Something came over us when we arrived to Livingstone, Zambia. I don’t know if it was the roar of falls or the spray you can see from 30 miles away but this place makes you do crazy things. In a matter of four days we fit in more adrenaline-packed activities than we had in the previous four weeks combined, with the help of our amazing lodge Tongabezi, our partner Honeymoons.com, and whatever Mike put in my oatmeal. Here’s a snapshot of our wild ride in, above, and around the largest waterfall in the world.

Tongabezi Lodge


Tongabezi is the oldest (and perhaps the most incredible) lodge above Victoria Falls. Their gorgeous property on the wild banks of the Zambezi river and expert staff made our stay in Livingstone one of our favorite in all of Africa.

Living Along the Zambezi


The Zambezi river is the lifeblood of the area and its beauty makes you want be near the water as much as possible. Seizing our first day, we woke up for a sunrise sail. Watching kingfishers swooping through the air, baboons playing on the sandy banks, and hippos returning from their night of foraging, we sipped our coffee before heading back to the lodge for a hearty breakfast. Then as soon as we finished breakfast we were back out on the river for a fishing trip and Mike caught a beautiful tiger fish!

Elephant Sighting!

Just up stream from the lodge, we saw a bit of rustling on the river bank and spotted this feisty pair of elephants having a drink. Press play to see this powerful encounter.

Safari at Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park & Over Dinner!


In the afternoon we went on safari at the nearby Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park (which means “The Smoke that Thunders,” the Tonga name for the falls). There we saw giraffe, zebra, warthogs, elephants, baboons…but this hippo sighting? It was at dinner! We were on the patio a few feet above the riverbanks and heard the sound of a big mouth chopping and snarfing; we flashed our light and low and behold it was an adolescent hippo a few yards from our table! You’d think with the light he might scurry away, but no, he ate right alongside us throughout our meal and even joined us for some after-dinner drinks.

Victoria Falls


Then for the main event…Victoria Falls. At 354-feet high with a single stream of water running 5, 604-feet wide, it is considered to be the largest waterfall in the world. Our guide Brian gave us a very informative tour on the geology and history of the magnificent falls and then he handed us two rubber rain coats. The path opposite the falls was the world’s greatest natural water park! We giggled and squealed like school kids as we got more and more drenched, catching glimpses of the cascades and rainbows.

Livingstone Island


Tongabezi was a true pioneer in early eco-tourism to the falls and the best example of that is Livingstone Island. They have exclusive access to this island which literally hangs over the edge of the waterfall, providing views that will make your stomach drop and your heart soar. Now this is what I love about Africa…we got to walk right to the edge of one of the world’s biggest waterfalls with no railings, no glass walls, just the pure power of nature at your feet. Safety standards, who need ’em!?

Microlight over Victoria Falls


To fully grasp the magnitude of the falls an aerial view is a must. Many people take helicopter rides (an enclosed, sturdy option) but that would be too cushy for us. Instead, we opted for the microlight (essentially a flying moped). We each strapped in with our respective pilots and took flight over the winding Zambezi, the series of profound gorges, and the face of the falls crossing from Zambia into Zimbabwe. The feeling, not to mention the views, was absolutely incredible.

Oh my, The Gorge Swing


As if we didn’t already have enough adrenaline fixes for the week, we decided to do the gorge swing. We had never heard of such an extreme sport nor seen it done until we were in a harness, with our heels teetering over the edge. This may sound crazy but being strapped to your soul-mate as you sweep through the air into the unknown was actually kind of romantic.

Victoria Falls was our initial attraction to Livingstone, Zambia but with incredible wildlife, dramatic landscapes, a lively river, and extreme sports, the falls are just the beginning of the fun.

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32 Comments

    1. David Carillet says:

      Most two-seaters are between $15,000 and $30,000. The solo ones can be $5,000 to $10,000.

  1. Kenneth Webster says:

    I agree with Christian about the microlight – Awesome. Although that zip line looks pretty hairy too. Gulp 😉

    1. they were both awesome in their own right. the microlight took our experience at Victoria falls from….”well, it was OK, but definitely not at cool at Iguazu” too….”WOW, those falls are spectacular”. and the gorge free fall…well that just took our breath away! literally!

  2. It is a very good thing that Mothers do not know of certain adventures until after the fact. I do not know what would have alarmed me more – the snorting elephants or the drop over the falls!! Beautiful photos as always – can’t wait for your book to be published!

  3. KimRogers2012 says:

    WOW WOW WOW. Beautiful sunsets, rainbows, fishing, romantic dinners – white cloth dinner on a boat, baby hippo and a lawn zebra! Please adopt me. 🙂

    1. LOL Kim, Tongabezi was to die for, if you go to Africa you need to stay there. As you can see it was top notch (FYI, we held back on some of the more romantic stuff, but you will be able to see that on Honeymoons.com when it goes live next week).

  4. disqus_2lUELj9cL9 says:

    Did you sit in the Devil’s Armchair? Micro light looks sick! I wanna get one of those!

    1. micolight was so nuts. we wated to sit in the armchair, but the water was running too high this time of year so it was far from safe…..we did stand 3 feet from it though, and it was powerful…and scary….

  5. Margaret Lydecker says:

    Absolutely incredible – that an amazing travel experience!!! Im so happy for you and jealous at the same time!!! xo

    1. Thanks Mags! Victoria falls was a rush in every sense of the word! Layer in the most ridiculous luxury of Tongabezi…..solid! Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment!

  6. David Carillet says:

    Love the shots in the microlight trike. I think I’d be more nervous in that than on the gorge swing, but it looks like a must-do experience for the incredible location.

    1. Trust me, the gorge free-fall backwards was WAY scarier. The microlight is for sure a must do to truly experience Victoria Falls.

  7. Wow!!! I love all the photo’s and updates – This may have been one of my favorite posts – stops on your trip. Keep liven the dream:)

    1. thanks for the love Rabbit! you would have loved this place (and you should definitely visit). In a 24 hour period we did the free-fall, walked to the edge of the falls, microlight, caught a tiger fish, kayaked with hippos, and had an uber romantic dinner on a private floating sanpan.

  8. Rashaad Jorden says:

    Lovely rainbow!

  9. Erin Beattie says:

    I need one of those moped planes to tool around in PA.

    1. tell us about it. people in africa have them for safari and such, and they are so much fun. we want one back home as well. wouldnt that be a great way to get to school or work?

    1. Lauren, you are going to have a blast…our ONE and most important thing we can tell you about Vic Falls…you MUST do the micro lite flyer (that you see above in our blog). before we did that we thought the falls were cool, but not mind-blowing….after the micro lite, honestly it was one of the coolest experiences of the honeytrek, you see elephants and hippos in the river, and it was just so thrilling. promise us you will do the micro lite flyer, or at the very least the helicopter (although that is not as good we hear)

        1. tell us all about it Lauren, did you do the micro flight or helicopter? what else did you do? gorge free fall? eeekkkkk……..

            1. A fellow adrenaline junkie–I love it! If I was facing forward on the gorge swing I may have never jumped–props to you! And wasn’t microlight over vic falls the coolest thing ever?

            2. OMG, just seeing this now…that looked about like ours. Although we might have screamed more on the way down, lol. SO FUN!

  10. What an amazing adventure! I’ve always dreamed of going to Victoria Falls. The view from atop looks stunning. Definitely on the To Do List and will be looking forward to flying above them to! Thanks for sharing. 😀

    1. Victoria Falls was amazing @ActivePlanetTravels:disqus, if you go you must promise me you will do at least the Micro Light (Vic Falls is nothing until you see it from the microlight) the Gorge Swing and Livingstone Island in the middle of the falls….maybe even Devils Pool…..

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