{"id":131,"date":"2025-10-15T14:59:00","date_gmt":"2025-10-15T12:59:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adventuremail.co.za\/vfc\/?page_id=131"},"modified":"2025-10-15T14:59:45","modified_gmt":"2025-10-15T12:59:45","slug":"a-brief-history-of-victoria-falls","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/adventuremail.co.za\/vfc\/a-brief-history-of-victoria-falls\/","title":{"rendered":"A Brief History of Victoria Falls"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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A Brief History of Victoria Falls<\/h1>

A record of over 2000 years of man\u2019s evolution has been found in the Victoria Falls region, from the early Stone Age through to the Iron Age to present day.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\tDavid Livingstone Statue Victoria Falls\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\tVictoria Falls Zambia 1974\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\tBuilding of the Victoria Falls Bridge\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\n\n

History of Victoria Falls<\/strong><\/h3>

The Bushman were undoubtedly the earliest settlers in the region, followed by the Tonga-Ila people from the south in 1500AD. These peaceful pastoralists were soon defeated by the Makokolo, who remained in the area and were amongst Dr. Livingstone\u2019s party that first \u201cdiscovered\u201d the Falls.

The Zambezi River has been known outside of Africa for thousands of years. Certainly the Zambezi was a highway for Arab trade during the first millennium AD.

Dr David Livingstone was the first European to view the Falls on the 16 November 1855, who described it as \u201cScenes so lovely must have been gazed upon by Angels in Their Flight”. He named the Falls after his monarch, Queen Victoria.

Forty years after his discovery, coal deposits were found at Hwange (Zimbabwe) and copper in Zambia. The construction of the Cape to Cairo railway was diverted to cross the Zambezi River just below Victoria Falls in 1905. This opened up the region to an influx of tourists and to cater for them the Victoria Falls Hotel<\/a> <\/strong><\/mark>was opened in 1904 which has since been visited by royalty and stars alike.

In 1981 a group of intrepid adventurers did the first white river rafting expedition on the Zambezi River<\/strong><\/a> which marked the beginning of Victoria Falls’ rise as the adrenaline capital of Southern Africa.<\/p><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Activities to include in your Victoria Falls holiday if history is your interest<\/strong><\/h3><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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<\/div>
<\/a>

Historical Bridge Tour<\/strong><\/h4>
Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe<\/figcaption><\/div><\/figure><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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<\/a>

Livingstone Museum Tour<\/strong><\/h4>
Livingstone, Zambia<\/figcaption><\/div><\/figure><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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<\/div>

High Tea<\/strong><\/h4>
At The Victoria Falls Hotel<\/figcaption><\/div><\/figure><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\"\"<\/a>
<\/div>
<\/a>

Royal Livingstone Express<\/strong><\/h4>
Zambia<\/figcaption><\/div><\/figure><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\"\"<\/a>
<\/div>
<\/a>

Bushtracks Express<\/strong><\/h4>
Zimbabwe<\/figcaption><\/div><\/figure><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\"\"<\/a>
<\/div>
<\/a>

Livingstone Island<\/strong><\/h4>
The only place to safely swim on the edge of Victoria Falls.<\/figcaption><\/div><\/figure><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
More reading<\/strong><\/h5><\/div>\n\n\n\n

For those interested in history, extracts from Dr. Livingstone\u2019s journals can be seen on the Eyewitness To History si<\/a>te <\/a>

<\/strong>The museum in Livingstone (Zambia) has a comprehensive collection of memorabilia relating to Dr. Livingstone and  permanent interpretive exhibitions on ethnology, natural history of the area and Zambia\u2019s history. If you would like to take a tour to the Livingstone Museum please contact us<\/a> to arrange or go to Livingstone Museum Tour<\/mark><\/a>.

For more about David Livingstone’s life visit the David Livingstone Birthplace Museum in Scotland. See more here<\/a>
For books on the history of Victoria Falls try the ZambeziBookCompany<\/a>
<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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