Surviving the Mighty Zambezi River
Zambezi River, Zimbabwe
By Kevin Foley
Back in November, I rafted the Tully River in Australia and boasted about how great it was – which it was. But today I rafted the best whitewater river in the world (according to the guides I had in both Australia and Costa Rica): The Mighty Zambezi River. It was incredibly intense, with rapids reaching over seven feet in height and a huge volume of super fast moving water. So intense in fact, that I was actually a bit scared… especially when our boat went straight up a Class 5 rapid called the Washing Machine (Class 5 is the biggest rapid a non-professional is allowed to raft). The boat went vertical, I was catapulted out along with a couple of other people, then the boat slid back down the wave trapping 3 of us under the boat for about 4-5 seconds. After an additional 10 seconds under the water (which feels like 10 lifetimes) I finally popped up to the surface only to be slammed with another huge wave.
Coming out of that set of rapids I looked around for an ounce of salvation, an escape from the punishing waves, a rescue from the river gods, but alas, I was only to be greeted with an empty river. Not a boat was in site. I was left to fend for myself. I had to ride the next set of rapids – another Class 5 – with no boat. To add insult to injury, the rapids spit me out on the wrong side of the river. Result: I had to swim like hell to the other side of the river to avoid a dangerous rapid that “could suck me under for 45 seconds or more” according to the guide. I guess 10 years of competitive swimming paid off as I barely made to the other side before hitting the rapids. After being thrown around in the Class 5 rapid like a waterlogged toy and drinking a gallon of African River water (keeping my fingers crossed that I don’t get sick), I popped out into calmer water and was pulled into a different boat until my boat mates could collect the rest of the group and catch up.
In the end it was nothing but awesome and one hell of an intense ride. Now I know why it’s the best whitewater river in the world.
