12 – Swimming in the Victoria Falls

The Victoria Falls are located in Africa between the border of Zimbabwe and Zambia and are one of the seven natural wonders of the world. With a width of 1708 meters, they hold the record for the broadest waterfall worldwide. The falls belong to the World Heritage – natural site of UNESCO since 1989. They were named after the British Queen, Queen Victoria, when the falls where discovered in 1855 by David Livingstone, a Scottish explorer.

The mass of water of the Zambezi River falls 110 meters deep. Because of this depth, one can see the spray mist, which is up to 300 meters high, from a distance of up to 30 kilometers. The fog is the reason for the rainforest at the foot of the falls and also the reason for its African name “Mosi-oa-Tunya” which means, translated, “the smoke that thunders”.

On top of the Victoria Falls, one can have a breathtaking experience. There it is possible to swim in the Devil’s Pool. It is a natural stone pool which is separated from the precipice through a stone wall slightly under the surface of the water. One can reach the pool through the Livingstone-Island in Zambia, but one has to sign in for a guided tour, otherwise it is too dangerous to discover the Devil’s Pool. The tours are offered five times per day with a maximum of 12 people per tour.

At the guided tour, one has to cross a path over rocks and swim through the river to find one’s way to the pool. At this point the guide is important for showing where to swim to avoid rocks and strong currents. After passing the river, one arrives at a rock from which one has to jump into the pool.

However, it is not always possible to swim in the Devil’s Pool because only at the dry season from September to December there is less water flowing to the ground, and so the current is not so strong. The rest of the time it would be too dangerous to swim in it.

I think to swim in the Devil’s Pool is definitely an awesome way to experience the Victoria Falls, and if I get the chance to watch them, I will also go on such a guided tour to swim in this pool.