Three Saints in the Devil's Pool

The Devil’s Pool is a small, slightly enclosed rock enclave perched precariously above the chasm that the Zambezi River has created over centuries and millennia: Victoria Falls.  At 105 meters in height, a slip, fall or wash over the side would spell certain doom for the careless or unlucky.  However, it’s a must do kind of thing when in Zambia, and I waited until my third year to actually do it.  

Jenny and Megan near the gorge created by Father Time and the Zambezi River.

I’ve been to Victoria Falls many, many times before but this is something that had never shown up on my itinerary.  I’ve walked next to rhinos, rafted the Batoka Gorge, even sat with a Scotsman that sleeps on a bed angled at 45 degrees, but never had I visited the Devil’s Pool.

Megan, looking model-esque, after we swam / partly walked across the Zambezi River on the way to the Devil's Pool.

When my two dear friends Jenny and Megan came I suggested it and they immediately agreed.  They were game.  On the day that we were supposed to clamber into the Devil’s Pool we began marching out to the site right about the time one of the first thunderstorms of the season was rolling in.  Perfect timing, eh?  We got out to the river’s bank, right as the downpour set in.  After about 15 minutes the guide said he thought it was okay.  

Panorama shot of some American guys that happened to be on the trip to the pool with us. 

Thinking back to my time in Arizona and the continual worry about flash floods I asked, “Should we be worried about all of the water that’s running off into the river?  You know, won’t it raise the water or something?”  His reply, “Uh, yeah… it does seem like it’s moving faster than usual.  Let’s go.”  We went.

Just behind us is a 105 meter drop into the Batoka Gorge.  Depending on which side of the shore my body would have washed up on in the event of a fall I would belong to Zambia or Zimbabwe.  Me and Bobby Mugabe could be pals.

The first thing to know about Devil’s Pool is that you don’t walk to the pool.  You swim – across the river that is about to tumble over 100 meters over a rock edge into a rocky gorge.  Essentially you swim across the top of Victoria Falls.  I’m not trying to be dramatic, but I’m also not sure I would’ve agreed to do this if someone told me you swim across the falls.  That just seems crazy.  We swam.  

This one's for all of the ladies.  Ha!

We got to the other side and after going over some sharp stones we sat on the edge of the pool.  Lucifer himself couldn’t have done a better job of explaining where to swim and what not to hold on to then out guide did.  We were an entirely captive audience.  The guide jumped in and then me, followed by the girls.  You know that seen in Indiana Jones where he takes the step of faith to save his father?  It kind of seemed like that to me.  We all just blindly followed the guide into the pool and hoped there really was an edge like they claimed that would stop us from our impending plummet.  Luckily there was.  

Inaccessible for parts of the year, the Devil's Pool is by far one of my favorite excursions in Livingstone.  The company definitely had something to do with it - Jenny and Megan were amazing guests to have in Zambia.

You could sit, wait til the guides looked away and lean over, pose for pictures until you felt like a Sports Illustrated model, and the whole time you knew that a few inches this way or that and you would be a few seconds from splat.  Also, swim the wrong direction and the current takes you right over the edge.   
 

I don’t know how long we sat in the Devil’s Pool – maybe 15 minutes – but we couldn’t stay forever.  There was a thunderstorm going on remember and sooner or later the pitch fork heaving son of a gun that bathed there would have to return, so we left for drier, safer conditions.  

Leaving Devil's Pool panorama.

My final evaluation of the Devil’s Pool was that it was well worth the 50 dollars spent, well worth the potential lightning strike my fat body was tempting, well worth the free fall followed by drowning or sudden impact or both, and well worth remembering (which is why I’m writing it down because I just may forget someday).