White-Water Rafting on the Zambezi

The Zambezi leaves the falls and drops straight into the Batoka Gorge, a long, narrow cut in dark basalt with walls that go up a very long way. The rafting happens at the bottom of it. You start the day by walking down a steep path to the water, and from then until the afternoon the river sets the direction.

This is a pool-and-drop river. Each rapid spills into a long stretch of flat water, so the day comes in bursts: a briefing on the rocks, a minute of hard paddling, shouting and white water, and then quiet, the raft turning slowly in an eddy while you get your breath back and look up at the gorge. The guides use the flat water to reset the crew for the next one.

The rapids are numbered from the top of the gorge down, and most have names, which tell you what the guides think of them. Stairway to Heaven is one; Oblivion is another. Where a rapid is too big to run on the day, the guides walk the crew around it.

The water level changes everything, and it is the first thing to settle. When the river is low, later in the year, the run starts high in the gorge, close under the falls, and takes in the long sequence of big rapids from the top. When it is high, after the rains, the upper rapids are too violent to run, the day starts further downstream, and there are fewer rapids but far bigger waves. At the very peak of the flood the river can close to rafting altogether, so we tell you what your dates hold before you plan around it.

Then there is the walk out. At the end of the day you climb back up the gorge wall on a steep path, in the heat, on arms and legs that have been working since morning. It is part of the day rather than an afterthought, and it is why this rates as demanding even for people who find the rapids easy.

If you have rafted the Nile at Jinja, this is a different kind of river: narrower, deep in its gorge, its rapids set out one after another between high rock walls. For the gorge without a raft, the swing and zipline run from the rim.

Good to know

• Plan on ending up in the water at some point. Comfort swimming matters more than rafting experience.
• The operator sets a minimum age and its own health and swimming requirements. We confirm them before booking.
• Wear shoes that stay on in the water, and sunscreen that stays on your face. Pack dry clothes for the drive back.
• The walk out is steep and hot. Tell us first about knee, back or heart trouble.
• Keep the next day gentle. A sunset cruise is about the right speed.