Thursday, September 21, 1995
Canoeing the Zambezi
Up at 5:00 AM to meet Mark for a early morning game walk. The night
watchman saw lion at the waterhole earlier this morning. Mark finds
their tracks and we follow them for quite a distance but never spot
them. Little other game this morning, but a very enjoyable hike.
Then into town where we meet at the Shearwater Rafting office for an
all day canoe trip on the upper (above the falls) Zambezi river. We
had originally planned to go whitewater rafting on the lower Zambezi as
stated in the itinerary, but when we looked at the travel vouchers, we
found that we had been mistakenly booked on the canoe trip. We took
this as an omen from the travel gods, and decide to forgo the
whitewater. This decision made easier after we hearing a horror story
about a recent drowning (not the outfit we had been booked with, which
has an excellent safety record). The water is very low due to the
drought, and the additional rock exposure may be creating additional
risk for the class 4 and 5 rapids.
Our tamer canoe trip begins with a game drive through the Zambezi
National Park where it parallels the banks of the Zambezi river. We
pass a portion of the park that is fenced off with barbed wire and
posted with signs warning of mines. This was near a shallow portion of
the river that could be easily crossed. The Rhodesian Security Forces
mined the area during the war. Over the years, most, if not all, of the
mines have been detonated by wildlife. We stop to talk to another
guide, who displays a dent in the fender of his tour vehicle caused by a
charging elephant.
"The clients found it exciting." He says.
 |
| Elephant Damage |
The canoes are an inflatable type, which are very stable but too much
work in the wind. Our group consists of three other canoes with
British, German, and Australian couples, and Brian, our guide, in a
kayak.
We go through a few class 1 and class 2 rapids which put a little
stress on our marriage. The river is beautiful, and when we aren’t
fighting the wind, it is a very relaxing trip. Highlights include: a
seven foot crocodile splashing into the water as we round a bend of the
river, and watching a herd of 20 to 30 elephants (including several
babies) come down to river bank to drink.
Over dinner at the
Masuwe Lodge, we trade stories with the other
guests. We learn that on the morning game drive, Clever spotted a fresh
kill. Hyenas were ripping apart a cape buffalo. Vivid descriptions of
Hyenas with blood soaked heads and the sounds of crunching bones does
not seem to affect anyone’s appetite. I drink too much wine and to the
astonishment of all present, announce that I am intending to
bungee jump off of the Victoria Falls Bridge the next day.
After dinner, Sigrid and I go on a night game drive with Mark. This
consists of Mark driving the property while I sweep the area with a
million candlepower spotlight, looking for the reflecting eyes of
animals. I spot an antelope, a water buck, and 12 to 15 wolf spiders,
which, interestingly enough, throw back a bright yellow/green reflection
when hit with the light. Mark captures one of the spiders for detailed
identification later, and promises to name it after me if it turns out
to be a new species. I magnanimously offer a hyphenation since he did
the capture.
=================
NOTE FROM THE FUTURE: This is a back-post / cross-post from my first on-line journal/blogging effort - a journal of our Southern Africa Tour in 1995. Originally posted to an abandoned domain (NetSnake.com), the term "blog" had not yet entered the parlance. I am migrating the original posts to this blog. Links to the original journal Date Index or Africa Tour Home Page will likely eventually disappear. The images from the original post were graphics and screen caps from video which I am leaving in it's low-rez glory for historical integrity. My intent is to also add some of Sigrid's higher quality scanned photos to these blog back-posts. The difference in images should be obvious.
