There has been much hoopla recently concerning the “dry” Zambezi River at the Victoria Falls. Videos of people walking across a waterless and desolate landscape with the dry gaping chasm that is Victoria Falls pictured in the background, have been setting social media alight once again.
Purposefully dramatic and misleading, the images showing a dry riverbed are in fact normal for this time of year - on one side of the river. Remember that, as the Zambezi meanders its way towards the 108 metre (350ft) cliff of the Victoria Falls, it forms the border between the countries of Zambia and Zimbabwe.
The images below, collated by Victoria Falls tour operators Wild Horizons, show it as it is throughout the year.
There is no doubt that recent drought conditions in parts of Southern Africa have indeed resulted in lower than normal water levels all along the Zambezi River.
But the Victoria Falls never dry up. Here's what really happens.
The river has sculpted its deepest channel on the southern (Zimbabwean) side of the Falls. As water levels drop in the dry season, the river flow is drawn to this side and settles, still disgorging millions of cubic metres of water daily over the chasm into the gorge below. At this lowest point, known as the Devil’s Cataract, an existing volcanic fault-line in the basalt rock is slowly being cut back by the water and may ultimately result in the formation of a new gorge.
Unfortunately, during the driest times, these healthy flows are not easily visible from the Zambian (northern) bank, There, the rock face is higher, and the flows are restricted (sometimes drying up completely). This is where the social media scaremongers choose to snap their shots.
The Zambezi River cares little for all the hysteria as pundits and “experts” alike posit the many reasons for its supposed demise. From a catastrophic drought rendering the river irrecoverably lost, to water hungry power stations slurping up its waters, the armchair warriors find ample fuel for click-bait-driven video and images copied and shared without any thought.
The great River’s journey downstream carries on regardless. Adventure activities in the rocky Batoka Gorges below the Falls are excellent during low water levels, as the river flows on down through Lakes Kariba and Cahora Bassa and finally fanning out in a vast delta in Mozambique as it slows to enter the Indian Ocean. Here, it often deposits a smear of fresh water ballooning out to create a bubble visible from space.
As the year ends and the rainy season approaches, the Victoria Falls is still a majestic curtain of water - albeit somewhat narrower than its usual 1,708 metre width. But it is beautiful to behold – if you visit the Zimbabwe side. The photo opportunities are spectacular, because you can see right down into the depths of the gorge below.
As the rains descend and the river levels rise, the raging torrent will spread across its full width and by June/July, the spray of the Falls will be truly magnificent, rising high into the sky above. If you visit at this time, the water-power is thunderous, but it’s hard to get good images, and you and your camera are likely to be thoroughly soaked!
So – you see, a visit to Victoria Falls is rewarding at any time of the year. Ignore the social media doomsayers. Decide what time will suit you best, and come and see for yourself!