Readers Suggestions

I'm enjoying visiting as many of the '1000 Places to See Before You Die' as I can, but I'm aware there must be loads of other fantastic places to visit, that aren't in the book. Please make comments at the end of each posting with your recommendations!

Friday, 9 November 2012

219: 1000 places to see before you die : Victoria Falls

 

The Smoke that Thunders is one of the most apt named sites in the world of 1000 places to see before you die. Over 700,000 cubic metres of water a minute plunging 100m down over a kilometre and a half forming a natural barrier between Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Only seen by locals until Dr Livingstone stumbled across them in 1855 and renamed them the Victoria Falls after the then current Queen Victoria, the Victoria Falls lies halfway on the Zambezi River and is continually being carved out.

Continually being carved out by the torrent of water of the rising and falling river, the spray rises to up to 800m and is visible from 50km away.



Linked by one of the greatest engineering feats in the world, the Victoria Bridge was finished in 1905 after Cecil Rhodes dreamed of a Capetown to Cairo railway. Initially ridiculed for its location and impossibility, the bridge at its completion was the highest in the world sitting some 125m above the river over a length of 200m and a central span measuring 152m.  While never visiting the Falls as he died before its completion, he wanted passengers to feel the spray on their faces as they crossed the bridge. To this day, the trains stop on the bridge for a minute to allow people to experience one of the 7 Natural Wonders of the World.





Or if they want to, one of the world's highest bungee jumps, a whopping 130 metres to the base.












Yes, a definite worthwhile inclusion in the 1000 places to see before you die.

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