From Wildside Safaris
If the instantly recognisable sound of a helicopter does something to you, you’ll absolutely love Livingstone’s newest addition to the ‘must-do’ list of adventures: a 20 minute skim over tree tops and a breath-taking fly-through just meters above the river in the the Batoka Gorge in the Zambezi valley just below the falls – in a giant Huey (pictured above).
The Huey takes off from Baobab Ridge and the open doors add to the thrill. Don’t expect to come back with your hair intact – rather with all the cobwebs blown out! And with an awesome experience under your belt! The big chopper, with its distinctive heavy thudding sound, takes between eight to 13 passengers. Take off is from the Baobab Ridge helicopter base, within view of the Mosi O’Tunya – the ‘smoke that thunders’.
The helicopter was developed by Bell Helicopter for the US Army and first flew in October 1956. Since then 16 000 have been produced and around 7000 UH-1′s, as the helicopter is officially known, saw service in Vietnam. It is powered by a single, turbo shaft engine, with a two-bladed main rotor and tail rotor.
The costs per person for the Livingstone flight are US$290. For more information and bookings contact Wild Side Tours in Livingstone. Other flight options over the Victoria Falls are smaller helicopters (US$155 for a 12 minute flip) or a microlight ((US$168 for a 15 minute flight).
JUN