Introduction
Mosi-oa-Tunya is the local Kololo name for Victoria Falls, Zambia, meaning ‘the smoke that thunders'. It's an apt description of this breathtaking and powerful waterfall, because the fine spray formed by the falls when they tumble over a broad basalt cliff looks like columns of smoke.
The Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park is situated along the Upper Zambezi in Zambia and protects 12 kilometres of land that extends along the riverbank up to the falls. Although it's small, Mosi-ao-Tunya offers some surprisingly good wildlife viewing - with giraffes, zebras, warthogs, sable, eland, buffalo, impalas and baboons all living within the park. There have also been attempts to re-introduce several white rhinos, which were previously wiped out by poaching.
A statue of the explorer, David Livingstone, looks out across the falls from Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park. Upriver are several luxury hotels, which give excellent access to the spray-soaked walking trails by the falls. Zebras sometimes graze on the manicured lawns of the hotels, while vervet monkeys are other regular visitors - pleasing companions to have as you take afternoon tea overlooking the Zambezi and the smoking falls beyond.
