Category: Small Group Discoveries

Westerners tend to start the historical clock ticking on Victoria Falls from the moment that David Livingstone first laid eyes on them in 1855. The Scottish missionary came upon them as he was exploring upstream from the falls in today’s Zambia. Such a dramatic sight, he believed, deserved an honorable name, and so he named the torrential waters after his Queen.

Of course, the history of the falls extends much farther back in time than the relatively recent days of Mr. Livingstone. When ancestors of today’s local Lozi people saw the powerful cascade centuries ago, they named it for the immense and, to be sure, frightening force of its power: Mosi-oa-Tunya, they called it, “the smoke that thunders.”

Inverted Rain and Moonbows

And thunder it does. Though Victoria Falls are neither the widest nor the tallest waterfalls on the planet, they do form the largest falling vertical curtain of water. During its peak times of year, it measures 5,604 feet by 354 feet. That’s a sheet of water that’s almost 2 million square feet.

During the rainy season, from November to April, the volume of the Zambezi River is such that its spray rises more than 1,300 feet into the air and is visible from 30 miles away. Walking along the misty pathways that line the falls, the water shoots upward from the gorge like upside-down rain. And the light of a full moon creates a “moonbow” in the mist.

Imagine the impression this powerful river made on prehistoric humans, long before Mr. Livingstone arrived. Artifacts and archaeological sites have been uncovered dating to Homo habilis 3 million years ago. Middle and Late Stone Age items (50,000 and 10,000 years ago, respectively) reveal the presence of tool-using tribes. Later, iron-using Khoisan hunter-gatherers arrived, to be displaced by the Bantu who came down from Central and East Africa. Of course, Victoria Falls looked much different in Africa’s earliest days. They were likely located farther downriver, and inched its way to its current location over time, sculpting away at its rocky bed to form the gorge into which it now falls.

Putting the Falls on the Map

A 1715 map pinpoints the falls at the place where we see them today; a later rendering 35 years later merely labels the falls as “cataracts,” no doubt an understatement even for its day. Arabs, who had colonized parts of eastern Africa, are believed to have headed down the Zambezi River and been so astonished by them that they called them “the end of the world.” When Europeans heard about such a dramatic waterfall from the Arabs, they were skeptical. How, they wondered, could a land that was so flat, with no mountains or valleys, be sliced open by such a deep fissure?

After Livingstone’s discovery, Victoria Falls lured cartographers, explorers and artists from all over Europe. One businessman in particular, Cecil Rhodes, began the rush to mine the region and constructed a railway into Victoria Falls to boost the economy and ease transport of extracted minerals. By 1904, the railway completed, the Victoria Falls Hotel opened, still a grand building today. Soon, Europeans flocked here not only for the promise of wealth from minerals, timber, ivory, and animal hides—but also to see the incredible Victoria Falls named for their former queen, who by all accounts was also a force of nature.

A Span to Cross the Zambezi

But Rhodes was not finished with his railway. By then, Britain had gained control of many African nations and the ambitious magnate wanted to connect them all by train, from Cape Town all the way Cairo. The Zambezi River—and Victoria Falls—was a major obstacle to his project. So he insisted to his engineers that they build a railway bridge “across the Zambezi where the trains, as they pass, will catch the spray of the Falls.” He was a practical man, to be sure, but he also knew why the tourists came.

The bridge was an international effort. Built in England and shipped to Mozambique on Africa’s eastern coast, its pieces were transported on the railway that had already been laid. The steel girders were assembled on site. The Cleveland Bridge & Engineering Company oversaw the project, earning the bridge a place as a Historic Civil Engineering Landmark on a prestigious list kept by the American Society of Civil Engineers.

A century later, Victoria Falls—the natural wonder and the town by the same name that has grown around it—is one of Africa’s most visited sights.

Pretoria may be South Africa’s political and economic capital, but Cape Town is undeniably its cultural center. With a stunning setting between the flat-top Table Mountain and the point where the Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet, it is a vibrant and diverse city that no traveler to southern Africa should miss. And in a Discovery Tours small group, you can gain an intimate view of its varied culture, natural beauty, and day to day life.

Of course, a destination is only as welcoming as its people. And you’ll experience them at their warmest and most gracious as we’ve arranged for you to be the guests of a local family for lunch. The menu varies depending on the household you visit. You might sample a homemade stew known as potjiekos, which means “small pot,” or a traditional braai, a barbecue meal that South Africans love. Meat dishes might be complemented by sweet chutney or chakalaka, a spicy vegetable relish. Regardless of what’s on the table, Discovery Tours travelers know that meals like these are more about forging connections and discovering our common humanity. Of course, they are also about the wine, and you’re your hosts are sure to have plenty on hand from a favorite South African vintner.

Lots of vintners produce a variety of wines in South Africa—none better than Constantia dessert wine, which dates back to 1659 and is rated as one of the finest in the world. We set our sights on the more typical vineyards that blanket the beautiful valleys and hillsides of the Cape Winelands, just outside Cape Town. In Stellenbosch, South Africa’s second oldest European settlement, a wide range of soils produce fine Cabernet Sauvignons. The city of Paarl, once home to a co-operative wine growing association, continues its grape-cultivating tradition at several wineries. And in Franschoek, the Dutch word for “French Corner,” the French Huguenot settlers gave their farms names that were reminiscent of their home country—La Provence, Champagne, Bourgogne. Today, many of those farms are fine wineries.

An exploration of Cape Town demands a visit to the summit of Table Mountain, and we ascend in the most exciting way, by cable car, if weather allows. The vista from the top has been called one of Africa’s most epic, with views into a massive amphitheater that points to Cape Town, Table Bay, and the Atlantic coast. Robben Island is also visible in Table Bay, a few miles from the coast. This is the place where Nelson Mandela was held for 18 of the 27 years he spent in prison before the end of apartheid.

After so much exploring, it just might be time to shop. The city’s Victoria & Albert Waterfront—a delightful array of quays, indoor and outdoor courtyards, street performers, and stunning vistas of ocean and mountain—lines South Africa’s oldest working harbor. More than 450 retailers, 80 restaurants, a fresh food market, and much more attract Capetonians, other South Africans from outside the city, and countless others. More than a shopping mecca, it also hosts 22 historic landmarks and local musicians playing traditional African instruments, giving it important meaning to locals. And for fantastic views of the whole expanse, you can climb aboard the Ferris wheel.

Discover Cape Town, South Africa for yourself with Gate 1 Travel today!

When you think of the Nile, the meandering river through Egypt’s temple-dotted, desert landscapes probably comes to mind. But a 4,258-mile waterway is bound to flow through a huge array of ecosystems. As for the Nile, it begins in a very different environment, far from desert sands: among the lush forests of Uganda. As the river flows out of Lake Victoria, it is known as the Victoria Nile—or the White Nile for the color of its clay. The waters are calm and uneventful until they make a dramatic entrance into the Lake Albert region.

Here, the wide river is funneled into a 23-foot-wide gorge, creating a surging torrent of tremendous force that spills 141 feet. Murchison Falls, named for a celebrated 19th-century British geologist who once presided over the Royal Geographic Society, is one of the Nile’s most magnificent stretches, and you can see them up close during a scenic river cruise with your small group during Discovery Tours’ new Uganda Wildlife Exploration.

You begin your cruise downriver from Murchison Falls, then set off near the delta waters that split into finger-like rivulets on their way to Lake Albert. Hippopotamus, crocodile and numerous other magnificent creatures linger in or near the water against a backdrop of rich green forests of papyrus and other trees. Elephant might come to the river’s banks in search of a drink or a bath. Ugandan kob may sip from the shore. You might even spot the heads of Rothschild’s giraffe peering over the canopy. Watch the trees lining the shore for some of the 450 species of birds that make Murchison Falls National Park their home.

With unspoiled wilderness and primeval wildlife all around you, it is easy to imagine yourself in Victorian days setting out to search for the source of the mighty Nile. It is easy, too, to imagine The African Queen river boat drifting past, helmed by Humphrey Bogart, as it was here that parts of the 1951 Hollywood classic were filmed.

Then, the centerpiece of your safari cruise: Murchison Falls. You just might hear them before you see them, a roaring cascade forcing its way through a narrow gorge from 141 feet above. Its foamy rapids spill into the calmer waters that surround you, then join the more relaxed current and continue to Lake Albert. Pausing to take in their unbridled power, you feel the privilege of witnessing the Nile half a continent way from its more famous setting in Egypt.

Join us during our new Uganda Wildlife Exploration to discover this seldom-seen and astonishing corner of Africa.

Deep in the dense jungles that skirt Uganda’s western Rift Valley, you follow the footsteps of your primate-specialist guides. All is quiet in this lush primeval world, the last remaining habitat of the mountain gorilla. There are only about 350 in this vast expanse of misty protected land. But you have faith that your long hike will pay off because you are in the hands of experts who intimately know the behaviors and routines of these gentle beasts. You have been reminded, too, that the families you are seeking have gotten used to human presence. Far from intruding on their territory, you are merely paying them a visit. So you persist, silently and meditatively losing yourself to the rhythm of your boots falling on the forest floor.

Then, a rustle in the bush, a soft crackling. Your guide raises his hand for you to stop and be still. Through the thicket of ferns and vines and past a cluster of trees, you see her dark form. You catch glimpses of thick black fur rising and falling as she reaches into the foliage for a snack. She pays you no mind as she sits on her haunches. There must be others around, you think to yourself, just as you hear more rustling farther up the slope. But your eyes dart back as she tugs at a branch, revealing the leather-like patina of her face: deep, sunken eyes, protruding snout, rounded jaw around pencil-thin lips. As she plucks a morsel from the leaves, she looks straight into your eyes.

It has been said that when you look at a mountain gorilla, you are in essence looking at yourself. No matter how you feel about the idea that humans are descendants of the great apes, there is no denying the mirror that they hold up to us. That is largely why the threat to their very existence (poaching has decreased their numbers to just 700) is so alarming. And why Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, works vigilantly to protect those that remain.

Make no mistake: though the realm of the mountain gorillas may not be impenetrable, it does present the visitor with some challenging terrain. You might walk for just an hour before spotting a family, or you might trek for several hours. It all puts a fine point on what a privilege it is to be in their presence … and on their turf.

But what a trek it is! This is thick African jungle, a tropical rainforest unlike any other. As you walk, you may encounter any of the 120 mammal species from bushbuck to forest elephants, as well as 23 endemic species of birds or vervet and colobus monkeys cavorting in canopy overhead. Even chimpanzees have been spotted here, though you are more likely to see them in Kibale National Park, which your itinerary also visits.

Join Discovery Tours’ new Uganda Wildlife Exploration for your chance to have a once-in-a-lifetime close encounter with the magnificent mountain gorillas of Bwindi.

“Habari?” You might hear this friendly Swahili greeting on the streets of Entebbe or when you awake in the morning to join your guides in search of Uganda’s magnificent mountain gorillas. “What’s news?” they are asking. And in Uganda, the answer is, “Plenty.” Here are some surprising facts about this little-known nation:

• From 1894 to 1962, Uganda was a protectorate of Great Britain. However, Queen Elizabeth continued to use the ceremonial title “Queen of Uganda” until Uganda became its own republic in 1963.
  Winston Churchill visited in 1907. He was so impressed by its natural beauty, he called Uganda the “Pearl of Africa.”
• This very green nation is home to plentiful tea plantations. In fact, tea is its third largest agricultural export, after coffee and tobacco. And the best tea here is plucked by hand.
• While in Uganda, eat as the Ugandans do. Two popular dishes are matoke, or cooked plantains, in a groundnut sauce, and rolex, an omelette wrapped in a chapatti, or flatbread.
• The Rwenzoris are Africa’s tallest mountain range. The highest peak, Mount Stanley, soars to 16,762 feet and is permanently covered in snow, despite its location on the equator. Its glaciers are one source of the Nile River, which flows 4,258 miles to the Mediterranean Sea.
• Speaking of the Nile River, on its way out of Uganda, it passes through Murchison Falls National Park. There, its waters explode through a rocky gorge that’s only 23 feet wide before plunging some 130 feet.
• Landscapes of Murchison Falls National Park were used as location shots for the 1951 movie African Queen, starring Katherine Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart.
• Uganda borders Lake Victoria, Africa’s largest lake by area and the world’s second largest freshwater lake after Lake Superior in the United States. It supports the continent’s largest inland fishery.

Join us to discover the rising star of East Africa on our new 10 Day Uganda Wildlife Exploration.