By Clement Mkwasi in Victoria Falls

The Victoria Falls 2012 rainbow lunar tour, one of the exclusive tourist attractions in the resort town has been launched.

The lunar rainbow tour of the Rain Forest is an exclusive Zimbabwe National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority activity where tourists enter into the Rain Forest at night and see the rainbow which is created from the moonlight.

The tours are done under the guidance of guides from the danger point all the way to the devil’s cataract.

Speaking during the launch that was attended by tourists and marketing managers from the Victoria Falls resort, Mr John Sithole, the wildlife officer in charge of the rainforest said the lunar rainbow was only exclusive to Victoria Falls.

“Let me tell you that the lunar rainbow that we are about to see only occurs in Victoria Falls and nowhere else in the world.

“It used to also appear at the Niagara Falls but due to over development, it no longer appears there,” he said during the launch last week.

Mr Sithole said the phenomenon is seen as from the month of May  through to the beginning of the rainy season.

“The event occurs three times in any month, that is to say, a day before full moon, on full moon day and a day after the full moon. It is however seen only from the month of May all the way through to the beginning of the rain season which is around November.

“I urge you to check on your lunar calendars for dates throughout the season save to say in June, the dates shall be 3, 4 and 5,” he said. A tourist from Sydney, Australian, Mr Daniels Taylor, expressed joy at witnessing the event.

“I know how this rare rainbow is formed. Its formation is mainly dependent on factors such as the direction of wind, the thickness of the water spray, the power of the moonlight and the angle of the moon, I am           glad to be part of this crowd today,” he said. Tour operators who attended the launch, however, bemoaned lack of adequate marketing of the product on operators’ websites.

“We need to have websites that are user friendly and which can clearly market this product together with other activities of this destination,” said Mr Forward Mutero from Khanondo Safaris.

Victoria Falls has continued to be a major tourist attraction and next week, it will be a hive of activity as hundreds of people converge for the African Travel Association 37th Annual General meeting.