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Published: October 21st 2006
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Jen went off shopping with Steph whilst I was transported with Potsy, Brett and Shannon (all three very hung over) to the ‘Adrenaline Centre’ at the top of the Zambezi Gorge - just downstream from the bridge which links Zimbabwe and Zambia. The views from the gorge top are incredible (and scary considering that we were about to leap into it). Below on the river you can see the tiny looking white water rafters on the river. We were first given a safety drill before being kitted out with our harnesses. I was in a bit of a daze as I prepared for my first activity, which is a ‘flying fox’. This involves running off a platform with a harness attached to your back. The thrill you get as you run off the end of the platform into the void is literally breathtaking. You travel face down on a slung cable over to the other side of he gorge and then oscillate back and forth until you settle in the middle way, suspended way above the gorge. The view down is wonderful. You are then slowly hauled back in to the safety of the platform.
The second activity is called
the ‘goofy slide’. This was exhilarating. This time you are vertical and travel down much further and faster and end up suspended about 20 feet above the water. (Actually it’s on the border of rocks and water so if you fell it would be a bit hit and miss - hopefully miss the rocks). A man then descends on a pulley and attaches a rope, which allows you to be winched back with him to the top.
The third activity is the most terrifying by a large factor and is called the gorge swing. You step off the platform and fall bungee fashion in freefall and then when the tension builds in the rope you swing in a huge arc out over the gorge. It is simply awesome. We were all nervous as we waited or our turn at the swing and this was intensified ten-fold when there was a technical mishap on the goofie slide whilst we watched and waited An African girl in the other group appeared to have completed her goofy slide, but both she and the staff man who had retrieved her fell again from the platform. Both were still attached so that plummeted along
the line back into the gorge. The retrieval rope was still attached and is designed to reach only the half way across the gorge to the point in the middle where the rider normally settles and it is only designed to be taken out slowly by the retrieval man. The result was that the pulley screamed as it rotated increasingly fast and the staff ran from the pulley stanchion and indicated for us to do the same. As the rope reached its limit it snapped from the pulley. This left the girl and the retriever stranded in the middle. Another rope was passed out them slowly on another pulley and they started to haul them both in. Amazingly when they were two-thirds of the way in the winch suddenly freewheeled and they plummeted again. The girl must have been terrified. They finally managed to get her back on solid land after one hour. The sun was incredibly strong and hot to add to her discomfort. We all got a bit jittery after this incident. The last thing you want to see before jumping off a cliff with a rope attached is to see a technical problem with the equipment. However
Recovery of stranded girl
She had been dangling from the rope for almost an hour in the blazing sun my time to do the gorge swing had arrived. The feeling of being stood on the edge of the platform over the huge chasm of the gorge has to be experienced. It is indescribeable. It was time. I counted 1, 2, and 3 and then just stepped off the edge before I could change my mind. As you fall the cliff whizzes past your head and your stomach moves up the feeling of the ground rushing up to meet you is stunning. The relief as the tension builds in the rope is short-lived as you are suddenly catapulted out over the gorge. Only at the end of the swing can you start to relax as you realise you’ve survived intact. You swing back and forth a few times before you come to rest right over the centre of the gorge with the amazingly powerful Zambezi River flowing below you. You are then winched up to the top, having to scramble rocks for the last 30 feet. This slow haul up is a bit scary because you have time to look at the rope and buckles etc. thinking about the repercussions if any of them failed. (I always particularly worry about
the stitching on the harnesses - worrying that the stitcher had an off day). I watched the others do further jumps. All four off us were in an exuberant buzzed up state when we finished. This had been one of the most intense experiences of my life. Rejoining Jen, we finally got to see Victoria Falls. They are spectacular in scale (even though not at full flow). Some people we could see on the Zambian side were bathing in pools right on the crest of the falls. It looked suicidal but presumably there are calm patches even at the head of a waterfall. In the evening we remaining truckers who have not left at Vic Falls dined at Mama Africas. Very moderate fare and slow service. The company was good however. We met Hannah who is very affable. Earlier at the camp bar we’d seen the video of those who’d done the white water rafting earlier in the day. It looked terrifying and filled us with trepidation for tomorrow.
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