Victoria Falls activities in June

Old May 15th, 2010, 07:33 AM
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Victoria Falls activities in June

We will be visiting Victoria Falls, staying on the Zambia side, for 2 nights the first week of June. We are trying to decide between visiting the Zimbabwe side to view the Falls or taking a helicopter or microlight. For that time of year, which do you recommend? We probably cannot do both. Should we decide now and book in advance or just make a decision once we are there? I'm concerned that we won't see much from the Zimbabwe side due to the mist, but I guess that's an issue for the helicopter/microlight as well.

We arrive from Botswana in the afternoon for two nights, giving us one full day to enjoy the Falls. We're also considering the bungee jump, but...I don't know. I'm terrified of heights!
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Old May 15th, 2010, 08:48 AM
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You won't see much from the Zam side due to the mist at that time of year! You can visit but most probably won't be able to take decent pics because of the mist. You can "rent" raincoat at the entrance. You need that kind of equipment as you get SOACKED!
I would definitely stay on the ZAM side, visit and then cross the bridge to visit also the ZIM side for better photo opportunities! The vistas are totally different! No regret _ sure!

When we visited June 2008 we were staying at Stanley Safari Lodge and the mist we could see from there (approx. 10k's) was awesome!
Pls check whether you are visiting during the LUNAR RAINBOW! That's full moon and that time of year you have to visit in the evening at 18.30h (NOT LATER!!!!) to make sure you are able to watch a triple rainbow - also due to the mist!.
Make sure you will be taken to the falls early. You better wait a bit than come too late - which happened to us ((((((

A heli flight is highly recommended! If budget is not a prob choose the 30 mins flight which takes you to the gorge!

Happy travels!
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Old May 15th, 2010, 09:01 AM
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Good advice from SV (as always!) - just to add a bit - there is a visa cost to going to the Zim side ($100 for 2??).

We took the 30 minute helicopter flight which I highly recommend to get a great perspective of the falls (and the gorge part is great!). We booked the day before with Batoka Sky - they also have ultralights.

http://www.batokasky.com/
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Old May 15th, 2010, 10:42 AM
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Thanks to both of you--I'm really leaning towards the microlight, that sounds like great fun--thanks for the link to Batokasky!
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Old May 15th, 2010, 11:55 AM
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If you do the flight over the falls (highly worth it) in the morning, you can walk over to the Zim side in the afternoon. Last month, the best way to see the falls was from above. The overlooks in both Zambia and Zim (except for one or two of them) were like entering a washing machine.

A warning on the 30 minute helicopter flight. We were in Victoria Falls last month and booked the 15 minute flight the day before. There seemed to be quite a bit of discussion as to what time the van would pick us up. Turns out the other passengers had booked the 30 minute flight and the helicopter company wanted us there earlier than them so they could try to resell us on the 30 minute flight. We said no and while they were checking in, someone else tried to get us to slip him money to get the front seat. We said no. In the meantime the 30 minute passengers discovered that their 30 minute flight included a trip back to the helicopter pad to let us off. To say they weren't pleased would be an understatement, one of them tried to convince the manager to at least offer us a discount on the 30 minute flight but he wouldn't. And we ended up with the front seat without slipping anyone money. The pilot made it up to all of us though with several turns over the Falls since the islands upstream were so flooded there was no reason to fly over them.
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Old May 15th, 2010, 12:10 PM
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Re front seat versus back - the helicopter we were on was a 4 seater - the best seat is in the front, and 3 across in the back. Obviously the middle seat in the back is the worst seat. We approached the other couple and suggested we toss a coin for the front/back middle seat versus the two back window seats. They agreed (and won the front seat!) ... and it seemed fair all around.
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Old May 15th, 2010, 06:39 PM
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Recommend the white water rafting. Get your lodge to book your trip on arrival.
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