Livingstone- Devil’s Pool

If you were to tell someone that today we were going to get in a speedboat that would thrash towards the edge of the largest waterfall in Africa, before disembarking, swimming against currents that want to drag you over the abyss, and finally leaning out over the edge, with only a small ledge between yourself and oblivion, they would probably call you crazy. But this is Africa.

It probably isn’t an over-exaggeration to say that the Devil’s Pool is one of the wildest things we’ve ever done. The moment when you reach over the edge, and stare wild-eyed at the thundering falls hundreds of feet below, is an unparalleled thrill. You would expect that if a similar pool was discovered in Niagara Falls, it would be blocked off at the most, or it would have a large infrastructure of safety ropes, nets and barriers. But here, the only thing preventing you from plunging over the falls is a guide holding your legs.

After the Pool, we take a short walk around Livingstone Island, where the eponymous explorer/missionary first “discovered” the falls. You could almost imagine him turning back to the nearest village to exclaim “Have you guys seen this GIANT WATERFALL just over there? Well I have! Let’s name it after the Queen, ey?”.Read more