Class V Adrenaline Rush: December 26

Awaking from some crazy Larium (malaria medication) dreams, we excitedly dressed and pumped ourselves up for a day of rafting. Kelli was a bit scared about her back as it was still in constant pain, but couldn’t let that stand in her way of rafting one of the most exciting rivers in the world. Popping some ibuprofen and dousing ourselves in sun block, we were ready for anything.

The tour began with a pleasant breakfast where we signed away our lives and were scared speechless by the safety talk. Shakily grabbing our helmets and paddles, we re-convinced ourselves that this would indeed be fun. A short walk straight down into the canyon found us on the bottom of the falls, staring at the first of 26 rapids. We were also treated to a view of a brave bungee jumper plunging off the bridge spanning the canyon and numerous micro flights zipping around the falls. We were surrounded by crazy people.

Kelli immediately informed our guide of her metal implants and assured him that she was feeling good about the trip. He kindly responded by making sure to pull her into the raft first after a flip or a swim. Following a quick review of rafting commands and a brief test, we were ready for the first rapids, or so the six of us thought. In order not to be smashed to bits by the looming rock wall, we had to power across the first rapid. Confused by the wrong commands shouted by our guide, we quickly found ourselves gulping water and swimming for the raft. Scared by the rude awakening, we all scrambled back into the raft, ready to try again.

Our second attempt went off without a hitch and we soon fell into a rhythm of crazy paddling through class IV and V rapids followed by enough of a lull to catch our breaths and get to know our fellow rafters. Three of the other rafters were from Canada, volunteering and working in Africa through an organization called the VSO (Volunteer Service Overseas). They explained the organization as the Canadian equivalent to the Peace Corps without government interference and stifling rules. After sharing our story, one of the women, a staff member for the VSO’s main office in Canada, said that we should look into an in-country transfer to the VSO as they were always looking for qualified volunteers. (Kelli had a little bit of a hard time imagining any sort of future as she became increasingly convinced that she was not going to make it out of the canyon alive with each new rapid.) Our fourth rafter was a friendly man from the UK at the end of an African vacation full of scuba diving and sightseeing.
Although we had a few close calls, we only flipped once more. After a quick lunch, the river calmed down a bit and we were even able to swim a few rapids and catch glimpses of small crocodiles, colorful birds, deer, lizards and the elusive Zambezi rock, spotted by Joe =). Thankful to still be alive (one of the other rafters had been evacuated on a stretcher at lunch after a long swim and a terrible shock), we exited the canyon via rotting wood ladders and a pulley operated tram. An hour plus ride along an extremely bumpy dirt road, complete with free drinks and views of primitive bush camps, found us back at the lodge where we enjoyed dinner and the movie of our day. We couldn’t resist buying the video as it was very well put together and would be happy to share it with anyone who wants a good laugh. Returning to the backpackers, we quickly shed our soaked clothing (our bathing suits had been stolen on the mountain) and decided to treat ourselves to a second dinner in town. Although it was already dark, we were assured that it was safe to walk. Nevertheless, we flinched every time someone passed us and couldn’t seem to get comfortable walking in the dark. Understandable since it was the first time that we had left a building after dark since arriving in Africa. We almost gave up after a few wrong turns and our fears started to get the better of us, but were rescued by two locals who kindly guided us to ‘the best burgers in Africa’.

pictures: our put-in location; the bungee bridge; the flip; still alive