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Somewhere Over
(Or Under) The Rainbow
As William Wordsworth says in his poem, The Rainbow,
My heart leaps up when I behold
A Rainbow in the sky:
So was it when my life began;
So is it now I am a man;
So be it when I shall grow old,
Or let me die!
A night time moon rainbow is created by the light of a full moon and
water particles from the mist of a waterfall. Victoria Falls has
predictable, regular lunar rainbows and to gaze at these delicate
Lunar Rainbows which the light of the moon shining through the spray
creates, is a natural wonder without comparison
When the moon
is full, the sky relatively clear and the
Victoria Falls
at their peak flow, huge rainbows appear through the mist at night.
This event is visible a couple of days before, the day of and a
couple of days after the full moon and is best seen at times of high
water (usually March to July). It is then that the light of the moon
is refracted through the mists that rise up from the base of the
Falls. This is all accompanied by the sound of millions of litres of
water plunging into the gorge below the Falls and, of course you
will be soaked by the sheets of spray that are created.
 The National
Heritage Conservation Commission, who manage the Falls area, are
allowing access to the area in the evenings so that visitors to
Livingstone can see what it is all about.
If you are
visiting Livingstone over a full moon period (or even better, time
your visit to Livingstone to coincide with this), you will need to
make prior arrangements with NHCC. This can by done by phoning
Muyumbwa Ndiyoi on 03 323-662 during office hours. He will then
alert the staff at the Falls to remain open. Alternatively,
arrangements can be made with your hotel/lodge. There is a charge
for this K 4,000 for Zambians and Residents and US$ 12 for
foreigners. However, if you have visited the Falls during the day,
if you keep your entrance ticket, you then only have to pay K 2,000
or US$ 2. You will also need to arrive at the Falls by
midnight,
as the staff on duty will knock off at that time.
Full moon
dates for the rest of this year are April 24th, May 23rd,
June 22nd, July 21st, August 19th,
September 18th, October 17th, November16th and
December 15th |
April 2005