‘They say
this is a good test of a relationship,’ said Tim as he handed me the
paddle. I wasn’t sure that such a tough challenge was what was needed on a honeymoon,
but it was too late to go back. My wife, Leigh, and I were standing with
our guide, Tim Came, on the banks of the Zambezi near the Zambia/Botswana
border. This was to be the highlight of our honeymoon: a safari downriver, ending
at the point where David Livingstone first saw the Victoria Falls.
7.______________________________________________
Neither of us
had any canoeing experience. Tentatively we set off downstream, paddling
with more enthusiasm than expertise. Soon we heard the first distant
rumblings of what seemed like thunder. ‘Is that Victoria Falls?’ we
inquired naïvely. ‘No,’ said Tim dismissively. ‘That’s our first rapid.’
Easy, we thought. Wrong!
8.______________________________________________
The canoe
plotted a crazed path as we careered from side to side, our best efforts
seeming only to add to our plight. This was the first of many rapids, all
relatively minor, all enjoyably challenging for tourists like us.
9.______________________________________________
The overnight
stops would mean mooring at a deserted island in the middle of the river,
where Tim’s willing support team would be waiting, having erected a camp
and got the water warm for our bucket showers. As the ice slowly melted in
the drinks, restaurant-quality food would appear from a cooker using hot
coals. Then people would begin to relax, and the day’s stories would take
on epic proportions.
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10.______________________________________________
One morning,
Tim decided to count the number of hippos we saw, in an attempt to gauge
the population in this part of the river. Most of the wildlife keeps a
cautious distance, and we were assured that, safe in our canoe, any
potential threats would be more scared of us than we were of them – but we
had been warned to give these river giants a wide berth. They’d normally
stay in mid-stream, watching us with some suspicion, and greeting our
departure with a cacophony of grunts.
11.______________________________________________
Tim yelled
‘Paddle!’ and over the next 100 metres an Olympic runner would have
struggled to keep up with us. The hippo gave up the chase, and although Tim
said he was just a youngster showing off, our opinion was that he had
honeymooners on the menu. That would certainly be the way we told the story
by the time we got home.
12.______________________________________________
At some times
of the year, you can even enjoy a natural jacuzzi in one of the rock pools
beside the falls. The travel brochures say it’s the world’s most exclusive
picnic spot. It’s certainly the ideal place to wind down after a near miss
with a hippo.
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