Compared to the Lower Zambezi, the still waters of the wide Upper Zambezi gave me the feeling of being on a lake rather than the mighty Zambezi that had tossed me around like a rag doll yesterday. However, adrenaline still coursed through my veins as I kept my eyes out for crocodiles and hippos surfacing near the canoe.
The morning was chilly, especially in the open bed of the truck carrying us and the canoes. We drove about an hour or so from town, into the Zambezi National Park. The road wasn’t too bad and the scenery was about person-high bushes, shrubs, and the scattered tall tree. It was mostly brown – it is winter and the dry season down here – and we saw a small herd of water buffalo checking us out as we drove slowly by.
At the river, we disturbed a group of baboons, but otherwise, we sat on the beautiful banks of the not-so-mighty-looking Zambezi. Here, the river is wide and dotted with hundreds of small, sandy islands that disappear at the height of the rainy season. For now, we enjoyed out breakfast and a safety brief before going for a lazy paddle.
I felt a little disappointed at first. We didn’t get on the water until the sun was well above the horizon and we didn’t see too many animals at first. Just a few birds, really. Then, our guide spotted a few hippos. These guys can move quick in the water and are pretty territorial, so we gave them wide berth.
A little later, we rounded the corner and, voila!, two elephants at the water’s edge. We quietly maneuvered the canoes so we could watch and take photos. I would say the elephants were no more than 50 to 100 meters away. Next time, I’ll be sure to bring my laser range finder to give you the exact distance.
We saw a few more elephants on the far bank of the river. You could tell they had been in the water because they were two toned. Light for about the top one-sixth of their body and dark the rest of the way down. When I saw the elephants, I felt the trip was worth it.
Just being outside in the sun, paddling on the river was great. The air is clean and the water cool – although you don’t go in because you might tempt a crocodile to nibble gently on your toes. I could easily have spent another day or two on the river, just watching the banks go by.
I love the outdoors and the adventure activities that put you close to nature. I can’t think of anything that puts you closer to the power of the mighty Zambezi (a.k.a., the Slam-bezi) than hopping in a raft with people I don’t know to paddle through some serious rapids. If you can think of something better, let me know.
On the Zambezi, there is low-water and high-water rafting. Apparently in the first ten rapids, there is a class 6 rapid – which means that your insurance company doesn’t provide liability coverage if you, a commercial enterprise, try to run through it with customers. To run the entire rivers, the rafting companies have their clients walk around this particular class 6 rapid. When the water is high, though, there is no place to walk, so the companies start at rapid number 11. In perhaps two-weeks time, they’ll be starting at rapid number 1. Ah well. Next time, on my five day float.
Despite starting on rapid 11, the river was great! The first wave that splashed into my face – maybe it smashed into my face – nearly knocked out my contact lens and had me sputtering and coughing after I swallowed some of the Zambezi. Naturally, I worried about parasites, toxins, blah, blah, blah. But two days later, I’m still alive.
After the first rapid, it was brilliant the rest of the way down. My favorite was number 17, where we rode the wave train up and down. That was such a rush. What was disappointing was my lack of stamina. Wow, I felt so weak. So weak. I could barely paddle for more than a few minutes at a time. Afterwards, I was wheezing, straining, and wanting to cry for my mommy. OK, it wasn’t that bad, but I definitely felt weak and stiff.
Amazingly, though, the guide decided to put me in the front. I don’t know if that was because he noticed how weak I was and the front doesn’t matter too much, or if he noticed that I actually pay attention to the other guy paddling and try to paddle in sync. There were two Ozzies, two Pommies, me, a Zim, a Zam, and our South Korean rafting guide (not really, our guide Colgate grew up around Vic Falls, but told us he was South Korean as a joke).
Colgate was a trip. So full of life, singing, and just ready to help everyone have a fun, safe time down the Slambezi. We went down the river with another raft – one steered and powered by the guide only. We switched guides at a calm point in the river. Colgate managed to convince the Belgian guys in the other boat to flop on their stomachs right at the bow of the raft. I think he told them it was a safety drill. He demonstrated, then had them practice a few times. On the last forward flop they did, he used the oars to quickly push the boat backwards. End result, they’re flopping forward, boat is moving backward … and voila, in the water. We laughed hard watching it. The Belgian guys in the boat laughed even harder!
At the end of the trip, we had to climb out of the gorge, probably 150m from the river back to the top. There, before us, was a veritable open air market of goods to buy for a shoe or a t-shirt or sun glasses and a little cash. Perhaps other people don’t know the value of their goods, but giving an $80 pair of sandals for a $2 item and giving cash does not appear to be the height of an astute bargainer.
I bought a couple things and thought it was reasonable, but I suspect I still over payed. I still loved the day.
