Published on Dec, 2023
This is a lifetime bucket list trip! It's an absolute insane thrill of a lifetime. I'm still getting physical therapy on my back two months later - no joke! But I'd do it again in a flash. I'm 66 years old, and my 62 year old wife joined, along with my 25 year old son and his buddy. Both boys are world class professional fishing captains, and we had spent the previous week fishing on the lower Zambezi River for tigerfish and giant vindu. But we were also looking for adventure up at Victoria Falls and we sure found it. After jumping into Devil's Pool at the top of the Falls and leaning over the edge -- another bucket list item -- the next morning we were picked up at our hotel and taken by Bundu Adventures to the top of the river gorge at the national park. There, we were given a very thorough preparatory talk and outfitted with a life preserver, helmet, and paddle. We then set out down the stairs to the river which the guides assured us was only a couple of minutes away. BEWARE, this is a pretty gross understatement, at least during the low water season. The hike down to the bottom of the gorge is not too bad, although it was 100 degrees outside and it's very humid because you're in the river gorge. Bring plenty of water. That hike, mostly down cement steps, takes about 15 minutes. Then things get a bit hairy. If you want to paddle at the base of the Falls -- and you don't want to miss this because you also get to swim in the river up there -- you've got to hike about 1/2 mile upstream along the bank. The bank at low water is about 20-40 feet above water level and consists of endless jagged boulders that have eroded from the cliffs over the eons and fallen to the bottom. So it's not a walk -- it's scrambling over these jagged rocks in 100 degree heat and 100% humidity. When you're a heavy, 66 year old this is not an easy "walk in the park." I certainly struggled, needed lots of water, and eventually, help from the guides along the particularly dangerous last section where there were iron hand holds in the cliff and ropes that you needed to hold onto. But I made it to the boarding point where you basically had to drop 10 feet into the raft. I COLLAPSED INTO THE RAFT, BUT IT WAS WORTH IT! First, the guide rowed us upstream underneath the cataracts. That's pretty insane to be at the very base of the largest waterfall in the world. Then we floated by a giant pool where we were offered the opportunity to swim in an area supposedly free from Nile crocodiles. Since it was so far upstream past all the rapids, the crocs are said not to get up this far. I deferred. Then, the rapids began. What a wild wild experience. The rapids range from Class III to Class VI, but the Class VI rapid is called "Commercial Suicide," and no raft has ever taken people down it. Basically, you'd die in a commercial raft. A very few kayakers have made it through. Everyone portages around this absurdly dangerous rapid. Most of the rapids are Class V and Class IV. Our guide was ridiculously talented -- probably one of the world's best white water rafting guides. It was a joy to watch him take us through these unwordly rapids. We were accompanied by rescue kayaker, also supremely talented, who was having the time of his life Eskimo rolling through the world's fiercest rapids. And a videographer accompanied us in a second kayak. We were not allowed to use our cameras or cell phones. The guides know all too well that we'd have destroyed or lost all our cameras in the rapids. So Bundu provides everyone with a professional 6 minute long video that they email you a couple of days after the trip. It's a lifelong conversation piece. The rapids were terrifying and exhilarating. We made it through all without flipping -- that's considered very good (there's a 50/50 chance of flipping in any of the major rapids. At the end of the trip, at the base of the gorge, Bundu provides a lovely spread of food and drink. Then you have the un-Godly option of hiking out -- or you can upgrade and take a three person helicopter ride from the base of the gorge back to the Bundu headquarters. The pilot will fly you over the Falls for another bucket list trip. SPRING FOR THE HELICOPTER RIDE OUT. The pilot is absolutely amazing. The view is astonishing. And you will not have a heart attack climbing out of the gorge. When I was at the border station crossing into Zimbabwe, I met a late 20s woman who said she is a professional whitewater rafting guide in Colorado. That means she runs the Colorado River and other big water, and she was in superb physical condition. She said the hike out from the base of the gorge was one of the most horrible climbs of her life and SHE THOUGHT SHE WAS GOING TO DIE. So there you have it. Bundu runs an absolutely TOP NOTCH OPERATION. Safety was the primary consideration at all times. The guides are wonderful people, very caring, and very talented. BE SURE TO TIP THEM at the end. as well as the porters who carry out the raft and who bring down the food and drinks and pack out the garbage at the end. They all work extremely hard for low pay. They support large families, and tips really really help. BE GENEROUS, AND ENJOY THE TIME OF YOUR LIFE!
