August 1 - Day 23 Victoria Falls (3)
First day of August. Difficult to believe we’ve been on this assignment nearly a month. But what a way to start the month. Today was a free day. That means we were expected to either just laze around and relax (uh, no, not unless you want a psychotic hamster on your hands) or schedule our own activities. I’ll tell the bodacious activity Hugh and Lev arranged after I recount what went down right as Lev and I were about to hit the hay last night.
We found out that the Sheldons wouldn’t be remaining with our group. That would have been fine and dandy except Hugh also told us the nasty reason why. Chancroid. Both of them. He wouldn’t explain what that was, but Lev understood after getting pale and then Rhode Island Red in color. Neither man would allow the kids to hear about it. That left me guessing and then looking it up. STD of the magnitude of grossness no one should bear witness to much less experience. It runs rampant in Africa just like AIDS and similar STDs. And the rumor that Ms. Sheldon was a sister but also something else? Ugh. Gak. Disgusting. I knew there was something off about them, but I hadn’t been interested in getting into their business as long as they stayed out of ours. Apparently they are wealthy, half-siblings, from a nutty family (so explained by Hugh), as if I really wanted to know.
I looked at both men after looking it up on my phone then told them, “You need to talk to Peeters just on the off chance.”
Lev asked, “The off-chance of what?”
Hugh didn’t take quite so long. “Medico is already on it. Peeters is celibate by proclivity and …”
“Whoa,” I snapped. “I didn’t say I wanted the details of the man’s private life. I just want to make sure he isn’t a threat to Lev or the kids since he insists on dogging our heels.”
Hugh gave a cough. “Good. Bad enough I had to listen to them from the medico traveling with us. Damn idiots. The Sheldons, not Doc. Doc knows how to keep things quiet, but this is serious enough he is having to feel a couple of people out.”
“Let me guess,” I said sourly. “They decided to find some strange and different – or even more strange and different than they already are – since they were so far from home and away from their Keepers. Probably means we are going to have fewer free days.”
Hugh surprised me by saying, “Why? Everyone is a grown up. You buy the ticket, you take the ride.”
I looked at Hugh a moment and then relaxed. “Sometimes having a jackhole around is what is needed,” I said surprising the other two men right back. “I’ll have a talk with Sadie and make sure that Benny gets reminded of stranger-danger rules. I don’t especially expect trouble from this, but I want them armored up with knowledge just in case. However, in the interest of the legalities I’ll leave names out of it.”
This morning it all flew over Benny’s head when I reminded him, but he understood “the rules.” Sadie on the other hand was fairly embarrassed and grossed out by it. She was also old enough to figure out who I was talking about. “And they were really brother and sister?”
“That’s the story. What they were … and why … beyond that, is a subject I don’t really want to get into. I don’t know and don’t need to know. Just a good reason to keep ourselves to ourselves and given your age I said you had the right to know.”
“Thanks.”
“For?” I asked.
“Not treating me like a little kid.”
“You aren’t a little kid. You are still kid enough you shouldn’t have to go it alone, but you can’t learn if you don’t have data. If you need to talk, I’m here. Otherwise … pretty gross.”
She made a face and in a very proper British accent said, “Agreed.”
That was last night and this morning, and now that I’ve gotten that out of the way, on to more pleasant logging. Our day was filled with fun and adventure. Today was a free day that gave us a chance to focus on the activities on offer. I wasn’t privy to what was planned but when I saw Hugh eating lightly - tea and toast or similar – for breakfast I cued to it had something to do with water. Then we were picked up at 7:30 am.
Wowee!! We were going white-water rafting from Victoria Falls
[1]. We paddled down the Zambezi River on a 14-mile whitewater rafting course from Victoria Falls. With a guide, we maneuvered over Class IV and V rapids in a gorge reaching depths of 650 feet.
First, we climbed into a Jeep for a drive to the Zambezi River. Upon arrival at the launch site we geared up in a provided life jacket, helmet, and windbreaker. The full safety and instructional briefing before hiking down the steep gorge to the riverbanks was to be taken seriously, more so than some expected if I had to guess.
After the safety briefing, we were all put into teams and descended into a gorge below Victoria Falls to get into our boat. And that’s when Lev and Hugh smiled and surprised me with an incredible opportunity. I did the tour in a Kayak with a guide. O.M.G.
Paddling out for the first time was extremely exciting. I had a bit of a clue what was coming but most of the others did not. Getting the first taste going through a grade 1 rapid was easy peezy compared to what was coming, but a big smile was creeping onto everyone’s face.
The guide in the back of each raft shouted instructions on what to do; paddle forwards, paddle backwards, or get down for a big rapid drop. My kayak guide was saying similar things at first until he realized I had a lot of experience and we found our rhythm to work together. Let me tell you, trying to keep up with what’s been said while being thrown around inside a big rapid can be rather comical. Watching the rafts do it was like a Chinese fire drill with everyone paddling every which way for their lives.
The rapids started off gradually, then become more and more difficult, each one a little more exciting than the last. Watching other boats flip ahead of us on a rapid is not exactly the thing you want to see before hitting that rapid and I’m thankful to say that none of our group’s rafts dumped their load. Although a few did falling out and start drifting down the river being bounced around. How it worked was if you fell out of the raft a rescue boat would come and grab you before you go floating the rest of the Zambezi by yourself. There were plenty of mini kayaks rushing as well to keep people from going solo through a rapid. All “floaters” this trip were safe and sound, although with a lot of the Zambezi river in their mouths. In calm areas people were put back in their raft.
At one of the rapids our rafts had to stop to walk around it as it is too hard for beginners, or even experienced rafters. It’s a grade 6 rapid (also known as a suicide rapid). However, my kayak guide as me if I was up for it and by that time … oh yeah baby … and I just barely caught the stunned look on Lev’s face as we shot through.
There was a stop for a short break to have lunch – for those that still had their stomach – and everyone dealt with their slightly sore arms from the paddling. Even I was a tad sore because those rapids really are something else. Then we all started off again. Between rapids there was normally a few minutes of calm water where you paddled and drifted with the current. It was very peaceful with the gorges walls high above us, and it gave us a few moments to catch our breaths before heading into the next rapid.
Rapid number 18 is the guides’ favorite. It’s known as the rapid where most rafts flip over. It is also where they take the photo that everyone wants the most. A guy on a kayak paddles ahead of each raft to get into a position to take photos. Lev said everyone was told to ignore those large rapids ahead and wave for the camera. Not long after that we reached the end.
It was unbelievable. Both the guide and I were laughing nearly the entire time! Everyone else was in a paddle raft where they all helped to paddle which would have been fun but nothing like what I got to experience. Lev played photographer for everyone from the safari and I had fun putting them on memory dots and making sure everyone got at least one good shot of themselves looking tough and one good shot of themselves looking goofy. The goofy ones were easy, the tough shots were fewer and farther between. And some of them looked positively green. Finding background music was also fun and Lev said he may have me make some suggestions going forward.
[2]
They hadn’t had as much rain as normal so the dry season started early this year. They’d already re-mapped the rapids and they were all – nearly all – Class IV and V’s. At the end of our trip, to go with our sore arms we got sore legs as we made the steep climb out of the gorge. This activity was most definitely meant for the fit and active. The 14 miles on the rapids made me glad that I’ve kept up with my back and arm strength exercises.
An open bar and barbecue meal was our reward. Afterwards we returned to camp to prepare for tomorrow’s departure and most everyone that had gone rafting pretty much collapsed after that. As usual, Lev and I are some of the last to hit the hay. You know what? I’ll think I’ll take a couple of Tylenol and try and lure Lev into some privacy.
[1] View: https://youtu.be/iywqpda7d8k?si=QSGrmwj3NyKa3_Vz
[2] View: https://youtu.be/t9WqFjfqd4A?si=mFatvKmSsfwthXD7