To understand how tall 192 metres is, imagine stacking about 60 double-decker buses on top of each other. That is how far the water falls in one go — with no ledges or steps in between, just a single straight drop into the pool below. The roar of the falling water can be heard from far away, and a fine mist hangs around the gorge even on sunny days.
The gorge around the falls is also quite spectacular. Over countless years, the crashing water has carved a deep U-shaped canyon into the mountain. The walls of the gorge are layered sandstone and basalt rock, striped with different colours. Swallows and raptors swoop along the cliff faces, and the spray keeps the plants in the gorge fresh and green even in dry seasons.
Near the falls, there is a small village called Semonkong, which means 'Place of Smoke' — named because from a distance, the mist from the waterfall looks like a plume of smoke rising from the valley. Visitors can go abseiling — lowering themselves down a rope — right next to the falls, one of the most thrilling outdoor adventures in all of southern Africa.