The Devil’s Pool is Hella Awesome
(T) Swimming in The Devil’s Pool at Victoria Falls was at the top of my list of things I wanted to do on this grand adventure. I’ve always been drawn to waterfalls and I’m a bit of an adrenaline junkie, fortunately, G is too, so literally swimming in and leaning over one of the world’s seven natural wonders greatly appealed to us. I mean, just look at where it is.
I did quite a bit of research to do what I could to make sure this experience was possible. One of the most important things to know if you want to do this is The Devil’s Pool is only open to visitors during the dry season otherwise the water will carry you right over the edge. The driest months and best months to go are typically September and October. There is another pool that is more forgiving weatherwise, aptly named The Angel’s Pool, that you can swim in during the wet season but can’t lean over the edge and the view isn’t quite as spectacular.
Another important thing to know is the iconic view of Victoria Falls is on the Zimbabwe side (1st photo), but The Devil’s Pool is on the Zambia side (2nd photo). We flew into Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, and were able to take care of our visas for both Zimbabwe and Zambia on arrival at the airport.
There were a couple of big deterrents that would’ve dissuaded me from getting in the world’s widest curtain of falling water. The first was the possible threat of hippos or crocodiles. Victoria Falls flows from the Zambezi River which is known to have a healthy number of both hippos and crocodiles swimming and bobbing around in it, neither of which I want to swim with. After all, hippos are the deadliest land animal in the whole world, killing 500+ people in Africa every year. I’d rather not be a part of that statistic. The second was the fear of contracting schistosomiasis, a disease caused by parasitic worms released by freshwater snails that also live in The Zambezi River.
I learned I didn’t have to worry about hippos, crocodiles, or schistosomiasis swimming out to and in The Devil’s Pool because of two things: the water depth and current! The snails are only found in still water. Hippos and crocodiles stay in shallow water and they prefer it to be still. Hippos actually can’t swim so they avoid deep water. In order to get to the Devil’s Pool, you wave to wade in then swim through water that’s fairly deep with a moderate current. The Devil’s Pool itself is pretty deep and hippos and crocs would need to 1. swim through deep flowing water and 2. climb over some rocks to get to it. Phew!
With my fears set aside, I gave myself the green light for planning. G and I had booked a safari with Africa Zim Travel and Tours (we highly recommend them! we will write about our safari in our next post) in Zimbabwe and Botswana, so I contacted them to see if they could squeeze in a visit to The Devil’s Pool. The only way to get there is to take a tour to Livingstone Island in Zambia through a separate company. Zim Travel and Tours arranged the add-on for us with no booking or convenience fee. The cost was $155/person. Below are the details of our day.
October 11, 2022 - Victoria Falls (Zimbabwe) and The Devil’s Pool (Zambia)
Soon enough the day had come to see Victoria Falls and then swim in The Devil’s Pool! The day after we arrived, we were picked up in the morning from our lodge and dropped off at Victoria Falls National Park, Zimbabwe. If seeing the falls is what brings you here, Zimbabwe has the best view and, take note, you’ll see fuller waterfalls during the wet season. We spent about two hours walking around on our own, taking in the views, and appreciating the plants and animals in the park.
Afterward, we were driven back to our lodge. Later in the afternoon, we were picked up for The Livingstone Afternoon High Tea Tour (AKA: time to visit The Devil’s Pool!). We were driven across the border and stopped at the border crossing to have our passports stamped. The locals affectionately call the border Zim-Zam on the way to Zambia and Zam-Zim on the way to Zimbabwe. When we arrived in Zambia from Zimbabwe and Zim Zam we were driven ~15 minutes to our boat. The first part of the trek was about a 10-minute boat ride to the island. When G and I approached the boat, we saw were doing this adrenaline-filled activity with a group of gutsy Korean-American retirees, so no one can tell us they’re too old to do this! It was possible to see crocs or hippos on the boat ride over to the island but we were in a bigger, motorized boat, so we weren’t too worried about it. We made it to the island without seeing any predators.
When we arrived at the island, we were given towels and the chance to change if we needed to. Then we locked up our stuff in lockers, and took a brief walk to another side of the island where we would begin our swim out. We had three guides to keep us safe throughout the entire experience. One by one, we got in the water and waded our way across the river until the water became too deep and the current picked up, where we swam a very short way then waded a little more over to some rocks. The current was was moderate but was not too strong to swim in.
We climbed up and then across the rocks and finally saw it, The Devil’s Pool. The view was even more impressive than I had built up in my mind. The sound of the falls, the site of the water falling over huge cliffs right in front of you, the feeling of the mist, all of it was better than I could have thought. I was in awe of this natural wonder.
The rest of the group went before we did since they had more people. None of them backed out! We applauded each of them as they climbed out of the pool. They started their journey back to the island with one of the guides and, finally, it was our turn. I jumped in the Devil’s Pool first and G shortly followed me. Once you jump in the pool you have to swim hard for about 2 meters (6 feet) across the pool to the cliff’s edge, but there are two guides right there who will make sure nothing happens (and take amazing photos for the Gram). We were forewarned about small, friendly fish who like to bite people in a harmless, painless way, but when I first felt one it was still unsettling, but not frightening. If I moved my arm or leg quickly, they would swim away, maybe to bite G. We made it to the very edge of The Devil’s Pool, Victoria Falls. We plopped up on the edge for some pictures before it was time to lean over the edge. Yes, lean over it and look down!
The guides are the real MVPs. G and I took turns leaning over the edge as one of the guides held our ankles for our dear lives while the other snapped photos (that made it look like we were defying the falls, suspended over the edge.)
Want to see over the edge, too? Here we go!
The time had come for us to swim hard back to the rocks, climb up and over, walk to the river where we waded and swam back to the island. We dried off and joined our retiree group at a lovely set table for drinks and snacks. They were a fun group to be with. One thing we really appreciated is they would, at times, speak in Korean with each other but then one person would translate for us. We didn’t mind that they were speaking Korean and didn’t expect them to translate for us, but found it so thoughtful that they did. We filled them in on our early retirement and they were very excited for us. We also talked about their families, where they lived in the US, etc. When we finished our refreshments and debriefed about our thrilling Devil’s Pool experience, we walked back to the boat, climbed in, and went back to the pickup point. This time we saw a hippo! Fortunately, it was in the distance and wasn’t interested in us.
We said our goodbyes, and G and I headed back toward the border, crossed through Zam-Zim back into Zimbabwe. We truly had the best guide on our trip during most of our time in Zimbabwe and Botswana, Cosmas. Cosmas went out of his way to take us to see Zimbabwe’s largest and oldest baobab tree on the way back to our lodge!
After our impromptu stop, Cosmas took us back to our lodge, where G and I ate dinner and called it an early night. The Devil’s Pool is easily one of the best experiences of both of our lives.