White Water Rafting the Zambezi

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We were picked up at 8:15am for the ride out to the white water raft start site. We were both excited but to say the least apprehensive having seen the power of the river at the Falls (and having seen the video). We were given an excellent (and amusing) safety lecture and were kitted out with our lifejackets, helmets and paddles. Jen opted for the chicken boat in which you don’t have to paddle yourself and I opted for the normal boat. In my boat were also Potsy and Brett (who took the front most two positions). I was second on the left side with the remaining three being two Dutchmen and a Dutch woman plus our African guide. We had quite a hard scramble down the gorge to get to our starting point. The very was fine and bright. We climbed aboard and did a training session in the quiet water, finishing with a jump into the Zambezi, which was pleasantly warm. A tough paddle to get the boat into the mainstream followed this. There are about 20 rapids of varying intensity. Four or five of them are grade 5 (there is a grade six but that would be suicidal so the boats are carried around that one). It’s very exciting as you crash through the waves as the pilot shouts out instructions such as hard forward, left turn, back paddle, stop. When he shouts get down you quickly press yourselves against the side of the boat clinging grimly to the safety rope. At the first grade five I was the only one to fall out. I was immediately thrust underwater. It seemed ages before I surfaced and grabbed a breath only to be thrust under again. This was repeated a few times then as I cleared the rapid I was within throwing distance of the safety rope which they threw to me and I gladly grabbed it and was hauled back into the boat. We survived several more rapids intact then at another we went virtually vertical and Potsy, Brett and myself were thrown from the boat. We were soon hauled back on board. We survived a few more rapids without falling out and then walked around the grade six and had our lunch on the banks. Restarting after lunch I had my most terrifying moment. I fell out of the boat at a rapid and was sucked under the still upright boat. I became disorientated and feared for a moment that I was wedged underwater against a rock as I couldn’t surface but it was only the current holding me down. Then wonderfully a hand from the boat grasped my flailing hand. It was Brett’s and he and Potsy then pulled me aboard. There was no time to relax because we were soon at another rapid. At one rapid the pilot manoeuvred us so that we were facing backwards and got us to paddle into a huge standing wave which caused us to surf upwards - but the bow then dug into the wave and the boat went vertical and we were all catapulted into the raging water. I surfaced fairly quickly but then drifted for ages, at one point trying to grab a rock but failing. I didn’t know how far it was to the next rapid and was terrified that I’d go down it on my own, out of the boat but eventually I managed to get to a safety canoe and held on to the back whilst he towed me back to another boat which then transferred me back to my boat. By this time I was getting exhausted but the worst rapid of the day - number 18 - was still to come. Jen meanwhile had been having her own tumbles out of the chicken boat. She got thrown out of the boat at the rapid called the ‘Devil’s toilet bowl’ and has a huge bruise on her arm as a consequence and their boat had flipped completely at number 18. The more exciting rapids were filmed and are in a video that we purchased (we for obvious reasons couldn’t take our camera). Jen amazed me that she did the white water rafting. Sustained exhilaration is probably the best way to sum up a fantastic day. The rafting ends with a tough climb out of the gorge carrying your life jacket, helmet and paddle. There is a water stop half way up which is a lifesaver. The guides on the boats are fantastic at their jobs (and according to Jen very hunky). We cracked open some beers as we headed back to town on our open sided truck and then the heavens opened for a torrential downpour. Back at the camp we could do nothing but shelter in our tent because of the rain. At 7 we went to the bar for the showing of the day’s video of the rafting which caught many of dramatic moments (but not me stuck under the boat). We also dined at the bar before an early night ready for the early start tomorrow. We said goodbye to many of the old gang over the weekend including Steph, Richard, Pim, Daniel, Kook and Alison.

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