I barely had a chance to open my eyes before I automatically shut them again – it was adrenalin overload. Who would have thought I’d be facing the biggest waves in my life (and I surf!) in a raft that we had just been introduced to 30 minutes earlier – literally putting my life in the hands of Scotty, our expert rafting guide, my fellow paddling crew and the formidable Zambezi river.
The adventure started at the border between Zimbabwe and Zambia. I know what you are thinking – that’s where Victoria Falls is right? Well, don’t get too excited – the journey starts after the falls. From the start, the river zig zags through a gorge – a spectacular setting that has not only given the Zambezi the title of being one of the wildest rafting rides in the world but also one of the most beautiful. It is not surprising that the names of the rapids are not mentioned before you hand over your cash and book your rafting trip. With titles like “stairway to heaven”, “devils toilet bowl”, “commercial suicide”, and “overland truck eater” – who would commit to such a sport? A more attractive marketing ploy would be to give rapid names like “pink bunny rabbits”, “fairy tales and candy” which are much more pleasing to the ear.
Our Welsh guide Scotty was obviously born to work on water. His laidback attitude was a little concerning, but we were quickly reassured by his insistence on safety first and also his immense knowledge of the waterway on which we were bobbing along. We couldn’t have had a more experienced guide. Our raft was made up of mixture of southern and northern hemispherians. There was no time for breaking the ice with the multinational crew because within minutes of arriving at the riverside we had to get up close and personal with the Zambezi river – by jumping into the water to get our rafts!
After a safety briefing we were moving towards the first set of rapids..and boy, did they get bigger as we drew nearer. There was no turning back now. We become the Zambezi’s toy as we were tossed from one wave to the next. At times we were projected out of the water. Air paddling became the norm. It was cross between a roller coaster ride and being trapped in a water fall. English wasn’t everyone’s first language, which added to the adventure; do we paddle, do we not, do we dive down, do we abort raft?
I sometimes think Scotty got everyone to stop paddling just so he could regain control; we were possibly causing more trouble than the undercurrents themselves. Scotty gave us a rundown of the rapids as we approached. We stopped asking why they were given such names. And although we were extremely apprehensive, I think our adventurous spirits were beginning to come through – we began to hope for bigger and more powerful rapids.
There was one particular rapid where the question was not would we flip, but when. The wave that looked about half-a-metre ten metres back, was now a three-metre monster towering over us. The powerful force of the water (not unlike a water blaster) meant that there was nothing we could do but head straight into it. We spun, bounced off a couple of rocks and started to flip.
However, without ultra quick balancing skills (or maybe it was luck) we managed to control the situation and bring it down again. We relaxed, smiling internally – we “thought” we had won. And that was the mistake – the Zambezi was not going to let us off so easily.
The next bit happened in slow motion – you could see the worry in everyone’s face as it happened again – the raft started to flip . and within seconds the raft was vertical on one side, with half the crew already in the water, lost to the depths of the river.
The other half were holding on suspended in mid-air before the force of gravity won and we were all in the water. Within minutes Scotty had got us all and gear back onto the upside down raft. The fear and panic abated and adrenalin was at an all time high.
Although we had flipped we still felt we had beaten the Zambezi at her game – we all did a paddle high five, and with huge grins on our faces eagerly awaited the next rapid.
Some would say that you aren’t really a rafter unless you’ve done the Zambezi. And having rafted all over the world myself, there is a certain kudos associated with rafting this river. But like any of these adventures, it is the bigger picture that I enjoyed the most. Floating pastcrocodiles sunbathing on the rocks, journeying through Zambian villages on our return and watching little children playing football on their makeshift pitches.
And it is true what they say about extreme sports – at the end of the day you come away with that raw buzz for life that is hard to get elsewhere.
Author: Kathy Brownlie Source: britannica.com
