Victoria Falls and the Devil's Pool

The Devil's Pool at Victoria Falls on the border of Zambia and Zimbabwe was one of the top reasons we wanted to visit Africa. Victoria Falls is one of the biggest waterfalls in the world. During the wet season, tons of water goes over the falls every second. While the Zimbabwe side has some of the better views from across the gorge, Zambia has a better atmosphere for tourists and also owns Livingstone Island where the Devil's Pool is found, so we opted to stay in Livingstone, Zambia.

For those who have never heard of the Devil's Pool, it's a small pool on the top of the falls on Livingstone Island where you can swim out to the very edge because there is a rock wall that stops you from going over. You can only swim in the Devil's Pool during the dry season to early wet season, when the water is low, usually September to the beginning of January. Seeing the pool requires an organized tour, and there is only one local tour company that will take you there. There were two options. The first was a whole "Island Tour" where you reach the island by boat, see the pool, and have a fancy meal. The second option was called the "Island Walk"; it did not include the meal and was about half the price.  Along with the Australian couple we met on the train, Sam and Geoff, we all decided to do the Island Walk since we cared most about seeing the Devil's Pool and not as much about the meal.

What we didn't realize is that "Island Walk" literally meant walking over the rocks and in the water on the top of the falls to get to the island, often with the edge not far away. We started by walking over a
6 inch wide concrete wall with about 6 inches of water flowing over it. We shuffled side by side holding hands, thinking to ourselves that we were crazy. But this was nothing compared to the rest of the 45 minute walk, wading through the currents and never being able to see the rocks you are stepping on.

You can barely see the concrete beam that we walked across in the very beginning.

Once we made it to the island, we were met by another guide who would swim with us through even stronger currents to get to the Devil's Pool. The first guide took our camera in a dry bag and hopped along the rocks a the very edge to meet us at the pool. We think he was our safety net in case anyone was carried by the current towards the edge.

Holding hands almost the whole way to make sure none of us strayed

We finally made it to the rocks just upstream of the pool. It's really a small area on the edge, but from the side view you can see there really is a lot less water going over at this one point. The first guide explained to us that we each just needed to jump into the middle of the pool, then let the current take you to the edge. Luckily, we got to see one of the guides, Sam, and Geoff go first to reassure ourselves we wouldn't just go over the falls. The guide with our camera was snapping away the whole time, just standing on the very edge (he took like 300 pictures!). We only spent a few minutes in the pool (really it was plenty of time), but before we got out, they gave us the option of turning over to look over the falls while they held our ankles from behind. This was the biggest adrenaline rush of the trip so far, needless to say!

I worked up the courage to jump in only after I saw Sam and Geoff do it.

Sam's turn!

It's hard to believe our guides do this every day.

Before we knew it, we were back on land celebrating with soft drinks and learning about the discovery of the Devil's Pool before we took off once again for the 45 minute trek through the currents over the
top of the falls to reach the main (and much safer) area of the Victoria Falls. We spent the rest of the afternoon walking around with Geoff and Sam (and the baboons that would walk along the paths) and taking in the gorgeous views.

(Written December 26th)