Far be it from us to try to speak on society’s behalf but we wager that most people can relate when we say that we struggle with social media.

Not so much the light, fun sharing part (clearly) but more so the shadier effects that it can have on your psyche.

Everything to do with social media is about you as a single entity and every app from Facebook to Instagram has been designed to train you think about yourself.
The end result is we all start agonising about things that really aren’t important. Likes, Followers, Retweets. Quantified interactions. Sure, they hit the dopamine button in our brains but as scientists have confirmed, the quickest highs are always the quickest to go.
This is a really long introduction to our Victoria Falls post but don’t worry we’ll stop preaching right about now.

It’s just something we have to share because sometimes it takes being dwarfed by something so much bigger than you are to make you realise your place in the world. In the end, finding out how small you are can be a comforting thing…

…but not until you’ve really walked right up to the ledge of the abyss and witnessed something that has been here long before you arrived and will remain for a millennia after you’ve gone.
Victoria Falls, or Mosi-oa-Tunya – The Smoke That Thunders – (if you want to pretend you’re in an Indiana Jones movie) is twice as tall as Niagara Falls and has the largest sheet of water of any fall in the world.
The gorge is split between the cross roads of Zambia and Zimbabwe, with two-thirds on the Zambian side but some of the best viewing across in Zimbabwe.
Some people opt to do both, crossing the border from Zambia, paying $20 for single entry VISAs into Zimbabwe and then paying $20 for a multiple entry VISA back to Zambia.
Another popular option (and we argue the most spectacular) is to fly.

Zambezi Helicopter Company

zambezihelicopters.com
(+263-13) 43569

These guys have been operating joy flights out of Vic Falls for over 20 years so they’ve got the art of people moving down to a well-oiled machine. Every 13 minutes or so a chopper lands, 6 breathless tourists exit and another group take their place.

There’s no chance for nerves to set in. By the time you’ve paid for your ticket and had a beer you’re getting guided into your seat.
The flight on its own is an adventure but there’s something very cool about viewing the entire falls in one go. It’s very eerie to watch locals in the town of Livingstone just going about their business while 500 million litres of bone-crushing power is free-flowing, seemingly a few metres away.

Victoria Falls Guided Tours

Bushtracks
For a real sensory overload we recommend you view the falls on foot. All you need is a guide, a poncho and a healthy sense of balance. The constant mist that skirts the ridge has, over thousands of years, created its own rainforest ecosystem, along with all the slippery moss that comes with it.
What starts as a gentle face kissing spray quickly becomes a torrential downpour, depending on where you stand.

The sound is deafening. Communication becomes a series of hand signals. A raise of the eyebrows and a point into the distance means, “look yonder, there be a double-rainbow”, while a furious shake of the hand is sign language for “don’t go over there, you’re guaranteed to fall in and if you do then that would be bad.”
It’s the knife-edge between a beautiful picture and a certain watery death that makes  it all the more worth it.

Victoria Falls and the town of Livingstone are experiencing a tourist boom and there’s a palpable sense of rising prosperity in the atmosphere. The flip side of this is you do have a number of fellow travellers to contend with so our guide was crafty about taking us to more secluded spots.

Ultimately though, no matter where you contemplate the vista it’s going to blow your mind for the better.

Your clothes will be wet, your nose will be runny, you’ll have probably scraped your knees but you’ll be happier than photo with a thousand Instagram Likes.

We’re not saying you should have to go all the way to Zimbabwe to get some reality, although it can help.

CITIZENS OF THE WORLD travelled with Adventure World

We’re also on Instagram @citizensoftheworld & @dl_photos