Victoria Falls - Tumblr Posts
Im südlichen Afrika findet man fast alle Landschaften des Kontinents: Savannen und Steppen, majestätische Gebirgszüge und endlose Wüsten. Es erwarten dich außergewöhnliche Sehenswürdigkeiten wie die größten Wasserfälle Afrikas, die geheimnisvollen Drakensberge oder das Kap Agulhas, wo sich der Atlantik und der Indische Ozean treffen.
In Southern African almost all landscapes of the continent can be found: Savannahs and steppes alternate with majestic mountain ranges and endless deserts. You can expect extraordinary sights such as the largest waterfalls in Africa, the mysterious Drakensberg or Cape Agulhas, where the Atlantic and the Indian Ocean meet.
Der Sambesi ist mit über 2 700 Kilometer Länge die wichtigste Lebensader im südlichen Afrika. Er entspringt im Hochland von Sambia. Durch kleine Bäche und Nebenflüsse entwickelt sich der Fluss auf seiner 2 800 Kilometer langen Reise zu einem gewaltigen Strom.
In seinem Einzugsgebiet leben 40 Millionen Menschen. Sein Fischreichtum versorgt 60 Völker, sein Wasserweg verbindet sechs Länder. 1855 stieß der schottische Missionar und Abenteurer David Livingstone auf die Wasserfälle und benannte sie nach der damaligen britischen Königin Victoria.
The Zambezi is the most important lifeline in southern Africa with a length of over 2,700 kilometers. It originates in the highlands of Zambia. Through small streams and rivers, the river develops into a huge stream on its 2,800 km journey.
40 million people live in its catchment area. Its wealth of fish supplies 60 millions of peoples, its waterway connects six countries. In 1855 the Scottish missionary and adventurer David Livingstone came across the waterfalls and named them after the then British Queen Victoria.
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country in southern Africa known for its dramatic landscape and diverse wildlife, much of it within parks, reserves and safari areas. On the Zambezi River, Victoria Falls make a thundering 108m drop into narrow Batoka Gorge, where there’s white-water rafting and bungee-jumping. Downstream are Matusadona and Mana Pools national parks, home to hippos, rhinos and birdlife.
Simbabwe ist ein Binnenland im Süden von Afrika, das für seine beeindruckende Landschaft und vielfältige Fauna in Parks, Reservaten und Safarigebieten bekannt ist. Am Sambesi donnern die Victoriafälle über 108 m hinab in die schmale Batoka-Schlucht, wo Rafting und Bungee-Jumping angeboten werden. Flussabwärts liegen die Nationalparks Matusadona und Mana-Pools, wo Nilpferde, Nashörner und verschiedene Vogelarten leben.
The Victoria Falls Hotel breathes history: portraits of the historical figures from the founding period and famous guests adorn the walls of the corridors of the "Grand Old Lady of the Falls", as the hotel is affectionately called. Built in 1904, at the time of Edward VII, it offers all the amenities you would expect from a hotel of this category, combined with a unique location directly above the Victoria Falls.
Das Victoria Falls Hotel atmet Geschichte: Porträts der historischen Persönlichkeiten aus der Gründungszeit und berühmter Gäste schmücken die Wände der Korridore der "Grand Old Lady of the Falls", wie das Hotel liebevoll genannt wird. Es wurde 1904 zur Zeit von Edward VII. Erbaut und bietet alle Annehmlichkeiten, die man von einem Hotel dieser Kategorie erwarten würde, kombiniert mit einer einzigartigen Lage direkt über den Victoriafällen.
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country in southern Africa known for its dramatic landscape and diverse wildlife, much of it within parks, reserves and safari areas. On the Zambezi River, Victoria Falls make a thundering 108m drop into narrow Batoka Gorge, where there’s white-water rafting and bungee-jumping. Downstream are Matusadona and Mana Pools national parks, home to hippos, rhinos and birdlife.
Simbabwe ist ein Binnenland im Süden von Afrika, das für seine beeindruckende Landschaft und vielfältige Fauna in Parks, Reservaten und Safarigebieten bekannt ist. Am Sambesi donnern die Victoriafälle über 108 m hinab in die schmale Batoka-Schlucht, wo Rafting und Bungee-Jumping angeboten werden. Flussabwärts liegen die Nationalparks Matusadona und Mana-Pools, wo Nilpferde, Nashörner und verschiedene Vogelarten leben.
The Victoria Falls Hotel breathes history: portraits of the historical figures from the founding period and famous guests adorn the walls of the corridors of the "Grand Old Lady of the Falls", as the hotel is affectionately called. Built in 1904, at the time of Edward VII, it offers all the amenities you would expect from a hotel of this category, combined with a unique location directly above the Victoria Falls.
Das Victoria Falls Hotel atmet Geschichte: Porträts der historischen Persönlichkeiten aus der Gründungszeit und berühmter Gäste schmücken die Wände der Korridore der "Grand Old Lady of the Falls", wie das Hotel liebevoll genannt wird. Es wurde 1904 zur Zeit von Edward VII. Erbaut und bietet alle Annehmlichkeiten, die man von einem Hotel dieser Kategorie erwarten würde, kombiniert mit einer einzigartigen Lage direkt über den Victoriafällen.
Stanley's Terrace at the famous venerable Victoria Falls Hotel:
And Stanley's Room at the famous venerable Victoria Falls Hotel:
November 10th 1871 saw the Journalist Henry M Stanley find the missing Scottish missionary David Livingstone with the classic “Dr Livingstone, I presume?”
David Livingstone arrived in Africa in 1840 with two goals: to explore the continent and to end the slave trade .Back home his writings and lectures ignited the public’s imagination and elevated Livingstone to the status of a national hero. In 1864 Livingstone returned to Africa and mounted an expedition through the central portion of the continent with the objective of discovering the source of the Nile River. As months stretched into years, little was heard from the explorer. Rumours spread that Livingstone was being held captive or was lost or dead. Newspapers headlined the question “Where is Livingstone?” while the public clamoured for information on the whereabouts of their national hero.
By 1871, the ruckus had crossed to the shores of America and inspired James Gordon Bennett Jr, himself a second generation Scots-American, and publisher of the New York Herald, to commission newspaper reporter Henry Stanley to find Livingstone.
Leading an expedition of approximately 200 men, Stanley headed into the interior from the eastern shore of Africa on March 21, 1871. After nearly eight months he found Livingstone in Ujiji, a small village on the shore of Lake Tanganyika on November 10, 1871.
There is nothing better than the first hand eye witness accounts of history and Stanley being an adept reporter meticulously wrote everything down, the following is his account on finding Livingstone.
“We push on rapidly. We halt at a little brook, then ascend the long slope of a naked ridge, the very last of the myriads we have crossed. We arrive at the summit, travel across, and arrive at its western rim, and Ujiji is below us, embowered in the palms, only five hundred yards from us! At this grand moment we do not think of the hundreds of miles we have marched, of the hundreds of hills that we have ascended and descended, of the many forests we have traversed, of the jungles and thickets that annoyed us, of the fervid salt plains that blistered our feet, of the hot suns that scorched us, nor the dangers and difficulties now happily surmounted. Our hearts and our feelings are with our eyes, as we peer into the palms and try to make out in which hut or house lives the white man with the grey beard we heard about on the Malagarazi.
We are now about three hundred yards from the village of Ujiji, and the crowds are dense about me. Suddenly I hear a voice on my right say, ‘Good morning, sir!’
Startled at hearing this greeting in the midst of such a crowd of black people, I turn sharply around in search of the man, and see him at my side, with the blackest of faces, but animated and joyous, - a man dressed in a long white shirt, with a turban of American sheeting around his woolly head, and I ask, 'Who the mischief are you?’
'I am Susi, the servant of Dr. Livingstone,’ said he, smiling, and showing a gleaming row of teeth.
'What! Is Doctor. Livingstone here?’ 'Yes, Sir.’ 'In this village?’
'Yes, Sir’
'Are you sure?’
'Sure, sure, Sir. Why, I leave him just now.’
In the meantime the head of the expedition had halted, and Selim said to me: 'I see the Doctor, Sir. Oh, what an old man! He has got a white beard.’ My heart beats fast, but I must not let my face betray my emotions, lest it shall detract from the dignity of a white man appearing under such extraordinary circumstances.
So I did that which I thought was most dignified. I pushed back the crowds, and, passing from the rear, walked down a living avenue of people until I came in front of the semicircle of Arabs, in the front of which stood the white man with the grey beard. As I advanced slowly toward him I noticed he was pale, looked wearied, had a grey beard, wore a bluish cap with a faded gold band round it, had on a red-sleeved waistcoat and a pair of grey tweed trousers. I would have run to him, only I was a coward in the presence of such a mob, - would have embraced him, only, he being an Englishman, I did not know how he would receive me; so I did what cowardice and false pride suggested was the best thing, - walked deliberately to him, took off my hat, and said,
'Dr. Livingstone, I presume?’
'Yes,’ said he, with a kind smile, lifting his cap slightly.
I replace my hat on my head and he puts on his cap, and we both grasp hands, and I then say aloud, 'I thank God, Doctor, I have been permitted to see you.’ He answered, 'I feel thankful that I am here to welcome you.’
Should you pick up on the "being an Englishman” words remember these were Stanley’s words, and he really should have known better, he himself was from Wales originally, leaving when he was just 15 to make his way to the USA.
Stanley joined Livingstone in exploring the region, finding that there was no connection between Lake Tanganyika and the Nile. On his return, he wrote a book about his experiences: How I Found Livingstone; travels, adventures, and discoveries in Central Africa.
March 19th 1813 saw the birth of David Livingstone in Blantyre.
Like my last post about Alexander, Livingstone is another figure that is well known and not easy to make a fresh post about, arguably the most important European explorer to ever brave the interior of Africa. Dozens of places in Africa and the world now bare his name. While many had established cities and colonies on the coasts of Africa, Livingstone was the first to undertake great expeditions to the interior. Contracting many diseases, creating a treatment for malaria, and striving for the abolition of slavery are just a few of his many achievements.
From the age of 10, he worked at the local cotton mill in Blantyre on 12 hour shifts, thankfully, he had aspirations to greater things in life. During one of his many expeditions, David Livingstone became the first foreigner to see the fabled Mosi-oa-Tunya waterfalls, not recognise the name? Well Livingstone christened them Victoria Falls.
While known as “Africa’s greatest missionary,” he was almost anything but. He is said to have had only one African convert — Sechele. Sechele was chief of the Kwena people of Botswana. Despite his conversion, Sechele still practiced polygamy and even after divorcing his other wives, maintained traditional practices before Livingstone gave up on him!
Livingstone was a staunch abolitionist and campaigned extensively for the cessation of the slave trade. He also felt it was his God-given mission to explore Africa and develop the continent and that only through trade (and fair trade practices) would the economy of slavery be so disrupted that it would eventually cease to exist.
After Livingstone’s death in 1873, his body and personal journals were shipped all the way back “home” by Chuma and Susi, two of his long term attendants. Today, his body is interred at Westminster Abbey in London. His heart, both figuratively and literally, remains in Africa however, buried under a Mvula tree. David Livingstone left the world as one of the greatest explorers of all time. There are literally dozens of cities, towns, monuments, schools, and other buildings named after him all over Africa and the world.
Many of us heard about Livingstone when we were children, we might not remember a lot about him but I’ll bet the vast majority of us can say we now the phrase by H.M. Stanley “Dr. Livingstone, I presume?”
Pics are statues of David Livingstone at the Zimbabwe side of Victoria Falls., and in Glasgow and Edinburgh.
Victoria Falls River Lodge is the first private game lodge to be built in the Zambezi National Park. Situated on the banks of the mighty Zambezi River – the Zambezi Crescent Collection’s pioneer lodge is so close to the world-renowned Victoria Falls one can see the spray in the distance.
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Die Victoria Falls River Lodge ist die erste private Game Lodge, die im Sambesi-Nationalpark gebaut wurde. Am Ufer des mächtigen Sambesi gelegen – die außergewöhnliche Lodge der Zambezi Crescent Collection liegt so nah an den weltberühmten Victoriafällen, dass man in der Ferne deren Gischt sehen kann.
On November 17th 1855 David Livingstone reached Victoria Falls in Africa.
Of course it wasn’t called Victoria Falls, but in the local Bantu language of southwestern Zambia and surrounding countries it is known as Mosi-oa-Tunya, “The Smoke that Thunders”, what a sight it must have been for the Scottish explorer, the first known European to view the falls. The World Heritage List officially recognizes both names. Livingstone also cites an older name, Seongo or Chongwe, which means “The Place of the Rainbow” as a result of the constant spray.
Livingstone had heard about “"The Place of the Rainbow”“ from local scouts and in early November 1855, Livingstone travelled down the Zambezi River to see for himself. Approaching the spot in canoes, the party could see the columns of spray and hear the thunderous roar of water miles away from the falls.
He wrote
“When about half a mile from the falls, I left the canoe by which we had come down thus far, and embarked in a lighter one, with men well acquainted with the rapids, who, by passing down the centre of the stream in the eddies and still places caused by many jutting rocks, brought me to an island situated in the middle of the river, and on the edge of the lip over which the water rolls. In coming hither there was danger of being swept down by the streams which rushed along on each side of the island; but the river was now low, and we sailed where it is totally impossible to go when the water is high. But, though we had reached the island, and were within a few yards of the spot, a view from which would solve the whole problem, I believe that no one could perceive where the vast body of water went; it seemed to lose itself in the earth, the opposite lip of the fissure into which it disappeared being only 80 feet distant. At least I did not comprehend it until, creeping with awe to the verge, I peered down into a large rent which had been made from bank to bank of the broad Zambesi, and saw that a stream of a thousand yards broad leaped down a hundred feet, and then became suddenly compressed into a space of fifteen or twenty yards.” he went on to say “it was the most wonderful sight I had witnessed in Africa.”
Pics are the David Livingstone Memorial on the Zambian side and the statue of Livingstone on the Zimbabwean side of Victoria Falls
The Victoria Falls, which straddles both Zimbabwe and Zambia, is one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It also happens to be an African destination that combines brilliantly with so many others in Southern Africa that you were likely already considering, namely Cape Town, Kruger or even Botswana.
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Die Victoriafälle, die sich über Simbabwe und Sambia erstrecken, sind eines der sieben Naturwunder der Welt und ein UNESCO-Weltkulturerbe. Es ist auch ein afrikanisches Reiseziel, das sich hervorragend mit so vielen anderen im südlichen Afrika kombinieren lässt, die Reisende wahrscheinlich bereits in Betracht gezogen haben, nämlich Kapstadt, Krüger oder sogar Botswana.
In 1855, the British Africa explorer, missionary and adventurer David Livingstone "discovered" the Victoria Falls and was so taken by their beauty that he named them after the British Queen at the time. With the construction of the railway line from Cape Town to Cairo - which was never completed - and the completion of the bridge over the Zambezi in 1905, the first tourists arrived. The following year the legendary Victoria Falls Hotel was built. UNESCO declared the falls a World Heritage Site in 1989.
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1855 „entdeckte“ der britische Afrikaforscher, Missionar und Abenteurer David Livingstone die Victoria Fälle und war von deren Schönheit so eingenommen, dass er sie gleich nach der damaligen britischen Königin benannte. Mit dem Bau der Eisenbahnlinie von Kapstadt nach Kairo – die nie fertig gestellt wurde – und der Fertigstellung der Brücke über den Sambesi im Jahr 1905 kamen die ersten Touristen. Im Jahr darauf entstand dann auch das legendäre Victoria Falls Hotel. Die UNESCO erklärte die Wasserfälle 1989 zum Welterbe.
