Zambezi River, Zimbabwe

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Hi Again Everybody;
Here is part two of our safari, Zimbabwe. We crossed over from Botswana after our Chobe Park adventures. After arriving and setting up camp we had a sunset cruise on the Zambezi River above Victoria Falls. It's a massive river with Zimbabwe on one side and Zambia on the other. It was great, so relaxing. It was our driver/guide, David's birthday, so it kind of turned into a party. A group of native dancers came to the camp ground after the cruise and put on a really great show with dancing, singing & drumming. It was a great start for Zimbabwe.
Next day we went to Victoria Falls. So spectacular, they are over a mile long. The amount of water flowing over them is crazy. The locals have always referred to the as "the smoke that thunders". Long before you ever get to the falls, you can see the mist rising up from them. It is so thick that it does look like smoke from a fire. It is a completly different eco system where the mist falls because of the continual moisture. It has a big trail with many look-out points and a place where you can walk down steps and see them from a lower vantage point. Some of the look-out points you could'nt get your camera out because of the mist falling, sometimes it turned into big raindrops. They are truly beautiful. You can walk across the bridge, show your passport, and go over to the Zambezi side and view them from there also. They truly are one of the wonders of the world.
Aaron has seen them in dry season, when there's just a few points of water falling over the edge the whole mile across. And, he's seen them during the rainy season when the entire mile across is a solid sheet of water spilling down over 315 feet. We were there right in the middle. Massive amounts of water spilling over, but a few spots where an island had slowed the flow down in a particular area. Beautiful.
Next day we rafted the Zambezi! I almost backed out several times, but now I'm glad I didn't. It was so much fun and definitely one of the biggest adrenaline rushes ever. There are 24 rapids, but this time of year they are only running rapids #11 - #24. After our safety lecture and being dressed in the proper gear; wetsuit, life vest, helmet, they give you a paddle and you descend into the gorge. Quite a hike actually. Down at the bottom they break you into groups, give you a guide and in your raft you go. First, your guide makes sure everyone can pull a person out of the water. He makes us practice doing this by having us all jump in and then pull each other out. You basically have to grab them by the shoulders of their life vest, push them under, then heave them up and into the boat. You have to be quick, the river is really fast. Then he showed us what to do if we get caught in a whirlpool. There were some big ones that you could see, those scared me. Then off we go.
I have to admit, I was to scared to actually look at the first few rapids. I just looked at the beautiful canyon walls, and trees, and rocks, and the crocodiles sunning themselves on the rocks. That's why you want to get out of the water quick. You're okay in fast moving water, slow, still water is a little more scary. #13 is called "The Mother" and unfortunately I looked up seconds before we hit it and I almost started crying. Then Kazi, our guide, yelled paddle hard, paddle hard, so I just concentrated on that. Then he yelled "everybody down" and then we were through it. After that one I wasn't scared anymore, just excited. Our raft never flipped, and none of us fell out, which was fine with me. One of the rafts in our group flipped in a rapid called "Terminator 2", it's way bigger than "Terminator 1". It was amazing to watch, the guide had that raft flipped back in the upright position in less than 20 seconds. He managed to get everyone back in the boat but one guy that we paddled over to and picked up. His eyes were so big, it really was funny. He just kept saying "Yah, yah, I'm fine, I'm fine". There were 2 or 3 class 3 rapids, the rest were class 4 and 5 rapids, there's one calss 6 rapid that you have to take your raft out of the river and carry it around this rapid, then get back in the water. Luckily for us, the water was so high right now that we were able to float over it. Kazi was showing us where the water level had started, and how much it had dropped. It had dropped over 25 feet since May/June, it was currently 75 ft. deep (knowing that was scary!), and by October it will drop another 25-30 ft.. That's when the real gung-ho rafters come.
The hike out of the gorge was a killer. It was the worst part of the day. I thought I was going to be sick by the time I climbed out of there and I'm in pretty decent shape. They had cold drinks and a barbeque waiting for us at the top. It was an awesome day.
After cleaning up, Aaron and I went and had a snack, then walked to the craft market in Vic Falls. There were so many beautiful things. Carvings of wood, stone, bone. Weavings, pottery, jewelry. There are some true artisans there. Zimbabwe is really struggling right now and they are not doing good economically. These people were practically giving their art away. Tourism has definitely been hurt in the last few years. They do not even have their own currency anymore, they sell it for suvineers. We got a 100 trillion dollar bill, which was worth one US dollar at one time. The people were using the currency for toilet paper until it started clogging up the sewer systems, now they sell it to tourists. You can get 50 million dollar bills and all kinds of ridiculous currency. It's really sad that Zimbabwe went from being called "The Bread Basket of Africa" and one of it's richest and most visited countries, to the complete opposite of that. And Robert Mugabe went from being a hero to the people to being a cruel dictator.
It's amazing, the local people remain hopeful and confident that things will soon be better. But, it was a grueling experience at the market. Everybody wanting you to buy from them. They even offer to trade for your shoes, your socks, your hat, your sunglasses, anything. It's sad.
But Zimbabwe is a beautiful country full of friendly people and we had a great time there. I hope their situation improves soon.
Til next time, let us hear from you and how things are on your home front.
Carolyn & Aaron

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Photos

Zimbabwe
A Zambezi Brew on the Zambezi River

Zimbabwe
Zambezi Sunset

Zimbabwe
Victoria Falls

Zimbabwe
Victoria Falls

Zimbabwe
Vic Falls

Comments

[sheila sheila]

Zimbabwe
Hello, I was in Zimbabwe a week ago staying with friends in Bulawayo to be exact. It is sad how the people are suffering due to the economy. People that are fortunate to have a jobs earn between $40 to $100 US monthly. This is not enough to feed a family of 4. There is so much talent in Zimbabwe it is a shame that government does not recognize such. Beautiful pictures.

[Rick Barnett]

Zambezi River
The story and pictures are spectacular! I'm sharing these stories and pictures with everyone I come into contact with here in Gallup. Keep safe! Am looking forward to your next adventure. Thanks, Rick