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Favorite Views of the World: Victoria Falls

Feb 092009

Due to the setting up a completely new interface for Fotograferen.net I’ve been lacking in my “Views of the World” postings. Sorry about that, but I’ll try to keep it a monthly affair from now on.

This months view is a truly classic: the Victoria Falls [Google Earth] as seen from Zimbabwe and Zambia. For several magazines and newspapers I have covered “The Route of the African Sun” in the 2005: a route between three of Sun Internationals greatest hotels in the Southern part of Africa. The final one on our route was the Royal Livingstone, a stunning five star hotel at the edge of the Victoria Falls in Zambia. With Zebras and Monkeys playfully surrounding your private hotelroom this is truly one of the most spectacular places to relax. Sipping good wines at the veranda while the sun sets, the African wildlife surrounds you with its noises and the water of the great Zambezi river floats underneath to a certain drop just hundreds of meters away.

However, the only right view is from the Zimbabwe side ,not an easy undertaking with all the horrible problems created by its dictator Robert Mugabe. We managed to get a (quite expensive) taxi-driver who proved his worth right after reaching the border facilities. We were through in minutes in what would have taken us an hour or more if we hadn’t have had him. A lot of money later (the Visa was ridiculously expensive too) we were finally there: Zimbabwe and a stone’s throw away from the falls. Not before spending way too much money again at the entrance to the falls we were finally allowed in and boy was it worth it!

Despite the gruelling 45 plus degree weather (exactly 24 hours later I was on the tarmac on Heathrow at minus 5!) the site was too stunning not too walk around for a long time. And even though it was very much dry-season for the falls, it was still an amazing sight to have experienced!

Finally, three high-res panoramic images to enjoy:

The entrance of the falls.

Nice and big panorama.

Favorite Views of the World: Saba

Travel, World Views No Responses »

Nov 182008

One doesn’t stumble into little islands very often. Certainly not tropical ones, but some time ago I had the pleasure of actually doing so. On route while doing a major feature on Caribbean Island Hopping (which later won me this award) we had a stop in Saba [check in Google Earth], a tiny speck of green in a huge ocean of stunning blue.

It’s a little known island which is great because not too many visitors actually manage to get there. It’s so small, the Tourism Office usually knows exactly how many tourists are on the island at any given time. Very tiny indeed then, which makes it a fantastic place to beat the crowds while still being able to do some decent exploring.

Besides being a very small, the way to get there is quite unusual as too. Saba sports the smallest commercial airstrip in the world and at a length of a mere 400 meters it’s a sight to behold! Landing, while sitting behind an open cockpit of a Twin Otter [Youtube, 250.000 views in one year], is quite something as the only space to build the strip was a stretch of lava at the far end of the island. Yes, Saba is volcanic and that is also one of the main attractions: Mt.Scenery, an old volcanic dome which makes for a fantastic climb.

Going up through the lush green forest of the island one notices that the volcano blocks the moist air from the sea which makes for a lot of clouds and plenty of hillside rain! You need to be lucky to catch a good view because one minute it can be crystal clear, a minute later fog is all you will see. The good thing is that all off the rain makes this stunning island with a green color rarely seen in the Caribbean. Fortunately the inhabitants were smart enough to insist on a rigorous building code: all the houses are tiny cottages built in one style. You won’t find a more pittoresq place in this area easily.

The climb up the volcano isn’t really tough but the heat makes it strenuous during the hour and a half long ascent (1064 steps to be precise). But the higher one gets the more extreme the plantation gets as well: lush trees with huge leaves make you feel like you’re walking in a Jurassic Park setting but then, when you reach the top, the view is just unbelievable. This island is a pure tropical gem in the Caribbean seas, simply stunning and if you’re lucky the skies stay clear long enough to enjoy the view from all sides. Definitely worth the title of a Favorite View of the World!