I REMEMBER:
- Water, water everywhere.
- Milky waterfalls.
- Falls panoramic, to the left, to the right, and wide as one can see.
- Knowing not where to focus.
- Feeling walled in like visitors to another world.
- The deafening roar of the crashing waters. Being not able to hear anything else.
- Water muddy and brown transformed into pure white when it crashed.
- Rivers of water cascading and taking every branch, leaf and twig in its wake.
- Wondering how the same friendly peaceful waters of the pools I loved swimming in at home and school could suddenly turn so powerful , violent and furious.
- Mist, water and clouds and after a while not being able to tell the difference.
- Being told to hold tightly to Papa’s hand and watching my excited sister with Mamma ,hoping she would not try anything naughty.
- Being afraid as we posed for pictures near the banks. The African guide telling us one missed step and we would vanish into thin air.
- Thinking Papa takes far too long to take a photograph from his big clumsy camera!
- Mamma’s umbrella being unable to shelter us from the oceanic back lash.
- Being drenched through and through from the spray of the falls when we came out.
- Standing beneath the tall statue of Livingstone as we posed.Wondering how he must have felt discovering this place.
- Being amazed that the gushing white waters of the waterfall later became blue and tranquil when we took a boat ride on the Zambezi River amidst the cool breeze and then black and choppy as sunset fell and night approached.
- Feeling awed for the first time in my life.
THE SMOKE… THAT THUNDERS !!!
My Family, 1990.
Photo credits :My dear Papa