Eastbound and Down

The Zambezi River flows from its rise in Zambia out to the Indian Ocean, steadily bringing its waters, fish, and dangers across southeastern Africa.  She is known as “Nyami Nyami” or the “River of Life” and slowly takes her time flowing next to villages before speeding through rocks and rapids eventually plunging across the Zimbabwe border down Victoria Falls.  This is not just a steady stream of moving water.  The Zambezi is the life force of remote people and animals that without her unfailing delivery, would never survive.  We spent three days kayaking her waters, camping along her banks, and appreciating her power, serenity, and sheer awesomeness.

Our journey along the Zambezi started with the river tribes in norther Zambia.  These are people who farm, raise chickens, and sell burnt wood as charcoal by the road to anyone passing by.  They live along the banks of the Zambezi in simple mud huts and fish the waters of the great river using reed baskets and spears.  Not much has changed for this group of river dwellers, and they seem honestly content.  More than anyone, they know their river and the dangers that lurk within her.  For years, they have constructed barriers from the thorny bush to keep the crocodiles away while they harvest their catch.  Through time, they have learned the routine of the easily agitated hippopotamus as they feast each night on land and take their morning stroll back to the river at daybreak.

We paddled quietly (and, if I’m honest, aggressively against the wind at times…) along these villages observing their impressive yet rustic lifestyle, breaking only to wave at the kiddos who were excited to see our boats passing by.

 

The four of us (Jonathan, myself, and our two guides) camped each night in the grass along the banks of the river.  While our guides, both from the Zambezi Tonga tribe, slept soundly each night, Jonathan and I lay awake without any consideration of sleep.  Why?  One word…hippos.

I am the first to admit that I have not taken hippos as seriously as I should have in the past.  For years, they have been the subject of funny camp songs, children’s games, and stuffed animals.  Even after learning that they kill more people in Africa than any other animal, I still never considered them much of a threat.  I mean, sure, they can run 25 mph (that is WAY faster than a human) but have you seen how short their legs are and how low their bellies hang?  I just could not convince myself to fear them.  That was before we spent the night with them, separated only by our canvas tent.  I am not sure how many came up out of the river to feed on the grass we were camped on, but by the cacophony we heard all night, there must have been hundreds.  Ok, maybe more in the 20-30 range – but I cannot express the noise level outside our tent and the fear level within.  Chomp. Snort. Growl. Snort. Repeat… ALL NIGHT LONG.

At dawn, the troop of massive creatures returned to the water and we readied ourselves to join them.  The seriousness of avoiding hippos was made quite clear as our guides slapped the water with their paddles to warn the animals we were coming.  When Jonathan casually mentioned seeing a pair of hippo ears near our boat, our guide yelled at us to paddle away as quickly as we could – that was, of course, until we realized the “ears” were two little river otters with about a hippo-head-sized space between them. 🙂

As the hours passed, the reed baskets turned to jury-rigged nets floating with coke bottle bobbers passing eventually to professional quality fishing equipment.  Population increased, kiddos donned school uniforms, and we became accustomed to the frequent direct orders of our guide to steer clear of the collections of ears poking out of the water.

We pulled our boats out before the rapids accelerated and the river eventually threw herself over Victoria Falls.  After drinking a well-deserved Mosi beer, we crawled under our mosquito nets and fell into a deep hippo-free sleep.

No visit to this part of the world would be complete without seeing the Zambezi plummet over the great Victoria Falls, known to the natives as “the smoke that thunders”.  David Livingstone, one of the most well-known African explorers, described the falls as so magnificent that they “must have been gazed upon by angels in their flight”.

After an interesting border crossing into Zimbabwe involving a walk across the mile-long no-man’s-land, nearly 100 monkeys and baboon encounters, and an illegal cab ride to find an ATM, we were at the gates of the falls.

Within minutes, we found ourselves surrounded by rainbows, dampened by mist, and overlooking the most incredible collection of waterfalls we have ever seen.  We spent the day walking, surprisingly alone, from vista to vista completely in awe of the magnitude of these falls and the vivid assortment of colors they produced.

Once again, pictures cannot do the scene justice.  It was magnificent.

Our quick visit North was an intimate one that provided one of the most impressive scenes of our trip and a few of our worst night’s sleeps.  Cheers to Nyami Nyami!