Safari Day 11 - Nyaminyami

Highlight of the day: Cruising down the Mighty Zambezi

This morning we were up early to being a day of rafting the rapids of the Zabezi River. We had coffee and tea while we were given a brief introduction to the river, then set out for the drive upriver. The Zambezi is offically classified as a grade 5 river, the definition being "Extremely difficult, long and violent rapids, steep gradients, big drops, pressure areas." It is considered the wildest rafting river in the world. There are 24 rapids below the falls in Batoka Gorge, but since it is high water season, the first 10 rapids are not possible to ride. So our trip began at rapid number 11, the 'Overland Truck Eater.' Rapids 11-24 are all classified between levels 3 and 5 (out of 6).

We donned our helmets, life jackets and grabbed an oar before hiking down the 250 meter gorge. Our raft guide, Douggie, gave us a few lessons and we set out. It was the two of us as well as Alistair, Tvon, Alex, Nickie, Leeza and Colleen. After the cleverly named 'Overland Truck Eater', the remaining rapids all had similar names, like 'Terminator I and II', 'Creamy White Buttocks' (apparently people lose their pants here - Kel's biggest fear up until that point) and 'The Washing Machine.' During some 'calm' rapids, we all jumped out of the boat and floated through them. Nigel and I tried to hang on to each other but the water was too powerful for us, and ripped us apart. Of course I started laughing and drank up my fill of the Zambezi. At one deep calm section we all went ashore to climb a cliff and jump into the river from varying heights.

One rapid had a good time with our boat, knocking all but three of us into the river. Douggie later admitted that he meant to do it, calling that rapid 'The Douggie Special.' Somehow I flew across the boat and over the opposite edge. Whether Nigel was already in the water, or it was me who knocked him out, we are not too sure. But we did have suspiciously matching bruises on our knees the next day. Nigel tried to surface, only to find we was under the boat. He calmly waited and tried to surface a couple of times for the boat to pass over him before popping out of the other side and climbing back in. I managed to hold on to my oar during the whole ejection, and swam back to the boat. All of us were back in except for Colleen, who was floating along on her own. She was okay until she got sucked under the water into an eddy. It was a bit frightening to watch her struggle for air, but the kayak was right there to grab her and get her back to the boat. We were all careful to hold on tight for the remainder of the rapids. The rafting was awesome and exciting, and the scenery was gorgeous. We could have gone back upriver and done it all again.

After the climb back out of the gorge, we had lunch and beer before heading back to town. The raft guides treated us to their jokes and songs the whole drive back. After a quick shower, we went out to eat dinner as a group to an African restaurant. While we were eating BBQd eland, warthog (maybe our friend from earlier?) and buffalo, we were entertained by a group of traditional dancers, singing tribe songs. They were dressed in animal fur skirts, headresses and were barefooted and barechested. Their singing was a capella, ocasionally joined by some drumming, and sounded so beautiful. The dinner was fantastic as well. After dinner we headed back to Croc Rock. This time the place was so packed, we could hardly stand, and the band was jamming. It was an African reggae type band, and we all had an excellent evening drinking and dancing. Benson, our cook, was so wasted that he could barely stand up. Actually, he had been wasted when we saw him at 5:00 that afternoon, so we were shocked to see him not only still standing, but also dancing and drinking. Our group made up the only white people there, so it was a lot of fun to party with the locals, especially when the band played a popular song where everyone gets into a conga-type circle, first walking forwards, then practically running backwards during certain parts of the song. I think we all had pretty bruised toes afterwards. And I also had several offers of marriage. And one guy even tried to buy me. But it was all in good fun. The people here are beautiful, friendly, and have the most brilliant smiles. It was a great night partying with the locals after an amazing day.

* The Nyaminyami also known as the Zambezi River God, or Zambezi River Spirit is believed to control life on the Zambezi