Woke
up feeling very tired and exceptionally nervous. After arriving at Bundu
Adventures, we were met by our guide, who introduced himself, "My
name is Potato," he said. He was particularly entertaining but at
the same time made me even more nervous. "OK, here's your very
unattractive red lifejacket and your equally unattractive blue helmet
and if that's not enough to carry, here's your paddle." Now, we
just had to walk down the gorge. Those who know me well will know that
this is my biggest nemesis. Walking downhill on rocky gravel. (Something
to do with a small mishap on the slopes of a hill in Scotland where I
took my best friend out on the way down.) I absolutely hated every
minute of that decent down the gorge but in turn was actually delighted
to get into that raft in the river at the bottom. Not sure if what
followed had something to do with six years of yachting and being in
pretty nasty seas but the rafting turned out to be an absolute breeze.
Almost disappointing actually. We never flipped once, no one fell out.
The waves weren't all that big at all. Still, big enough to make it fun
though for a few hours though rapids 14-25. Rob jumped off a 10m rock,
swam down a rapid and broke a shoe. Then there was the long climb out
the gorge. The guides must have sensed my lack of fitness, as they
offered me the cable car. Me, being way too proud, said no, I will climb
it! I mean, how bad can it be? The record for the fastest is seven
minutes and the slowest is ninety minutes. My advice here
"Take
the flipping cable car!" Unbeknown to me, half our group had opted
for it while numpty here sweated buckets getting back up. Well, I never
broke the 90min record but let's just say that the crew managed to pack
up all the gear and whilst carrying it all up, they still passed me and
so began prodding me like a donkey to keep me moving. Total humiliation!
But still, a good fun day and we met a super group of people. Any extra
advice I can give? Eat before you leave. They say they offer breakfast
but they don't. Drink plenty of water before. They don't offer any and
you can't take anything with you in the boat. Also, you only get lunch
after you've climbed up the gorge again and it's pretty grim actually.
But that's just me being fussy, I guess. Celebrated our day's
achievements with a very cool dinner at the Zambian restaurant just up
the road. Excellent food and service, complete with oxtail, beef, fish
and "nshima" (maize meal) all eaten with our hands. You sit
outside on cushions while they bring you thick African blankets should
you be feeling a little chilly. Fabulous! |