South America and South Africa

After being in Chobe Nationalpark we continued our trip to the Victoria Falls on the Zambian side. Before we could do this we had to cross the border from Botswana to Zambia which was a major undertaking for our rental-car. All in all it took Claire two hours to get all docs signed  while I was waiting in the car. We decided that one of us should stay in the car when the other goes through the border formalities as there were a number of dodgy people around and we didn’t want to leave the car alone. You must imagine this situation – I am sitting in a 170 degrees fahrenheit (60 degrees celsius) hot car with windows closed and doors locked to avoid any interaction with people outside. The sweat was literally running down my face and my legs until I finally dared to open one window after I lost the attention of the people outside.

The next day we crossed the border again, this time from Zambia to Zimbabwe, to see the Victoria Falls from the opposite side. At the moment it is the end of the dry season so that the Falls have considerably less water than in the wet season. The Main Falls were still impressive and when standing at the rim to get a view in the gorge I felt slightly dizzy as always when I look down from greater heights (strangely not when I am flying though).

Anyway, the next day we did the one-day whitewater-rafting trip I was looking forward to since the guys from Omega-Tours in Honduras told me about it. The tour on the Zambezi river is considered as one of the best rafting trips in the world and  indeed, I think it was the best one-day tour I ever did. We were well equipped with life-jackets, our guide had an experience of twelve years doing these trips on the Zambezi and we always had three kayaks accompanying us to help to safe us. Nevertheless we were wiped off once from the raft and flipped it twice. Since the river is deep and there are in general no boulders anywhere near the surface the risk  appeared to be manageable and we popped up to the surface very quickly after falling into the water. On our trip we encountered rapids up to grade five while the one grade six rapid we avoided (seeing this rapid I would not go down for any money in the world).

Below are the six grades of difficulty in white water rafting. They range from simple to very dangerous and potential death or serious injuries.

Grade 1: Very small rough areas, might require slight maneuvering. (Skill Level: Very Basic)

Grade 2: Some rough water, maybe some rocks, might require some maneuvering. (Skill level: basic paddling skill)

Grade 3: Whitewater, small waves, maybe a small drop, but no considerable danger. May require significant maneuvering. (Skill level: experienced paddling skills)

Grade 4: Whitewater, medium waves, maybe rocks, maybe a considerable drop, sharp maneuvers may be needed. (Skill level: whitewater experience)

Grade 5: Whitewater, large waves, large volume, possibility of large rocks and hazards, possibility of a large drop, requires precise maneuvering. (Skill level: advanced whitewater experience)

Grade 6: Class 6 rapids are considered to be so dangerous as to be effectively unnavigable on a reliably safe basis. Rafters can expect to encounter substantial whitewater, huge waves, huge rocks and hazards, and/or substantial drops that will impart severe impacts beyond the structural capacities and impact ratings of almost all rafting equipment. Traversing a Class 6 rapid has a dramatically increased likelihood of ending in serious injury or death compared to lesser classes. (Skill level: successful completion of a Class 6 rapid without serious injury or death is widely considered to be a matter of great luck or extreme skill)

More spectacular 😉 photos see “Whitewater Rafting”