2014-01-07

【Aiden in English】

        Finally it was time to get off the cruise ship, Nautica Oceania. After 30 days of swaying and bumpy nights, I wanted to set myself free. But what I didn't want was to wake up at 4 am just to catch a flight from Cape Town to Johannesburg. From the most populated city of South Africa, we were flying out to Victoria Falls National Park, Zimbabwe to see one of the largest falls in the world and a UNESCO Heritage Site.

        Once you've seen Iguazu Falls of Brazil and Argentina and Victoria Falls of Zimbabwe and Zambia, you may never go back to Niagara Falls of US and Canada because both Iguaçu and Victoria are at least twice the size of Niagara.

        The Victoria is famous for its width, which spans about 2 km/1.2 miles long. The Iguazu is popular for the number of falls, which consist of three major falls and 272 minor falls. The Niagara is unique for a tremendous volume of water it carries among 3 biggest falls on earth. All are shared by two countries internationally. In addition, there are Angel Falls in Venezuela which made the tallest in the world.

        Today I came to Victoria Falls in person. When I first laid my eyes on the waterfall, I was swept away like the water. A huge curtain of water gushed from above a giant granite ledge. And where the falls met Zambezi River below, enormous hazes of mist rose up underneath splendid rainbows against the sun. If you thought that was amazing, the Devil's Throat might give you a heart attack. The Devil's Throat was the closest that you could get to the waterfall. I don't recommend bringing the camera with you unless it was waterproof. The spray was so big that it formed rain drops like the size of a golf ball. I didn't stay very long at the Devil's Throat and nobody did.

        Victoria Falls are truly magnificent on the African savannah even though the Iguazu is the most beautiful and the Niagara becomes the most powerful in our planet. I still think the Victoria comes in a very close second to the Iguazu. Sooner or later I will go to eye-view the world's tallest Angel Falls back to the American continent. But for now, I surely had enough water.

【红霞译文】

        终于到了该下“航海·大洋”号游轮的时候，经过30天摇曳不止颠簸不休的日日夜夜，我巴不得恢复正常生活，但万万没有想到凌晨4点便要起床打点行装，为的是赶赴开普敦国际机场乘坐飞往约翰内斯堡的班机，然后再从这个人口爆炸的南非城市转去津巴布韦维多利亚瀑布国家公园，鉴赏世界上三大瀑布之一、联合国科教文组织《世界遗产名录》非物质文化保护地。

        如果你亲眼见过巴西、阿根廷之间的伊瓜苏瀑布，并且有幸目睹津巴布韦、赞比亚之间的维多利亚瀑布，想必你不愿再光顾美国、加拿大之间的尼亚加拉瀑布，因为前两个瀑布至少要比后一个大上两倍之多。

        维多利亚瀑布宽幅最大，前后横跨2公里／1.2英里之远。伊瓜苏瀑布数量最多，共由三个大瀑布和272个小瀑布组成。尼亚加拉瀑布流量最多，为北美水利发电创造了先决条件。上述三大瀑布各自跨越两个不同国土，唯有地球上最高的天使瀑布独居委内瑞拉境内。

        今天我莅临津巴布韦维多利亚瀑布，实地观摩其壮观场面，初来乍到立刻被滔天洪水淋成落汤鸡。烟霞淼茫，汹涌澎湃，波涛沿巨大花岗岩断面狂泻直下，狠劲跌入赞比西河，由此掀起“霹雳之雾”，使得阳光下的彩虹七彩斑斓，份外妖娆。如果你为之陶醉倾倒，那么“魔鬼喉 ”轰鸣作响的浩大声势足以叫你心惊肉跳。“魔鬼喉 ”是游客走近维多利亚瀑布的极佳景点，正因如此，我建议你最好不要携带相机，除非有防水功能。瀑布喷出的水珠大如高尔夫球一般，“魔鬼喉 ”绝非久留之地，大家有目共睹。

        在我看来，尽管维多利亚瀑布不及伊瓜苏瀑布美妙秀丽，也不如尼亚加拉瀑布气壮山河，但在非洲大草原的衬托下蔚为奇观，因而仅次于排名第一的伊瓜苏瀑布。相信不久的将来，我要亲自考察位于美洲大陆全球落差最大的天使瀑布。不过时下，我已经看足了瀑布。