The most romantic day of the year is just days away and if you are looking for a special place to celebrate, be sure to check out our most luxurious offering, the Strathearn Suite. And if you are looking for things to do in Victoria Falls, we have 5 ideas that will appeal to the romantic in you, whenever you visit Victoria Falls!
Author: Focus Online Team
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A Series of Sunrises Over Victoria Falls
Victoria Falls has an abundance of beauty – from magical rainbows, incredible sunsets and thundering sheets of water, it is a truly spectacular sight. What the Victoria Falls also does really well is show-stopping sunrises! However, these are a little harder to see in person as our beds are so super comfortable, we completely understand if you want to lie in them for a little longer! That is why we are putting together a year-long series showcasing the spectacular sunrises of the Victoria Falls so you can watch the changing of the seasons…and all captured by drone just for you.
April
The dawn of a new video series!
May
See a stunning rainbow and a tower of rising pink spray in this month’s sunrise
June
At the mid-point through winter, the majestic Victoria Falls continues to cascade with its mighty grandeur
July
July In this month’s sunrise video ☀️ you will notice a lot less spray AND less water falling over the edge of Victoria Falls. This is because the Zambezi River has recorded its lowest water levels for July 2019, compared to previous years!
Low water levels mean you’ll experience spectacular sightings of the rock formation behind the falls, as well as the perfect conditions for many water activities such as white-water rafting!
August
August marks the midpoint of the dry season in Victoria Falls! Months without rainfall result in the lowest water levels of the Zambezi River in decades! Wildlife, such as the buffalo seen in this video, scour the dry landscape in search of water to drink. While the Falls are at their lowest, this Natural World Wonder is still an incredible sight to behold!
September
We thought that August would be the lowest point of the year, but the Zambezi River has dropped further this month, but it is still as impressive as ever in September!
October
The mighty Victoria Falls waterfall is flowing at its lowest since 1996! Even during the driest season of the year, the Zimbabwean side of this World Wonder is still a breathtaking sight to see. Water levels are expected to drop further until the rains begin to fill the catchment areas upstream, so keep watching our monthly videos to see these dramatic changes!
November
This month, the water levels of the Zambezi River are starting to increase ever so slightly with the first rains arriving!
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Ilala Cares – November 2019
At Ilala Lodge Hotel, we like to try and do “our bit” of good where we can for our staff, community and environment.
VFAPU Pop-Up Dinner
For the last five years, Ilala Lodge Hotel has been part of the Victoria Falls Anti-Poaching Unit’s fundraising dinner. This is quite the event on the local calendar, as all the top chefs from all of the top restaurants in Victoria Falls team up together to do a combined dinner at different locations. This year, around 140 people who were taken to various secret locations around Victoria Falls, each reflecting travel and various countries e.g one location they were on a plane, then arrived in France which was hosted by Ilala Lodge Hotel, hen Mexico, then Afro Asia and finally Italy for dessert which was by The 3 Monkeys.
Tree Planting
As part of a Greenline Africa initiative, we have been busy planting mahogany trees around Victoria Falls this month.
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The Highs and Lows of Victoria Falls
During the month of November, there is always much speculation over how much water is flowing over the Victoria Falls – especially so this year, after a particularly long dry season. In this post, we try and answer some of these questions on the highs and lows of Victoria Falls.
How is the Water Flow over the Falls Measured?
The Zambezi River Authority was established in 1987 and is the body that monitors water flow along the Zambezi River to Kariba, through its hydrometric network. There are thirteen stations along the river where water levels are monitored daily – one being the Victoria Falls/ Big Tree station.
What are the Annual Variations of Water Flow?
In Victoria Falls, there is the high water season from March to May when the Falls is at the highest and the low water season from September to December when the Falls are at their lowest. How much water is flowing over the Victoria Falls is due to the rainfall in the catchment areas further upstream in Zambia, Angola and Botswana.
If you take a look at our sunrise series videos from 2019, you can tell the difference in water flow during high and low water season. Here is a comparison between April and November 2019.
April Sunrise 2019
November Sunrise 2019
What do the Historical Records say?
The maximum flow recorded at Victoria Falls was during the early construction phase of Kariba Dam in March 1958 at 10,000 cubic metres per second. The lowest flows recorded to date at Victoria Falls were during the 1995/96 season which had an annual mean flow of 390 cubic metres per second, whereas the Long Term Mean Annual flow at Victoria Falls is 1,100 cubic metres per second.
This year has been one of the driest on record, but not the lowest as the water flow was an estimated 3cm higher than the lowest level recorded back in 1995. As you can see from the table below, the water level has started to rise with the first rains, and this trend should continue for the rest of the season.
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Ilala Cares – October 2019
Ilala Lodge Hotel have once again been supporting the good work and enthusiasm of organisations and people trying to raise funds for worthy causes.
Watch a Video and Win a Prize!
Ilala Lodge Hotel has teamed up with Pangolin Photo Safaris in their bid to conserve Pangolins. Pangolin.Africa is a non-profit organisation dedicated to the survival of the most highly trafficked wildlife species on the continent – the African Pangolin.
They have a three-pronged approach of Publicity, Participation and Protection and work with partners in the tourism, conservation and corporate fields to increase education and awareness around all four African pangolin species; contribute towards much-needed research; and implement protection and rehabilitation projects on the ground. Pangolin Africa have created a short film, and simply by watching it you could win a prize of a 10-day safari in Africa to Victoria Falls and stay with Ilala Lodge Hotel, the Chobe River and Okavango Delta . Take a watch the 45 minute Eye of the Pangolin film below and then follow the link to take the short quiz and enter the competition.
Walking for Those with Cancer
The Chili Pepper Marketing Team in Bulawayo hold an annual fundraising walk in conjunction with SPAR Bonsa to raise funds for Island Hospice and their palliative care, and we donated an accommodation prize for their raffle. This won by Mr Dudley Keefer, who was blown away by the fact that he won such an incredible prize. On winning, Dudley said he had never won a raffle prize, and was going to treat his wife to a second honeymoon – we can’t wait to have them with us!
School Fundraiser
The Victoria Falls Primary School held a golf day to raise funds for their school, and we were happy to help out with refreshing drinks for all the golfers!
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Zambezi International Regatta 2019
Ilala Lodge Hotel were delighted to be a sponsor of the 5th Zambezi International Regatta held in September 2019, as part of the Livingstone Sports Festival in Zambia.
This year, the main teams were The Oxford, Cambridge and South African alumni teams – many of whom it was their first time to Africa. They spent a few days before the event rigging up three 30feet long boats, which had been specially brought up from South Africa, as well as eying out some new obstacles for their rowing race – that of hippos, crocodiles and swimming elephants!
The regatta course used in 2019 was actually used over a hundred years ago in 1910 as Africa’s first ever world championship venue to host the World Professional Sculling Championships. In more recent history, previous regattas have been held 2004, 2005, 2007 and 2010 and attracted alumni fields from around the globe.
His Majesty Litunga Lubosi Imwiko II raised the flag on the regatta on Saturday 14th September. The Litunga of Zambia is the king or paramount chief of the Lozi people. The Litunga resides near the Zambezi River at the town of Mongu oon the floodplain during the dry season, and on higher ground at Limulunga on the edge of the floodplain in the wet season. There is a ceremony done to mark the moving between homes, which is called the Kuomboka ceremony. However this year due to the low water levels, there has been no need to move residency and as such, no ceremony will be conducted. Instead a Kupuwana ceremony was held which was last performed in 1947.
This year’s Kupuwana ceremony was a riot of colours and movement, as the warrior-powered boat was paddled with speed, agility and chanting along the river. They disembarked at the River Club to wild clapping of the crowds – a memorable moment for everyone.
The actual regatta event consisted of eleven races, four of which included Zambian teams. Of the 12 South Africans rowing, 8 were former Olympians so unsurprisingly they won every race they entered into, except the rafting challenge which was proudly won by the Zambian team. It was a fantastic day, watching and enjoyed by crowds of people and intrigued wildlife, more used to the sedate meanderings of the Ra-ikane and other boats!
The regatta ended with a prizing giving presented by His Majesty Litunga Lubosi Imwiko II – a very special occasion as this was only his third time to be in the town of Livingstone. Ilala Lodge Hotel were proud to be part of this fantastic day.
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Five Reasons to Visit Victoria Falls
Here are five reasons to visit Victoria Falls by guest blogger, Roxanne Reid. Victoria Falls, on the boundary between Zimbabwe and Zambia, has long conjured an element of old-world Out of Africa romance. To visit the falls is a bucket-list expedition into the heart of Africa to see one of the world’s greatest natural wonders, and here are 5 great reasons to visit:
1. UNESCO World Heritage Site
Victoria Falls and the ‘rainforest’ that surrounds it are part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site. That means that they have been recognized to have outstanding universal value. One reason for this is that the main falls form the highest, widest sheet of continually falling water in the world – twice as high as Niagara Falls and around 500m/1,640ft wider. The volume of water is impressive too: it is said that the whole annual consumption of New York City goes over the falls in just three-and-a-half days during peak flood season in March and April. The force of the water as it thunders into the gorge drives spray into the air and covers everything in mist. For this reason, the locals call Victoria Falls ‘Mosi-oa-Tunya’, meaning the smoke that thunders. You can see this ‘smoke’ up to 50km/31mi away.
If you visit during March to May, when there’s enough spray, you may see a lunar rainbow during the full moon. Just like a normal rainbow, the moonbow appears when water particles in the air refract light. Victoria Falls opens at full moon for three nights. For the best effect, try to be there in the first hour or so after the moon appears.
2. Zambezi River
The Zambezi is one of Africa’s major rivers. It forms the boundary between Zimbabwe on one side of Victoria Falls and Zambia on the other and is the lifeblood of the area. Blood-red sunrises and sunsets along the river are dazzling in their beauty. Don’t miss a Ra-Ikane sunset boat cruise on the river to see hippos, elephants, crocs and birds, as well as to toast the setting sun.
3. Adrenaline Activities
If spiking your adrenaline is something that turns you on, you’ll be spoilt for choice at Victoria Falls. Most famous of the many adrenaline activities is probably the 111m/364ft bungee jump from the bridge above the falls into the gorge. White-water rafting is also popular. If you want to do this, make sure you visit at the right time of year. White-water rafting is only available from around the end of August to December when water levels are lower and therefore safer.
Another thrilling activity during the low-water months is to cross the old iron bridge to the Zambian side of the Falls for a swim in Devil’s Pool. You might call this the world’s most spectacular infinity pool. The experience will have you floating right to the very edge of the pool where the water plummets into the gorge below. A guide will come with you to keep you safe.
With a gorge swing, flying fox and zipline over Batoka Gorge as well, it’s no wonder this is known as Zimbabwe’s adrenaline capital.
4. Wildlife
Victoria Falls National Park and Zambezi National Park, both in Zimbabwe, and Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park in Zambia are all in easy reach of the falls. They provide a wealth of wildlife-watching opportunities, from elephant, buffalo, lion and leopard to a host of antelope species like sable, eland, kudu and impala.
If you’re really keen on wildlife and safari experiences, ask about a day trip to Hwange National Park. Zimbabwe’s biggest national park, it’s only an hour’s drive away from the Falls. Chobe National Park in neighboring Botswana, is 80 minutes away, and is known for its huge elephant and buffalo herds. Each park delivers some of the best wildlife viewing in southern Africa.
5. A Different Perspective
Once you’ve seen Victoria Falls from close up on the ground, take to the air in a helicopter or a microlight. You’ll get aerial views that will have you marveling at the sheer scale of the Falls. If you choose the heli-flip, the chopper will make a few passes over the falls so everyone gets to photograph them, no matter where you’re sitting. If you choose the microlight, hang onto your camera or phone. Even better, attach it to your body with a cable so you don’t lose it if you drop it.
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Ilala Cares Community Football Event
Over the years, we have had the pleasure of hosting many famous people at Ilala Lodge Hotel, and this month we welcomed Celtic FC Goalkeeper, Craig Gordon and his girlfriend Summer Harl. This was Craig’s very first time to Africa and Zimbabwe, and he was blown away by the beauty of our country, and of course, the smiles and hospitality of Zimbabweans.
When we heard that he wanted to come and stay with us, we suggested that we put on a community football event for the schools, as it is not often that someone of Craig’s athletic ability visits Victoria Falls. We were delighted when Craig agreed to put on a small coaching session as one of the #IlalaCares initiatives. On a sunny Saturday afternoon, over 40 children gathered at a local school for some football tricks and inspiration from a world-class footballer – children came from Victoria Falls Primary School, Chamabondo Church Of Christ; Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, Baobab Primary School, Jacaranda Montessori – Victoria Falls and Chinotimba Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe.
The afternoon was a delight for both the children and Craig, and the highlight was a penalty shoot-out where the children, and the coaches, tried to get the ball past Craig. A few balls did manage to make it into the goal which resulted in the crowd erupting with cheers and giggles! Craig had donated some of his balls and kit, which were gratefully received by the children. Craig ended with an inspiring talk, asking the children to keep on practising and enjoying the game, and then there was a delicious football cake for all to enjoy!
Watch the video of the afternoon here.
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Linen Donation to Local Hospital
“Do your little bit of good where you are; it’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.”
―As a family run hotel, Ilala Lodge Hotel has the ability and heart to quickly respond to calls for help and assistance. This past week, we were contacted by Megan, from the wonderful and dynamic organisation, Mummy’s Angels Zimbabwe. With the help of Dr Michael Jeans, Mummy’s Angels Zimbabwe have undertaken to make some positive changes to the Maternity and Paediatric Art & Play therapy ward at Victoria Falls Hospital. They are going to upgrade the bedding and hospital gowns, and add new privacy dividers to the wards. We answered this call as best as we could, teaming up with Victoria Falls Rest Camp and donating a fully-laden truckload with our second-hand linen, curtains and mosquito nets to the hospital for their use.
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Introducing The Green Team of Ilala
Over the past few months, our green staff have been nurturing the seeds of environmental sustainability at Ilala Lodge Hotel and we are delighted that these efforts are starting to sprout and grow. At Ilala Lodge Hotel, we have formed a new Environmental Committee, a team of passionate employees whose mission is to step up and find innovative and creative ways to make our hotel a better place in our environment.
The Committee
Chairman: Tapiwa (Kitchen)
Logistics: Mumba (Stores)
Human Resources: Phil
Committee Members: Prince (Restaurant) Zibonele (Bar) Amy (Management) Eddie (Management) Raymond (Maintenance) Nqobani (Garden) Charles C (Housekeeping)One of our first team efforts was to be involved in a clean-up of the Victoria Falls area – nothing like getting your hands dirty for a good cause!
Here is a photo of our Chairman, Tapiwa who attended the first monthly Victoria Falls Waste Management Meeting on the 7th May 2019. There was a big turnout from local entities such as Kingdom, Wilderness, AFRICA Travel, Shoestrings, the council and municipality as well as local enthusiasts to talk about the future of green development in Victoria Falls. We were humbled that our efforts at Ilala Lodge Hotel were mentioned – great motivation to continue with more ideas!Recycling Practices
Ilala Lodge Hotel has signed up to be a part of the Victoria Falls Recycling Project which has been the initiative of African Albida Tourism. The company will start making efforts to sort our waste following the three main principles of recycling:
REDUCE – Where possible we will reduce the amounts of single-use plastic, water, plastic bottles and aluminium cans. We have installed a new Natura water machine installed that guests can fill up their own water bottles with still and sparkling water, or enjoy a break and a glass at our bar.
REUSE – We encourage our members of staff to find innovative and creative ways to reuse our waste – this is a new project where we are trying to identify artists who can help craft from waste.
RECYCLE – Plastics, aluminium, paper and glass are to be sorted into the correct waste bins and sent to Victoria Falls Recycling Project to be processed for re-use in their original form.
If you want to learn more about sustainable tourism, here is one of the most exhaustive definitions of sustainable tourism in Africa.
