22 July 2016

We had to get up at the ungodly hour of 0730 today to prepare for pickup for our half day of white water rafting.  Jacob, our driver, was able to join us on this activity for free because he is Zambian, which we were all really pleased about. Jacob is lovely, super helpful and a very good driver.  It was great to be having his company for some fun things too.

I wasn’t very sure that I wanted to do this activity.  I don’t like being splashed with cold water, never mind being repeatedly swamped with it and half drowned.  And I get really frightened when any water gets in my mouth or up my nose.  But I knew if I didn’t try this now I might never do it, and it seemed insane to come all this way and then renege at the last moment.  So I bit my tongue and carried on, even though I would far rather have given it a miss.

A team of about 8 incredibly well built locals picked us up in a truck and drove us for an hour far into what appeared to be African bush that I became afraid we were being kidnapped.  More fool them, mind, because I wouldn’t have given a single Zambian kwacha to get Yanni back, although by this stage of our travels I might well have paid handsomely to have her removed! But we did eventually arrive at a launch site where three other rafts were being inflated and three eager parties waited eagerly to get on them.  Our raft leader gave us a very competent introduction to rafting and instructions on various key positions and terms; then we got on the raft and practiced a few maneuvers before paddling out into the middle of the river behind the other three rafts.

We spent the next 4 hours in various states of horror, exultation, anxiety when other rafts turned over, panic when we jumped in the water to swim and noticed crocodiles sleeping on the banks, delight and about a hundred other feelings.  Our instructor introduced us to each rapid as we approached it giving its number and name, and what names they had - the washing machine; the destroyer; terminator 1 and 2; the boiling pot; and so on.  Insanely, we paddled full speed into each of the rapids and kept obeying instruction to paddle no matter what hit us.  I repeatedly landed in the bottom of the raft and paddled frantically from there.  At times we reached tipping point, but somehow the raft just managed to make it over the edge of the wave and back down and up in to the next one. Some times we had to throw ourselves down on our knees in the bottom of the raft and cling to the cable along the side. The water was freezing; the danger of capsize was very real; and the feeling of camaraderie and joy each time we battled through a rapid was fabulous.  We yelled and whooped as we left the tumult behind us, and clapped paddles together as a team to congratulate ourselves each time we got through without being tipped over.

At times, when the river was calm or there was just a small rapid, we were allowed to jump out of the raft and allow ourselves to be carried along by the water. Sometimes we were caught in little rapids and tossed around; a couple of times we were caught in little whirlpools and spun helplessly around until we were spat out by the water and allowed to continue.  I can’t remember how many times I found myself being dragged towards rocks by fast flowing water and had to swim very hard to avoid them.  Twice a canoe nipped in and rescued me, which was really fun.  One held a small piece of rope on the front of the canoe and put ones feet up to cling to its sides, and the canoe’s quickly took us to safety.  Once I had to let go of the front and catch the back cable, and this meant kicking like billy-0 as the canoeist paddled us to safety.  One time Yanni was swept far up front and away around the corner of the river, but as I had been swept towards rocks and then dunked under the water I couldn’t do anything about it.  I was getting really worried when I was finally pulled aboard a raft, but happily Yanni has been tracked by a canoeist and was already sitting happily in one of the rafts trading insults with some Americans.  The whole thing was a tremendous adventure, and I would warmly recommend that everyone do it.  ONCE.

While bungee jumping was frightening as hell, the experience only lasted about 15 minutes in all.  Long enough to see people preparing to jump and laugh at them as the wet themselves and wailed and had to be pushed off; then to realize we were being selected to be prepared and chained and whatnot; and then the one minute drop after they pushed you off.  Terrifying, exhilarating, and all that stuff, but short.  The white water rafting went from pick up at 0800 hours to return to the hotel at 1500 hours.  And every minute of it was totally engaging and exciting.

Oddly enough, I lost my voice during the rafting although I don’t know when.  And when we got out of the raft after so many hours of frantic paddling, I found it very difficult to walk. My enraged leg and arm muscles went on strike as soon as I tried to get out of the raft and on to dry land.  I had to be semi dragged out, and could only then walk with small lurches in an I’ve-wet-my-pants-position.  One felt a fool.  We were asked, very politely, if we would like to walk up the cliff to the waiting car or take a cable care.  The cliffs were extremely high, sheer, and well over 100 meters so we were told, and to have climbed them would have taken many, many hours - if we could have done it at all.  So Yanni and I scrambled for places in the cable car, and stood there with the other exhausted msungus (whites) as we helped to prop each other up/slumped on the floor in exhaustion, and congratulated each other on the fantastic job we had done surviving the rapids.  We were all a bit aghast to note, just as we came towards the top of the cliff, the Zambian staff actually jogging up the side of the cliffs with either a canoe or part of a life raft on their heads!  Unbelievable!  They all got to the top of the cliff before we even got out of the cable car, then they had to put all the equipment down to come and help drag me to somewhere I could sit down.  And somehow they were still all smiles and laughter as they dismantled all the equipment and lifted it on to the back of the truck, before helping us to seats inside and then taking their seats clinging to the equipment on the back for our 1 hour drive back through the villages and out to our hotel.     I just cannot conceive of how anyone could get so incredibly fit!

We finished the day at a lovely hotel watching the sun go down while we got slightly pizzled. Being lightweights, this wasn’t too difficult.  Yanni advised on cocktails and introduced me to the Bellina and a few others I can’t remember.  Everything seemed enormously amusing after that, even not being able to walk properly.  We collapsed into bed feeling utterly exhausted and that we would never get out of bed again.  Which couldn’t happen because we were booked to do a micro lite flight over the falls and had to be up for an 0730 pickup. And why I kept letting myself be talked into doing all this stuff I do not know.