Spraybow - Victoria Falls

The Victoria Falls are well known for the rainbows formed in the spray. Unfortunately with the high sun on this occasion the bow was only visible below the horizon. The local name of Mosi-oa-Tunya, 'The Smoke that Thunders', is very appropriate during the high flow season.

The spray close to the falls was so heavy that the camera would have been soaked in seconds. Wind blown spray provided this bow in the gorge several hundred metres downstream from the main falls, just below the railway bridge.

Apart from fantastic views of the deluge a plane flight allowed views of the bow even though it was well below the horizon. The railway bridge is visible just above centre.

For just a few moments on each pass a large section of bow could be seen in the spray. The spray doesn't reach high enough for there to be a secondary bow.

Looking almost straight down into the gorge, there is so much spray that the bottom is completely obscured. Downstream the ground is wet all the time but a few metres upstream it is completely dry.