Africa, thoroughly happy at the end of the best day of my trip so far, having spent the best part of 20 minutes trying to wash the bloody paint off my face! Still it has all been worth it... :-)
