Zimbabwe – Dry Season | Nature, Wildlife, Victoria Falls

Experience the Sounds of Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe at the End of Winter

Every now and then an opportunity comes along that you just cannot pass up. The chance of going on a recording trip to Zimbabwe alongside someone who knows the area and many locals was exactly that.
I traveled to Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe in August of 2023. As the dry season and the coldest time of year was still in full swing, the land is dry, and animals travel long distances to reach watering holes and rivers to drink. With the trees dried out and few insects in sight, the soundscape across the steppes is eerily quiet day and night, save for the large number of helicopters flying tourists around during the day.

Not only was it an utterly inspiring experience just taking in the beauty of nature and the warm spirits of the people I have met, it was also an exercise in navigating the challenges of anthropogenic noise becoming more prevalent around the globe. With this time of year being the height of tourism season, capturing the sounds of nature meant having to find pockets of silence to avoid the sounds of helicopters, safari trucks, and trains carrying coal.

By resorting to drop rigs, overnight recording, and getting up before sunrise to record, I captured a wide range of birds, mammals, and ambiences that will let you recreate the soundscapes of this vivid nation in your projects. Of course, I also had to capture the incredible majestic power of Victoria Falls’ namesake waterfalls, both in stereo and Ambisonic format.

Total Number of Files: 70 (all Microphones and Perspectives)

Number of Unique Files: 46

Metadata: UCS file naming, SoundMiner, Soundly, BWF

Recording Specs: 24 Bit / 96 kHz

Channel Format: Stereo, AmbiX (Ambisonic B-Format), Mono

File Format: WAV

Size: 3.51GB (including Ambisonic Files), 2.27GB (Mono & Stereo Only)

Processing: Spectral Noise Reduction, Level adjustment, Fade Ins/Outs, Ambisonic to Stereo Conversion (Perspective-Optimized)