Rafting the Zambezi River in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe

After our stay in Johannesburg South Africa, it was time for something completely different. We flew to Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe (or was it Zambia?), where we immediately noticed the difference between the two countries. Getting through immigration was a nightmare as everyone had to fill out their immigration cards once they got off the plane, then wait in a long line for their visa which was filled out by hand. After making it through customs, we collected our luggage, another disorganized ordeal. Zimbabwe (formerly Rhodesia) is a very poor country with significant government and economic issues throughout its turbulent past and up to present day. Their currency has undergone crisis after crisis with hyperinflation and multiple re-denominations in the 2000's. The eventual demonetization of the currency in 2015 in favour of the American Dollar occurred after it become one of the lowest valued currencies in the world where a 100 trillion dollar note was worth about 40 US cents!

Rural Zimbabwe

Local boys waving at the truck

We stayed at an amazing hotel just outside of the town of Victoria Falls. Victoria Falls is one of the seven natural wonders of the world and is located on the Zambezi river which forms the border between Zimbabwe and Zambia. It is a major tourist destination as well as an adventure activity capital within Africa. As a result, despite being in one of the worlds poorest nations, prices in Vic Falls are sky-high (and in US dollars). People from all over the country flock to Victoria Falls to try and make a living, so more than anywhere else we visited in Africa, we were constantly harassed by vendors trying to sell their goods or ask for a handout. We opted to support the local economy through a few different tours including a sunset river cruise, tour of the falls and a day of river rafting.

The bridge from Zimbabwe to Zambia

Victoria Falls

Victoria Falls, know locally as Mosi-oa-Tunya ("The Smoke that Thunders"), is the "largest" waterfall in the world, based the width and height. There are other waterfalls in the world that are taller than Victoria Falls height of 108m, but combined with a width of 1708m, it is considered the largest sheet of falling water in the world. It was discovered and named in 1855 by Dr. David Livingstone, a Scottish explorer, missionary and adventurer. The falls are supplied by the Zambezi River and shared by Zimbabwe and Zambia which border the river. During the rainy season, the river levels rise and the falls swell in width. At that time of year, mist from the falls travels kilometres into town when the wind blows in the right direction. Our visit fell during a drought at the end of a very long dry season, and locals were eagerly awaiting the rains which could start at any time as November approached. As a result of the drought, the Zambia side of the falls have little to no water flowing which is normal for October. With a lower water volume, you actually get better views of the falls because they aren't obscured by the mist!

Visiting my 3rd (Kyle's 4th) natural wonder of the world!

Low water means less mist so we were actually able to see the falls!

Its hard work being a tourist!

"Dr. Livingstone, I presume?"

High over the mighty Zambezi River, you can see where the falls would be during the rainy season

Looking towards Zambia, there was no water flowing over the falls

Elizabeth contemplates life and water in parched Zimbabwe, or maybe just enjoys a bit of shade

Tourists in their natural habitat

To add to our experience in Victoria Falls, we had a scenic helicopter flight over the falls, Zambezi gorge and Victoria Falls National Park where we saw zebra, giraffes and elephants from the sky!

Boarding the helicopter

Victoria Falls from the air, notice all the green near the river compared to the dry brown landscape

Zambezi River sunset cruise

Elizabeth hippo spotting on her birthday!

As I mentioned, Victoria Falls is the adventure capital of Southern Africa. Here you can bungee jump, swim with crocodiles, river raft or soak in the Devil's pools at the top of Victoria Falls. Chris, Elizabeth, Kyle and I decided to make the most of our stay in Vic Falls by joining up with a guided rafting trip and spent an adrenaline filled day rafting the Zambezi River. What we hadn't realized before arriving in Vic Falls is that the Zambezi is one of the worlds best commercial rafting rivers with multiple class V rapids and a reputation for big drops and flipping boats. After signing up, we read testimonials and information out-loud to Elizabeth who was starting to question what she was getting herself into.

Our raft guide and the map of the rapids

We were picked up by our guides from the hotel early in the morning for a quick tea/coffee and safety briefing. Our guide was very experienced and was very clear on their company safety standards, but he made sure to let us know we were in for an exciting day with a high likelihood of going for a swim. Rapids with names like "gnashing jaws of death," "overland truck eater," "the washing machine," and "oblivion" conjured up memories of our rafting trip in Nepal where we had flipped aggressively in a Class IV+ and Kyle had a near drowning experience under the boat. I must admit, I was feeling some butterflies as we signed our waivers, especially when the guide used phrases like "once we get through rapid 18 and pick up the pieces..." We had the raft to ourselves, save one solo traveler who had never been rafting before and signed up on a whim, only to be rigorously questioned by her boyfriend back home in France if she was SURE that this was something she wanted to do. She didn't let on that she was terrified, but her shaking hands clutching her tea gave it away.

Descending into the canyon

It was a steep descent down to the Zambezi River but a short walk to the boats that were tied up along the bank. We practiced our stokes as we paddled upstream to get a view of the falls from below, before our guides made their rounds tightening PFD's to a corset fit. Before anyone had a chance to back out, we were off into our first rapid, the Boiling Pot (grade IV).

On the banks of the Zambezi

Boarding the raft

Getting stoked for our day out on the water

Looking up the canyon towards Victoria Falls, a view most people wouldn't get to experience!

Having successfully made it through our first rapid, the tension eased a bit. The water was warm and the sun was shining. It was a great day to be on the water. The Zambezi River is a very high volume river. Although we were there during the dry season, there is still a huge amount of water moving through the canyon which creates massive waves, boils and whirlpools in the upper rapids (1-19) where we were rafting. During the high water season, the raft companies start lower down the river as some of the upper rapids are impassible.

Paddle hard!

The first few rapids came in quick succession with some huge waves, near misses and fancy maneuvers from our very skilled guide. Before each rapid, he would give us the lowdown of what to expect and the commands he might use. This helped a lot so when we hit that "large wave on the left," we were ready for it and when he told us not to fall out into the whirlpool, we hung on tight! We successfully made our way through big class IV and V rapids including one with the biggest commercial drop in the world! What a blast. At rapid #8 we pulled over to bypass "Commercial Suicide." At this time of year, it is not run-able. We walked around while the guides floated the boat through the turbulent water.

Half way through the day and having a blast

The guides float the raft through "Commercial Suicide"

Chris and Elizabeth having lots of fun

The river had big thrills but also some chill time where we could check out the beauty of the Zambezi River Gorge. It was so quiet and beautiful to be floating down the magnificent river! We even had a few chances to go for a swim, drifting with the current through the gorge. After one of these swims, our guide informed us that there are crocodiles living in the river! "They are vegetarians," he assured us. Realistically, the only crocodiles in the gorge are ones that have been swept over the falls and tumbled down the rapids. They tend to be quite small as the large ones would not survive that type of impact. They don't pose a threat to people, but it made us think twice about lingering in the water, especially after we saw one sunning itself on the shore.

Survived another big rapid!

So much fun

Our safety paddler

As we neared the end of our day, one obstacle remained, Oblivion. The guides had been hinting about it all day long and we were all a bit apprehensive about it. It was the final class V of the trip and as we approached it, you could feel the nervous energy building in the boat as it drew near. You know its going to be a good one when the guides start checking how tight their own PFD's are! "We are going to come into the rapid through the centre, with a big wave on the left followed by 2 huge roller coaster waves," we were informed. "The 3rd wave is a surf wave and there are 3 things that could happen; we could go right over it and make it through, flip over instantly or get stuck on the wave and surf. If that happens, we will have to jump out of the boat or we will be stuck there forever." Chris looked at our guide, "what's the chance we will end up flipping?" He flashes his teeth at us in a huge grin,"99.9%."

Raft crew after picking up the pieces at the bottom of Oblivion

True to his word, we dropped into Oblivion and were faced with some of the biggest waves I have ever seen. The raft went over as soon as we hit the 3rd wave and suddenly we were all in the water, clinging to our paddles and checking to make sure everyone was accounted for. Everyone was good and we got flushed out at the bottom of Oblivion. What an adrenaline rush! The rapid ends in a relatively calm pool which allowed us to literally pick up the pieces and gave us some time to swim and body raft some smaller ripples before hopping back in the boat. A crazy way to end the day!

Great day of rafting

According to trip adviser, the most difficult part of the rafting trip is the walk back to the top of the gorge. After being in vacation mode for almost 2 weeks, hiking up the steep trail to the valley rim in the hot sun was a grind, but in no way put a damper on the day. We were greeted by a fantastic hot lunch and cold beer that we enjoyed under the shade of a picnic shelter overlooking the Zambezi River.