Canoeing the Upper Zambezi--September 16-18

We left Imbabala and went in our jeeps  past the "Big Tree" to Lookout Cafe where we had the most amazing view of the Bakota Gorge near Rapid #3. The Big Tree is where Livingstone set up his first outpost camp in Zimbabwe. It's not the biggest Boabab around, but it's the most famous.

At the Lookout Cafe we an opportunity to take a zip-line that I mentioned before. Part of me regrets not trying the gorge swing or flying fox, but in the moment, I knew I didn't have the courage. We had the most amazing lunch of a stuffed avocado and quinoa salad before we headed out to Zambezi National Park for the canoe segment of our trip.

Driving through the park, was not meant to be a game drive, per se, but was just to get us from point A to point B. The drivers were on a mission, but we kept our eyes open. We saw parades of elephants on both sides of the trucks with babies .... omigosh the babies. We encountered a herd of zebra and some ran right in front of us, leaping and bounding. Zebras everywhere on both sides of us. I have no idea where the pictures went. Maybe we were too mesmerized to take them. Of course, there was a congress of baboon ... which makes me giggle. Congress ... Baboons. Teehee!! Before loading into the canoes, we were given a Nyami Nyami charm made of horn (or bone?). Nyami Nyami is the Zambezi River God and resides in the river to provide sustenance and protection in difficult times.

We arrived at our put-in place and loaded into our 2-person inflatable canoes. Yes, hippos again, but this time we were closer to them and we had to take caution not to get too close. Did you know that a single bite can tear a human body into 3 pieces? And, hippos, as cute as they are, are very territorial and aggressive.














We had a brief evening paddle before arriving at camp, which was not quite the full luxury, but the thick mats were nice. Toilet was outdoors, but we had a toilet over a deep hole. Dinner was prepared for us and we gathered first at the table for a hot meal, and then over the fire before winding in for the evening.

 Morning was greeted with hot water in a bowl outside our tent for freshening up, hot coffee and tea before breakfast. We hopped in our jeeps and drove upstream about 2 hours to unload our canoes for our day of paddling.

During the drive, we encountered impala, bush buck, elephants, more zebras which was awesome, giraffes including baby giraffes, and in the distance our first wildebeest. Where are the pictures of the baby giraffes? I suppose with the zebras, buried somewhere in the 3K pictures we are still sorting through.

We had a super long canoe trip that day. 18-20K. Much of it was flat and without a lot of rapid movement. We did find a few spots to hop in the river and splash around. I tried my hand at a little water yoga, but I'm not so good on land, let alone in sand in a moving river. I was better on the ground, but not very bendy.

 There were a few areas of small rapids and a lot of hippos. At one point, we saw ahead of us a hippo charging another canoe. UMMM!!! Hippos can't swim. So, they bounce off the bottom of the river. They move FAST!!! And when they are moving, the push the water ahead of them and it's amazing to watch, but also a little scary, because ... hello, tusks!!! Anyway, at one point our guides also sort of got excited and hollered at us to paddle harder because apparently we had gotten the attention of a hippo moving toward us with some speed.

The highlight of the day was the children on the banks. Their voices were like tinkling chimes and they were so happy, laughing and playing. There was an area of rapids where the children would ride down in a dugout canoe and then carry it back up to ride again. One of them climbed in a canoe with our guide, Diego, and another borrowed his dugout canoe. The others ran along the bank laughing. Barefoot on rocks that didn't phase them. He got a bit nervous after a bit and he traded out for his own dugout again.

By late afternoon, we were spent. A canoe with a pair of guides offered a swap. A local guide climbed in with me, and the Musician climbed in with Diego. A few other pairings also did guide swaps. We were struggling to keep up before the swap, and it was amazing the power that Doga had paddling. He didn't need my help. After dinner, it was straight to bed because we were exhausted. No campfire relaxation tonight.

 Next morning, the Musician and a few other paddlers decided they were spent from yesterday. So, I asked Doga to paddle with me and the Musician rode in a jeep to meet us. A few other folks were spent from yesterday's paddle also and enjoyed some time on land.

During this paddle, we saw much more animal life. Dang it!!! I left my camera with the Musician. We saw lots of hippos and there were three chases. During one, Doga started shouting to paddle harder. I thought he was shouting to someone else. He was excitedly shouting at me. We were so close that I could have done a dental and I paddled REALLY HARD!!! That beast was huge and coming fast. During another episode, another canoe told us ... you know there's a hippo ... and we were closest to it. Then, I realized, I was in the freaking safety canoe. The one that protects everyone else. Really? Really? But, no problems. Just an exciting story.

We also saw several elephant herds on the banks. One had babies. And one tiny baby was actually smaller than the warthog that was on the bank also. Doga told me the baby was probably 10 days to 2 weeks old. So cute. And the elephants talked to each other. Lots of noises. Unfortunately, I did not have my camera on this day. We also heard a crocodile splash into the river and I learned that one of the guides has been attacked by crocodiles 3 times ... in these same inflatable rafts. And he still comes out to paddle. His scars were impressive. But, I figure, he knows how to fight a crocodile now, so we should be OK, right?

Look how well in sync my partner, Doga, and I are.

After a half-day paddle, we had some lunch before climing in our Jeeps and heading to luxury.