Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe

This article is about the town. For the waterfalls, see Victoria Falls.

Victoria Falls
Town centre
Coat of arms
Victoria Falls
Coordinates: 17°56′S 25°50′E
Country	Zimbabwe
Province	Matabeleland North
District	Hwange
Population  (2012)
• Total	33,660
Time zone	UTC+2 (CAT)
Climate	BSh

A road in the town centre

Victoria Falls is a town in the province of Matabeleland North, Zimbabwe. It lies on the southern bank of the Zambezi River at the western end of Victoria Falls themselves. According to the 2012 Population Census, the town had a population of 33,060.

History

The settlement began in 1901 when the possibility of using the waterfall for hydro-electric power was explored, and expanded when the railway from Bulawayo reached the town shortly before the Victoria Falls Bridge was opened in April 1905, connecting Southern Rhodesia (later Rhodesia; now Zimbabwe) to Northern Rhodesia (later Zambia). It became the principal tourism centre for the Falls, experiencing economic booms from the 1930s to the 1960s and in the 1980s and early 1990s.

Geography

See also: Livingstone, Zambia and Victoria Falls

The town is located northwest of its province, in front of the borders with Zambia, separated from it by the Zambezi River and the binational Victoria Falls. It lies few km from the Zambian city of Livingstone, and is surrounded by the Zambezi, Mosi-oa-Tunya and Victoria Falls national parks.

Education

Victoria Falls has a number of primary schools with the number having increased since 2009. These include Baobab Primary School, Chinotimba Primary School, Kings Primary School, Victoria Falls Primary School, Mkhosana Primary School, St Josephine Bakita Primary School, Mkhosana Adventist Primary School, Education Centre and Jacaranda Primary School. Mosi-oa-Tunya High School is the largest school in the town, and Mkhosana Adventist Secondary School (MASS) is the second largest secondary school.

In addition there are private colleges registered under the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education that provide secondary and high school education. These include Elite Independent College, Dadani Vocational Technical College, Lulu Academy (popularly known as College of charity), Herentals College and Oasis Christian Academy.

Health

The town is served by Victoria Falls District Hospital, The Chinotimba Clinic, Mkhosana Clinic, Premier Medical Aid Society, a few surgeries and The Health Bridge private hospital.

Transport

Victoria Falls is connected by road and railway to Hwange (109 km away) and Bulawayo (440 km away), both to the south-east. Victoria Falls Airport is located 18 km south of the town and has international services to Johannesburg and Namibia.

Sports

Football is the most popular sport and there are many football teams, some of which played in the first division. There have been many teams like Zimbabwe Sun Rovers, Intundla, Makasa Sun Casino, Guyu, Burning Spear, Sprayview, Mawema and The Young Warriors.

Victoria Falls Rugby Club, which started at the farm school playing touch rugby, was strengthened and played a few touring international sides at Elephant Hills Hotel. They participated at the Victoria Falls Rugby 10s in 1999, where South African, Scottish, Zambian and Kenyan teams played.

The town is known for its grade 5 rapids where white water rafting and kayaking are done. There is also a golf course, at the Elephant Hills Hotel, which held a tournament on the South African Tour in the 1970s, the Victoria Falls Classic. There is also a proposed cricket stadium.

Gallery

• 
  Baboons at Victoria Falls station
• 
  Victoria Falls Public Library
• 
  Victoria Falls looking eastwards
• 
  Kingdom Hotel

See also

• Breeze FM 91.2
• Victoria Falls Hotel
• Victoria Falls Field Museum (Zambia)
• Victoria Falls Power Station (Zambia)

External links

Media related to Victoria Falls (city) at Wikimedia Commons