Once we got to Livingstone, we got settled into our hotel. It was aimed at European travelers and named after a British sitcom: Fawlty Towers. I didn’t know what to expect since the hotel in the show was known for rude service, but it ended up being quite nice.
Livingstone is a tourist hub because it is a base camp for safaris, but it also has one of the seven natural wonders of the world. If you did not know that seven natural wonders are:
- Aurora Borealis: Also known as the northern lights
- Grand Canyon: Located in the United States
- Great Barrier Reef: Located in Australia
- Harbor of Rio de Janeiro: Located in Brazil
- Mount Everest: Located in China and Nepal
- Parícutin: Located in Mexico
- Victoria Falls: Located in Zambia and Zimbabwe
Just before I left Washington, we had two different times when the Northern Lights were visible at our house – and more dynamic than I have seen them since my family moved there in the mid-90s. It was nice to get two of them scratched off this year with a visit to Victoria Falls.
The adventure began while we were still in the parking lot. Kelly and Jeff went to go buy admission tickets while the rest of us waited in the van. As we waited, a baboon carrying a baby came up to the van and began to eat the termite larva that was caked on the front. I stepped out of the van to get a picture of it, just as it got spooked by another baboon. It darted past me, into the van – scaring all of the people still inside and stealing half a loaf of sourdough that Tricia had made for the trip. Needless to say, they were not thrilled with me, even though it was a moment none of us will forget.
Victoria Falls in full flow, half flow, and as we saw it.
As we hiked toward the falls, I didn’t know exactly what to expect. I had looked at pictures online, but I also knew that we were coming out of the dry season and would not have as much water pouring over the edge as you do at other times of year. What I was not entirely prepared for was the scale. I have been to Niagara Falls. Victoria Falls is twice as high and almost twice as long (that is if you measure the Horseshoe Falls at Niagara all the way around). Victoria Falls is an over-a-mile long crevice in the earth that creates a continuous sheet of water. While it was pouring for us, it was overwhelming to imagine what it would be like to be there in peak season (I was told that it is extremely misty so that you can’t really see anything).
We hiked down the bottom of the falls, to an area called the boiling pot. As we hiked down, baboons were following us in a way that reminded me of Hunger Games or Jumanji (I can’t remember exactly what movie it was from, but I know it didn’t end well in whichever one it was). It was eerie. It was amazing to put my feet in the water and feel how warm it was as I am used to glacier run-off waterfalls in the North Cascades.
Like other times that I have experienced overwhelming places, Victoria Falls made me think of the beauty and grandeur of God. In Genesis, when God creates the world, it tells us that creation was made as a display of God’s glory specifically tuned to the scale and senses of human beings. Those places that are immense are given to remind us of how small we are. Places that are aesthetically pleasing exist to remind us of the beauty of God. Those places that combine the two, that display both power and loveliness, have the unique ability to reveal God’s complex character. It is these experiences that lead me to a place of worship.