Victoria Falls, known locally as Mosi-oa-tunya or ‘the smoke that thunders’, is one of Zambia’s most important tourist attractions. At 66km², the Mosi-oa-tunya National Park is one of the smallest in the country, and its main purpose is protect the riverine area above the falls, the falls themselves and the common duiker and warthog. Hippo and crocodile occur in the river.
The Falls section of the national park includes the rainforest on the cliff opposite the Eastern Cataract which is sustained by spray from the falls. It contains plants rare for the area such as pod mahogany, ebony, ivory palm, wild date palm and a number of creepers and lianas.The wildlife sanctuary of the Mosi-oa-tunya National Park is home to Zambia's only remaining white rhino , as well as zebra, giraffe and the occasional herd of elephant. Go on a game drive along the Zambezi, and you're sure to see loads of hippo wallowing in the shallows, and crocodiles basking on the river bank.
The tall riverine forest grows near the river in the Mosi-oa-tunya National Park , and here bushbuck and vervet monkey, as well as bird species such as the coppery sunbird, terrestrial bulbul, wood owl and the rare Taita falcon, may be seen. The highlight of the Mosi-oa-tunya National Park is the rhino walk. Two groups of eight people are permitted to track rhino by foot each day.
You arrive in the park at dawn and, accompanied by an armed ranger, you creep through the bush in single file following the spoor of the rhino. Once you have found them, it’s very exciting to be able to watch from just a few metres away, constantly aware that they could charge if agitated. If you’re lucky you might also get close up on foot to a zebra or giraffe. Visitors can drive their own vehicles through the park or go on organized open vehicle game drives and recently elephant back safaris have been introduced.
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