African Design Magazine ADM #39 April 2018 | Page 33

AFRICA
Smoke That Thunders”, positioned
almost half way along the
Zambezi River’s 2700km journey
from its source to the sea. Here
the river plunges headlong into
a 100m vertical chasm spanning
the full 1.5km width of the river,
thereby creating the biggest
curtain of falling water in the
world and also one of the seven
natural wonders of the world.
The Victoria Falls Bridge built in
1904 was created to connect
what is now Zimbabwe and
Zambia. The railway brought
numerous guests to the falls,
prompting the building of the
original The Victoria Falls Hotel
in 1906. The village earned town
status 66 years later.
The Victoria Falls was declared
as a World Heritage Site in
1989 for being one of the
most spectacular waterfalls in
the world. The Falls and the
surrounding rainforest are
preserved as a 23.4 kilometer
National Park and form one of
Zimbabwe’s four World Heritage
sites. Being one of the greatest
physical spectacles in Africa
it stands to reason that it has
attracted so much interest from
people over time and therefore
the area is steeped in history.
Read more on the Vic Falls
Bridge by clicking here
Special Economic Zone
Victoria Falls has been identified
as one of the three areas
the Zimbabwe Government
earmarked as Special Economic
Zones. Due to its unique and
world-renowned reputation,
Victoria Falls is a very worthy
recipient of the investment.
Government contends that
modernising Victoria Falls will
alter and add to the colonial
legacy of infrastructure and
stock of tourism facilities in the
resort.
A number of ancillary features
complement The Falls
themselves and make this a
bucket-list tourist item:
• The Victoria Falls town has
a number of world-famous
hotels, with all facilities such
as golf courses, game drives
and river cruises.
• The town and surrounding
area have been declared
a National Park mainly
to preserve it from over-
commercialisation.
• To ca ter for the modern
tourist white water rafting and
canoeing are available, as well
as bungee jumping from the
bridge across the gorge.
• The water rafting world
championships, held regularly
on the Zambezi River, attract
teams from many countries.
AFRICAN DESIGN MAGAZINE © | APRIL 2018
33