Zambezi Swimming Team

7.26.13

                We have been going non-stop since we left Korea Garden in Lilongwe. We had to get up super early to catch our bus at 5:30 to Lusaka. Kevin is the nicest driver ever and got up early so he could take us because he was worried about our safety.

                John wasn’t feeling good so we were a little worried about him on the bus for the whole day but he said he could take it so we all got on. We were there early so we sat for a while to wait for the bus to fill up. Not too  long after Kevin left, John decided he wasn’t feeling up to the ride so Emily called Kevin and he came back to get John. He went back to SAFI for the week to recuperate. The bus ride wasn’t too comfortable but at least we had seats. The bus was packed as full as they could get it but all things considered, it wasn’t too bad.

                We got to the Zambia, Malawi boarder faster than we expected but it was a long stop. We had to go to the Malawi office to fill out a form to exit and then the Zambian office to check in with our visas we got the day before so that went as fast as possible. The long part was customs looking through the baggage.

                We stopped a couple of other times to take bathroom breaks and food and such. I made it through without needing to stop but it was good to stretch my legs and walk around every once in a while. We decided that the bus ride was a lot like the flight from JFK to Johannesburg but it was much harder to get out of your seat to walk the isles because everything was packed in the bus so tight but we didn’t get as bored on this ride maybe because we’re used to having nothing to do for long periods, because we could look out the window and actually see stuff or because it was during the day and we weren’t so tired and tired of being tired. The bus ride wasn’t too bad but Emily was planning on catching the bus to Lusaka at 7pm to so we could stay at Jolly Boys that night. That definitely didn’t happen because the bus was so late and the drive was so long. It’s a pretty common thing to happen actually but we just go with the flow.

                We got into Lusaka late at night and I experienced a little bit of culture shock. Most of Zambia that we had seen was just dry bush land. Not many buildings or people. When we got into Lusaka there were traffic lights, a movie theater, billboards that lit up and even a Radisson that looked fancier than the one in Salt Lake. We definitely weren’t in Malawi anymore. It didn’t feel like home but it felt like a vacation.

                We stayed the night at a hostel in Lusaka. We didn’t really do anything there besides sleep and talk a little with the people staying in our dorm. There was a guy from Germany that had been in Africa for a while and he told us a little about the weird things he’s experienced like the time he killed a cockroach and then had a much bigger infestation later. There was also another guy that was studying baboons. I slept really well there and we left the next morning to go to the bus station to get tickets. We got our tickets for the bus at 11:30 so we had some time to kill. We walked through the station and then we played I Spy. When we got on the bus it was a little nicer because there was a TV but they didn’t play anything good. I was expecting the ride to be a couple of hours but it was actually supposed to be 6 and then the bus was late. We went to Jolly Boys to see if they had room for us but they didn’t but there was another Jolly Boys hostel that was further out of town so we stayed there for the night and checked into the one closer to town in the morning.

                Yesterday, after dropping our stuff off at the hostel, we went to spend the day at Victoria Falls. Adam went bungee jumping and did the big swing. We watched. Since the Zambezi River is the boarder of between Zambia and Zimbabwe, we had to do some stuff with the government. We were afraid we wouldn’t be able to go because a few of us forgot our passports but we were with a group and they people in the front of the group had theirs so they didn’t check for ours so we got through. I felt a little like an illegal immigrant. I even took my picture next to the Zimbabwe sign. So now I’ve been to four African countries but only seen two. The line for bungee jumping was long so we spent about half the day there waiting for Adam to go and then watching the video they took of him and looking at the pictures they took. We also took some pictures of him. It was fun to watch him and everybody else and see how they all react to fear. He bought the whole package that came with the bungee jump, swing and zip line but he didn’t want to do the zip line so I was going to but they said he couldn’t transfer any of the stuff to someone else. Oh well.

                The next half of the day we spent walking through trails and looking at the falls. We were with a girl we met on the way over who was also staying at our hostel names Faith and she hung out with us for the day. Part way through, Adam said we should have a photo contest and try to get really artsy pictures so we all started laying on the ground and going off the paths and taking all kinds of non-traditional pictures. It was really fun and I think we all got some good pictures. We even found a place that we could sit almost right on top of the falls and he hung out there a little bit. We also waded a little bit but not very far so we didn’t slip and get swept away. We just had fun being together in a beautiful place.

                Today, Emily got up early to get a booking for us to go white water rafting. We got it! Last night we talked to a girl from the east coast named Hannah who also wanted to go white water rafting and a couple from Europe who had a booking so we decided to go with them. There was a guy in our dorm from South Africa that did the rapids and he told us that the first rapid you have a choice and we should pick the hard one because it’s more fun and that we should all go together because we all kind of knew each other and knew nobody would chicken out on us. When we got over to Saf Par we got all dressed up in our wet suit tops and life jackets and helmets and stuff. Then we got our safety brief and we got in the truck to go. These people were also taking pictures and video of us. When the water is lower, you can start basically right underneath the falls but we started on rapid 7 of 25 so we still did most of them. There were also a handful of kayakers that came with us. They were really good and their job was to fetch our paddles and the people when we all fell out of the raft. Baby Face was our favorite kayaker for reasons, you’ll soon see and he was also Melvin’s (our guide) cousin. We had a lot of fun with all the guides and the other rafts.

                Rapid 7 was actually like a level 1 so we were fine but rapid 8 was the one where you chose. There was the chicken run where you avoid all the rapids, then one that was level three and the one on the far left was level 4 or 5 depending on the day I guess. We were prepared and said level 5 all the way. I didn’t really think about taking hard rapids my first time white water rafting and it’s a good thing I didn’t because if I had thought about it I would’ve chickened out.

                Rapid 8 was one of the most eventful rapids of the day because it was the highest level and we flipped the raft at the beginning. Apparently the rapids here are longer than they are at the other places which is one reason why it can be difficult. So after we flipped, I was so disoriented and it was crazy. One moment we’re paddling forward the next Melvin tells us to get down and hold on then the next I’m in the water in the middle of the rapids. We had to skip rapid 9 because it was too hard so I was worried that I wouldn’t get back in the raft it time and I was really worried but Melvin had everything in control and was yelling at us to stay calm and he got us all back in the raft. I was one of the first people to get back in and then there was another group that had got thrown a ways away and were hanging onto kayaks. It was stressful for a while but we made it through.

                We walked around rapid 9 and I’m glad we did. It was class 6 so we definitely wouldn’t have done well especially after rapid 8 had taken so much out of us. I was nervous for a while after that rapid and falling out.

                We all fell out again on another rapid. I don’t remember what number it was but there were two that were really close. The first had three parts called the three angry sisters and the second was the mother. Lots of these rapids had scary names and our guide would tell us before we went which didn’t help my nerves at all. We flipped again on one of the sisters but everybody managed to get in pretty fast except Emily, Hannah and me. I wasn’t too far from the raft when I fell out but I wasn’t able to swim back so I held onto Baby Face’s kayak and he helped me get onto another raft. Trying to swim in the rapids is exhausting so I couldn’t do anything to help the other people pull me in but they got me in and I got a free ride to the end of the rapids then we caught up to my raft and I jumped in and got a free ride through the mother because I didn’t have a paddle. Emily had to go through the rest of the sisters and the mother hanging onto a kayak which took her a while because she was tired and had to rest a little. Hannah had managed to get on another kayak and we got her last. The kayakers also managed to get enough paddles for all of us. They were really great actually. After that we lost a few people on a rapid but they just kinds of slid out and we pulled them back in without a problem. None of the other rafts flipped or lost any people as far as I know so they all called us the Zambezi swimming team. I think our team has the best learning curve and we had to most fun and got the best video and pictures but I’m sure the other rafts had fun too. There were a couple of rapids that they told us we could jump out and ride with just our life jackets because they were really calm but I was too tired to get try.

                When we finally finished we took the cable car up and had lunch while we watched the video and looked at our pictures. We all got a little beat up with some bumps and bruises but we all made out safely and we all had tons of fun. I wouldn’t have chosen to go white water rafting but I’m really glad I did.

                I have lots of new pictures but they won't upload because the internet is not good at all. I'll post them when I can.