Somewhere Over a Rainbow
Trip Start
Sep 08, 2003
1
37
Trip End
Ongoing
In the air above Livingstone, Zambia
Tuesday, March 16, 2004
Two rather large tourists from Jersey arrived; the pilot asked if we minded giving them the whole back seat, Angela and I could squish in the front with him. From where we sat we had a complete view, glass panels in the floor and doors to ensure we wouldn't miss anything. We were all given headsets to wear with little microphones. It was amusing to look at each other while we were talking seeing the mouth move and a few seconds later hearing the voice through the large 'earmuff' size headphones. This was my first time in a helicopter and I was excitedly looking around enquiring about different buttons and was just musing on the possibility of an 'ejector seat' button when the helicopter started rising and we lifted off the ground. The nose of the helicopter tilted forward and we pivoted around the nose to face the direction of the falls.
Looking down at the wide and very full Zambezi River the pilots voice in my ear pointed out hippos in the water and two elephants on one of the islands. He told how the elephants swim between islands, keeping their trunks above the water like a snorkel!
We could already see where the Falls were situated, a crack in the earth with thick smoke like spray shooting into the sky. As we got closer rainbows glistened across the water. Peering out the glass window we hovered just over the falls, I could follow the water with my eyes as it plunged downwards. Seeing the volume of water I could finally appreciate why it is so famous, 1.7km wide and the water drops 100m (by comparison Niagra is 1km wide and 60m high). We circled the Falls 3 times to see both the Zambia and Zimbabwe sides and the bridge across which separates the two countries.
The voice in my ear pointed out other cracks in the earth. These gaps run parallel but in front of the current falls, " they show where the falls were millions of years ago - in a million years from now our Victoria falls will be further back again" The water pushing against rock and causing a rift further back that gradually erodes and widens until all the water follows the new path down the new crack. I looked down trying to imagine the falls as they are now so much further back, the current gorge left to be another green canyon.
Then the pilot swung the helicopter around so that we could circle the falls clockwise and give the people looking out the other window a better view. The sudden 180 turn left my insides spinning! I could feel myself getting hot and film of sweat across my face. Looking down at the glass floor I realised I needed to breathe or I would be sick. I looked at the little window to my left, clamped my mouth shut and tried not to move. The pilot later told me he knew I was air-sick - apart from the lovely green shade my face had gone! I had stopped taking photographs. He said he had watched me unwrap different lenses, clean them and get everything ready for take-off. He said when someone who loves taking pictures that much, stops taking them then something is wrong. He was worried when he saw me looking at the window - If I had tried to open the window to be sick - at 120knots it would have all flown back in again, covering him Angela and me - Yuk!!
I had hoped I would grow out of travel-sickness being away. In the past few months I had taken every form of transport imaginable! Several friends had laughed when I first said I was going travelling - "but you can't travel 20minutes to Bristol without throwing up!!" Luckily (or I would never go anywhere) my mind manages to erase that small insignificant detail about myself every time I sign up for something new!
I was glad we had taken the opportunity to go on the flight- what a breathtaking way to see the falls! High in the air, clear blue sky and a natural stunning view below... and as we took out last circle of the Falls.......we flew over a rainbow.
