Zambezi River Trip Description

Day 1: Arrive in Victoria Falls where your trip leader picks you up and you head off for a sunset cruise on the upper Zambezi river above the famous Victoria Falls. A great opportunity to enjoy your first glimpse of elephants, hippos, crocodiles and much more under your first African sunset. Tonight over dinner, your trip leader covers the pre-trip orientation so everyone is set and ready for the following morning’s departure.

Day 2: We begin our journey down the Zambezi today, putting in directly below Victoria Falls. This is our first taste of some of the most exciting rafting in the world, and we will pay our respects to the African River God, Nyami Nyami, one wave at a time. After some spectacular rapids and a short portage, we arrive at our camp on a beautiful white sand beach at the bottom of the gorge.

Day 3: This morning we load up the gear rafts and head downstream through famous rapids such as Oblivion, Overland Truck Crash and Stairway to Heaven. We reach our camp at yet another beautiful beach in time for sundowners.

Day 4: Today the rapids spread out a bit and we are able to enjoy the great scenery and wildlife of the Batoka Gorge. In between, we hit big rapids such as Closed and Open Season and Upper Moemba. Tonight we make camp above the riverwide, 20-foot tall waterfall of Lower Moemba.

Day 5: This morning we wake early to take advantage of the cooler temperatures for two portages. The first is Lower Moemba where we lower the rafts a short distance around the falls. After a short float downstream, we encounter our next portage of Chibango Falls which is also the site of a proposed dam that continually threatens this incredible river. This portage is long and hot. Everyone’s help will be appreciated as we carry the boats and gear around this stair-stepping falls. Below the falls, we reload the rafts and shortly downstream we are rewarded with quite possibly the biggest waves and best rapids of the trip, Ghost Rider. Negotiating this rapid is one of the biggest challenges of the trip and always produces some fabulous whitewater stories! Afterwards—and hopefully upright—we float to camp.

Day 6: The whitewater is mellow today as the gorge begins to slowly open. This is an awesome day for wildlife. Fish eagles, baboons, vervet monkeys and some impressively large crocodiles. We also get a chance to visit Smuggler’s Cove, a tiny Zambian fishing village where we can find smoked Tiger fish for our night’s appetizer. Tonight’s camp is on an enormous beach at a wide, flat part of the river situated perfectly for sweet sunsets! This is our last night on the river.

Day 7: This morning we wake at a leisurely pace, put on and float downstream through the calm waters up to the confluence with the Metetsi River. Before the confluence we pass carefully by pods of hippos and yes more crocs while keeping our eyes peeled for the huge goliath heron and other exotic birdlife. Just below the confluence is our take-out where we have lunch, load the gear and head for Vic Falls. Tonight is a grand celebration at the Boma restaurant with native dance performances and a wild game dinner. Toasts all around after completing one of the most quality river expeditions on earth.

Day 8: You are accompanied by the trip leader to the airport for the flight back home. Or extend your trip with a visit to one of the impressive national parks in the area for more close encounters with Southern Africa’s awesome wildlife.