Sarah 
Part 3: The River of Thunder Discovering Victoria Falls
David Livingstone had trekked across deserts, battled lions, and nursed villagers back to health, but the greatest discovery was still ahead. The discovery that would take him from the pages of a journal to the pages of textbooks all over the world.
David had heard stories of a gigantic river deep in Africa. People said it was wide, wild, and powerful, and called it the Zambezi. Some said it had a waterfall so large, it made the earth quake.
David needed to see it for himself.
Hiking to the Zambezi River
The journey was hard. The land was muddy and wet, and insects attacked his skin. At night, he slept on the ground. His body, heavy with sickness, was aching in pain, but he never turned back.
He was able to travel with a small group of African guides and friends who helped him go down the Zambezi River. The river curled like a snake through the forests and the cliffs, while sometimes they could take canoes and other times it would take days of walking.
One morning, they hear a sound in the distance. It was low, deep, and rumbling, like thunder. But there were no thunder clouds in the sky. As they finally drew closer, the sound became louder. The birds began to spiral around them. Mist billowed through the air. The ground shook.
And then he saw it.
Water. Water for endless miles. Water that fell from the edges of cliffs. Water that screamed into the earth.
David Livingstone stood before a great wall of water rushing and crashing from a tremendous height. Above the mist, a rainbow danced.
He had found it.
“Scenes so lovely must have been beheld by angels in their flight,” he wrote in his journal. He called it Victoria Falls, after Queen Victoria, but the local people had called it already:
“Mosi-oa-Tunya” The Smoke That Thunders. It was one of the most powerful waterfalls on Earth.
Livingstone didn’t only write about the falls. He mapped the river, described the plant and animal life, and sent his notes back to Europe. This was a miraculous event, and soon after it was received, people in Britain were amazed. They had never before seen Africa in this light through the eyes of a man with love rather than greed.
But David was not done. He believed rivers like the Zambezi could serve a peaceful purpose with trade instead of slavery. He believed that travelers and people needed travel and friendship in Africa!”
A Man With A Mission
After discovering the Falls, David returned to Britain for a brief period. He gave speeches, wrote a book, and shared stories of Africa.
People treated him like a hero. But he didn’t want to be famous.
He wanted to go back.
There were still rivers to trace. Still villages to visit.
Still a battle to stop slavery and give hope.
To be continued…
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