The next four days were filled with whitewater facials, hearty laughs, and starry sky's. As we paddled our way down river, I was made aware of a serious issue that the Batoka Gorge faces. The D word. DAM. The Zambia and Zimbabwe government are moving forward with plans to build a Batoka Gorge Dam not far downstream from Victoria Falls. This would completely wipe out the whitewater section that I was so fortunate to paddle. By building a dam, the tourism industry surrounding Victoria Falls will severely drop. I knew that I was paddling in a special place, but what I did not realize is that not many more people are going to be able to paddle this river.
My experience down in the Batoka gorge is one I will remember for the rest of my life. The Zambezi is probably the biggest river I will run, yet for how HUGE it is, it's extremely forgiving. Though swims and flips happen often, you are swimming in warm water. The river is high volume so you don't have to worry about getting pinned or siphoned out. The Nyaminyami was surely watching over me for 5 days, and hopefully she continues to protect that amazing stretch of water.
Our goodbye to the Zambezi was a fashionable one. A helicopeter picked us up and flew us out to our lodge. This was my first time in a helicopter, and the others in the group compared my smile to a child in a candy store. The chopper flew us right over Victoria Falls, and the views were spectacular.
Me and Diego (the most incredible guide)
Looking out over the Zambezi with a G and T in hand - nothing better!
As we parted ways with our newly formed river family, I couldn't help but feel sad. The Zambezi river is no longer a place that I can have hopes of running again because of the dam. I am lucky enough to have had the opportunity to spend 5 days on the river, I just hope I can spend another 5 more.
Excellent travel advice and service
This is my second experience working with Adventure Life. I’m sold. Jess Heuermann is an experienced traveler and provides a lot of useful information when planning a trip. These are the questions I like to ask at the outset - What’s it like to go here, there, what would you suggest, what do people report, can we add any additional side trips? Jess took the time to answer my questions and seek additional information to share with me. Petchie Colina is outstanding in helping with travel logistics and final preparations. Adventure Life has excellent guides and offers private guides and small group adventures. We enjoyed the opportunity to talk with the guides and drivers to learn more about their countries, cultures and histories. A highlight was having the guides pick local restaurants where we could share meals together. Highly recommend.
Claire Cordon
5 days ago
Our six-day tour in Iceland went smoothly with one exception. We had asked for two rooms each night. Somehow we were booked with one room with three beds. It could not be fixed at the first hotel in Reykjavik because the hotel was fully booked. Once informed of the problem, however, Adventure Life rebooked for two rooms for the remainder of the trip. As an 85-year-old traveler, I appreciated that one could participate at different physical levels at many of the stops. Iceland is a great place to visit but on the expensive side.
Mary Warren
6 days ago
Jess was very easy going and answered all our questions. It’s not easy dealing with 6 people at once but she did an outstanding job!
Diane Foster
1 week ago
Kassandra and the Adventure Life team have been incredible! Kassandra was very knowledgeable and attentive to our asks while making sure we kept within our budget. This was our first experience with a travel agent and we were blown away by the booking/initial exploration service. We will use Adventure Life again.