But, Honestly...

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We crossed the border today into Zimbabwe and arrived at our last CC Africa destination…Matetsi Private Game Reserve. Upon arrival we switched to our open 4WD and into the bush one last time to arrive at the Matetsi Water Lodge. Wow! This place was spectacular! Each lodge was located in the woods with enough privacy and situated along the great Zambezi River…with our own sun deck and pool, beautiful king sized bed that led out to the deck and a window that looked more like an area which would lead out to the open, outside and inside showers, bathtub, room service…I mean the list goes on and on! It’s a shame I was only there for one night. I do have to say I like the group…Morgan, Sam and John, much better than the staff at Matetsi, but I am attributing that to the lack of time to get to know them.

After we settled in and showered off our safari dirt and had our room service lunch that was enough to feed a small army (I did alright with that), we headed to Victoria Falls…the town and the falls itself. It’s pretty incredible that the peaceful placid river upstream that flows in front of my lodge builds up to this impressively magnificent 1.7km long waterfall, in 5 separate main sections at a height of 108m… In December there is not much water, despite it being the rainy season…its actually the beginning of rainy season, so some of the chutes/cataracts did not have any water at all. I still think it was incredible and extremely picturesque, maybe even more so than if there was water everywhere…you get a different idea at different times of the year. Anyway, it was beautiful, I only wish it was sunny so you can see the rainbow coming from the main falls…it was raining pretty heavily at first and then I think it stopped but its hard to say since the spray is shooting way up in the air and falling back down. You can actually see the spray from over 20km away.

Dinner was delicious…it was me, Lena and Gert, and a Zim couple from Harare, the second capital, on their honeymoon. I was actually pretty happy that they joined us as I got to hear a quite a bit about the current situation going on in Zimbabwe (with the farmland switching hands to people incapable of farming it, their dollar depreciating every single day and is worth absolutely nothing - a beer costs 6 million Zim Dollars and how the rest of the world is viewing them and Mugabe) and how they are handling it and what they think of it. Both were very nice and seemed extremely intelligent.

The next morning, oh how I WISH I could have slept in, I had a wakeup call at 545AM to have a breakfast and head out to Ilala Lodge in town, where I stayed my last night and where I am picked up for my White Water Rafting trip with Wild Horizons. I left Metetsi with two German guys who were also going rafting and when we were picked up at Ilala I was definitely taken aback…I will preface this with the night before I decided that I wouldn’t care if it was storming out and we couldn’t do the rafting…I am pretty tired these days and could use a day to relax…I was signed up for a half day and would be happy to spend the rest of the day napping…and it has been a little chilly out so I did not think that there would be that many people…so not only was I pleasantly surprised when I heard two people from Matetsi were going but when a vehicle of about 15 other people showed up I was shocked…14 of which were shirtless 20 year old boys on their summer holiday from uni in South Africa and visiting friends from Zimbabwe. The other was a Silvia from Brazil and last minute we had an Australian couple join us.

And honestly…the day was AMAZING! The sun was out for a while, it poured for a bit and the rapids were just insane! INSANE! They have to close down the rafting expeditions in May as it becomes just too dangerous with that much water…right now with lower water levels the rapids are more exciting and they certainly were…there were a handful of class 5 rapids and the rest being 4s and 3s with a few 2s. There was one class 6 but we all got out and walked around it, minus a few kayakers and our guides with our rafts, it’s called commercial suicide. Did I mention that we have to wear helmets during the rafting? In total there were 21 rapids along the 26km strip of the Zambezi we rafted on. It starts at the base of Victoria Falls, literally at the bottom of where the river plunges over 100m. As an FYI, the Zambezi is the world’s 4th longest river, the falls are the second biggest after Iguaçu although the largest by water volume and it sits as the border between Zambia an d Zimbabwe.

We were split up into three boats, the boys in 2 and the rest of us in the other…the more timid of the crew. I like to think I am a bit more adventurous than that although it may be scary…anyway, we had a great first part of the day…one of the rapids, number 8 and called Midnight Diner, we had a choice to do an easy class 3 version or a difficult class 5 version, where the probability of tipping was 80%. I figure that percentage is just a precaution and our boat wanted the class 3 so they let me switch into one of the boys boats for the ride…well, our boat didn’t flip, but EVERY SINGLE ONE OF US fell out, including the guide. What I remember is coming over one of the waves, straight down and seeing a wall of white water, which we were about to climb up…I mean it must have been close to vertical…which is when we all lost hold and were tossed out…I fell out recently when I was in Colorado for Josh and Priya’s wedding weekend and it wasn’t bad, it was actually fun and now thinking about it those rapids were cake compared to the Zambezi. However, when you are in the Zambezi and out of the boat it’s a bit scarier…I thought we were all sucked in for like 10 seconds but from the video we watched after it seems like most people were still above water…minus myself…so I was underwater for a bit, I guess maybe since I was in the back and it’s a very weird surreal feeling…I guess maybe what its like to be in a washing machine (which by the way is the name of one of the other rapids)…anyway, you are under water for a bit and then you pop up somewhere downstream…it’s a good thing they tell you to relax and not to fight water cuz when you’re under you have no clue where you are and such but when I came back to the surface I saw everyone else sprawled across the river and we started to head to the boat, still in the middle of the rapid, floating very quickly with the water…eventually we all managed to make it to the boat and hold onto the line along the side choking on some water along the way and riding the rapid in the water. Oh did I mention that within the first two minutes we saw crocodiles along the side of the river? Neat. But they don’t hang around the rapids, just the still slow moving water. So…scary, yes…fun, absolutely. You quickly forget about the scary once you know you are safe. Adrenaline rush…goes without saying. We watched the second boat go through and they only lost two people I think…we were shocked…that is until we saw the video and their guide had told them to stop paddling and hold on inside the raft whereas we were getting into it and continued to paddle…

The next rapid was Commercial Suicide so as we walked around I hopped back into my boat again. The following rapid, the last one before lunch and the half-day-ers were to leave, both of the boys boats flipped entirely over! I think our guide took us down an easier route. They were all scattered across the river…paddles in every which direction.

So it was lunch and I decided I hadn’t had enough quite yet, so I decided to stay the full day. The Germans and the Aussies left so it was just Silvia and I and 14 testosterone filled boys. Silvia and I split up and each went into one of the boys’ boats…definitely much more of an adventure with these guys than the tame boat I was in previously…you all know how guys are…and it was loads of fun! We fell out a few more times along the way, one of which only one of the guys and myself managed to stay inside the boat, even Colgate, our guide, fell out…although I think at this point we all have fun falling out that we may not be trying that hard to stay in either. A bit further downstream, Colgate found a spot for us to climb up on the rocks to jump into the river…maybe 20 feet or so and from the Zambia side, so I guess I illegally crossed a border today! Again, so much fun…that is until just a few meters downstream one of the guys noticed a croc sitting along the edge…that was super neat…I gave Colgate a wide-eyed look saying you better get your ass in that raft over to me STAT. He laughed and pulled me in.

There were a few rapids that Colgate let us jump out and ride the rapids in the water some of them faster than others…it was a whole lot of fun…for one of them we made a chain linking ourselves together and riding down… did I mention the scenery? Its phenomenal! We are riding in this grand basalt gorge…reminiscent of being on the Colorado in the Grand Canyon.

Later that night there was a viewing of the video that Doug, one of the kayakers riding alongside us, made…I ended up buying it since it is kind of funny and it captures just how insane this rafting is…oh but, honestly SO SOOO much fun. Went out with Silvia and a few others for a drink at this backpacker’s bar, Shoe Strings and well I could only manage to stay for a beer. I was 100% wiped out from the day…and the entertainment of the drunks around us was a little too much for me in my state.

I am heading to South Africa today to begin my volunteer work. I will be in St. Lucia for the first four weeks and then Cape Town for the last four weeks. I am flying with Nationwide and I had a minor freak out the other day when I realized that I was flying them and recalling what my two friends in Jo-burg mentioned that morning I was leaving for Botswana that this airline had been grounded by South Africa cuz their planes are crap and one lost an engine while flying. I couldn’t believe that the travel agent would book me on this flight after this event had happened…the restriction has been lifted and there are a few planes flying, all of which have gone through rigorous inspections…so I guess that would mean they are that much better off , but something still just doesn’t sit well with me. Either which way I am sure I will be fine, but I will be able to breathe again when I step off the plane in Jo-burg. Guess I am a risk-taker, eh?

So all throughout the trip in Africa so far I have been seeing this father and son from New Zealand on a three-week safari…they have been at every park and reserve I have been at essentially…so similar to Asia I suppose where you run into the same people…I guess we all have the same itinerary. Not surprised to see them at the Livingstone airport on my flight to SA! P.S. as I was checking in I think I saw at best 15 names on the list of passengers on my flight…tells you that I am one of a few crazy people to still fly with them. Just keep telling myself I will be fine! Oh, actually I just counted how many people are sitting here in the waiting lounge to board the flight…and it would be the lucky number 13. Super neat. Kisses.

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Comments

[Tameeza]

Happy Holidays!!
Hi Beth, I have enjoyed your blog tremendously!! It is great to see that you are making the most of your adventure. I wanted to wish you a Happy Holiday season and all the best for a wonderful 2008!!