Zambezi Kayaking Logistics Made Easy

May 25th, 2012

The Zambezi has a reputation for having difficult paddling logistics, but it need not be so! From August – December Kayak The Zambezi offers daily shuttles to Number 1 (Boiling Pot) at 8am from Livingstone or 9am to Rapid 10. Our guide team will show you the river on your first day and on subsequent paddling days we’ll take care of park fees, porters, lunch transport to and from the river allowing you the most time to spend doing what you love – kayaking the Zambezi.

Ripping It Up at 12B

For those who also don’t want to travel with a boat, we have plenty of current play boats and river runners for you to choose from, paddles, buoyancy aids, helmets and everything you need for your paddling holiday. User friendly airlines for boats are Virgin to Joburgh and then 1 time are excellent to Livingstone. Alternatively there are many excellent flight options to Lusaka and then you can catch a bus to Livingstone from there with Mazhandu Family Buses.

Sara running 5, Stairway to Heaven

Make 2012 your year to paddle the Mighty Zambezi. See you here!

Zambezi Festival 2011 wrap up!

November 4th, 2011

The first annual Zambezi River Festival 2011, we came, we saw, we dubstepped!

Over the last week we were joined by about 35 people from all over the world for some awesome competitions, great off river activities and off the wall parties! Once everyone had arrived (mostly stress free, only a couple of bribes and unplanned stop offs to get the whole rabble into the country), and registered we headed out on the upper Zambezi for a Booze cruise on the Makumbi. This was a great opportunity for everyone to get to know each other, taste the local beverages, and the legend of Grubstep was born (you’ll have to come next year to find out exactly what that means!). The party carried on well into the night at ‘Jollygirls’, with some good humour and complete disregard for the long day on the river planned for the next day! For those that hadn’t been to the Zambezi before the next morning we set off for a familiarisation trip from rapid 1 to 25. We were joined by a cool group of non-kayaking festival goers in the raft, we had Wives and Girlfriends, locals, and folks who were just passing through town who’d stopped off to join us for the week. These guys joined us on the river everyday to help us out as a safety boat, take photos and just enjoy the river as much as everyone else! This first day on the river was an eye opener for some of us, some peoples expectations of the Zambezi were warped both ways, but in the end everyone finished the day with big smiles and cold Mosi, and after the long day a night game drive back to town gave us even more excitement with an elephant road block! That evening was spent at Jollyboys Campsite with a traditional meal of Nshima and stew accompanied by a local Zambian reggae band and dancers, it was a great introduction to any first timers to Africa!

Photo by Sean Edington

Monday brought us our first day of competition, with the Down River Race, which I suppose probably should have been renamed the “Endurance”. When people come and raft the Zambezi, the one thing that everyone remembers whether they have ten swims or none is the walk out of the gorge, at 750′ deep the Batoka Gorge certainly makes you work to get your white water fix, so we thought we’d use this aspect to make a race like you couldn’t have anywhere else in the world! Competitors had to run into the Gorge at rapid number one, paddle to number 10 (portaging number 9, commercial suicide) and then run out at number 10 up the rickety ladder, with their boat and paddles at all times. Now, the porters do this every day, but some of our softer competitors (especially those bokke) had never had to do anything this hard before, and every one of them struggled, especially in the 40-50 degree heat! However, after a valliant effort from everyone, they all made it to the top of the gorge heaving and puffing, but with some incredible times, the winner Morgan, came in at under 1 hour for the 10km course. Our resident Kiwi lad, Owen, who decided that not wearing shoes would save time getting in and out of his boat, found that portaging on the hot rocks at 9 barefoot was not such a good idea, blisters and burnt feet don’t make for a quick exit out of the gorge! This slowed him right down, but he still finished as a hero, but unfortunately started the competition right at the bottom of the rankings. First place in the down river race went to Zambian Morgan Kabenga, second place to Zambian Windos, and third place to Zimbabwean Mikey Amos, these guys all came in within 10 minutes of each other, it was a very close race!

Windos, Mikey and Morgan, what heroes!

Photo by Evie Walker

On day 2 we had “Big Air Day”, as a special treat for 15 of our competitors especially the ones with particularly wobbly knees, we threw them off the Victoria Falls Bridge on a swing in their kayaks! After picking our lucky 15 out of a hat, some of the Guys and Gals were super up for it, and couldn’t wait to chuck themselves off the bridge, some on the other hand weren’t so keen……….

Photo by Hamish McMaster

After an exciting morning’s swinging and screaming we jumped on the river at the boiling pot and ran down to rapid number 5, where we held a boater-X style head to head race. Time dictated that we run people through the rapid 4 at a time, with the two winners going through to the next event. This was an opportunity for some pushing and shoving, and some great lines taken through a pretty big rapid! No one’s still quite sure whether it’s quicker to run the standard line or over the pourover with a massive boof, but one thing that did become apparent was that this was an event for the long boats over playboats! Morgan Kabenga came out on top again on day 2, was this a trend that would continue throughout the week? The rafting spectators had an exciting ride through number 5 today, with our smiliest spectators, Martin and Michelle calling to Go Big, the entire left side got caught in the Catchers Mitt, and an excellent swim was had by everyone, yours truly included!

Photo by Sean Edington

 We’d left all of our boats in the gorge on Tuesday evening, so it was super easy to walk in again on Wednesday to pick them up and head downstream through rapid 6, the Devils toilet bowl, to number 7 where we held the Slalom competition. Number 7, Gullivers Travels, is one of the longer rapids on the Zambezi, so the perfect place for some dipping and weaving in and out of eddies! Although all the paddlers did amazingly well on the tricky course we’d prepared, the highlights were Ian Coetsee taking on the course in a Ducky (inflatable kayak), getting some ends in the crease, and Peanut (Kate Walton) doing the whole thing upside down but hanging on until the end of the rapid, that girl’s got some balls! A short day on the water, after the slalom we ran back up the gorge following our noses to the smell of an awesome Braai put on for us at the lip of the gorge by James and Megan Hitchens, it was a beautiful evening, and a great way to watch the African sun go down.

photo by Gijs Hardeman

Thursday was Rodeo day! This event was initially planned to be held at 12b, but with water levels higher than normal this year the wave at rapid 2 was in much better shape, so we decided to stop off under the Victoria Falls bridge for some surf sessions. During the festival competitors had to use the same boat for every event, and whereas the long boats were coming out on top for the first few races, today the playboats really came into their own. The most popular ride with the crowd was definitely the old school round, there were pop outs, paddle spins and shudder rudders galore, but the top two rides came from South Africa’s Andrew Kellett who managed to pop his deck, spin his paddle in one hand, surf from right to left and DIDN’T swim (although great, all the guys who work with Andy were super keen to see their boss meet Nyami Nyami!), and the Netherland’s Gijs Hardeman, who juggled his way onto the wave, dropping his paddle, and miraculously managed to catch up with it while flushing off the wave, legends both of them! This evening was another taste of Local Livingstonian hospitality, with Chantel at The Spot rustling up some delicious nshima and stew for the whole crew, this set everyone up nicely for a quick dip in the pool back at Jollyboys, WHIRLPOOL!!

Photos by Bart Alst

With sore heads and raft paddles in hand, the next day we headed back into the gorge for the raft race. Everyone was mixed up into teams to race through 1-10, with a fantastic array of guides, they had Madonna, Lady Gaga or Wonderwoman to choose from! A sailing style start meant that there was plenty of jostling and trash talking going on in the boiling pot before racing off downstream. Team Anika (Madonna) were off to a flying start, finding a loophole in the rules to get an advantaged start over the boys teams, and stayed at the front all the way to the finish line. A few rules were thrown into the mix which made parts of the race more exciting for our fancy-dressed guides, everytime the rafts bumped on flat section, the guides had to swap seats, so plenty of swimming and scrambling from raft to raft took place between Dirk (Wonderwoman) and Steve (Lady Gaga). On rapid number 8 the rafts were required to take the “Star Trek” line with minus points for chickening out. Dirks raft definitely went for the meat of this rapid, with some awesome GoPro footage from Ant showing just that “hey, why we heading left here pal, PADDLE PADDLE!” with a classic clip to follow, although there was some discrepancies with the other teams as to where Star Trek actually was, without arial footage we’re still not quite sure if they made it! It was fantastic to have everyone mixed up together in the boats, and to see some good teamwork going on between everyone, even between some of the teams, with the “tea breaks” that Dirk and Steve’s teams needed to take together to make it to the finish!

Photo by Sean Edington

Then came the final. After totting up all of the scores the 8 finalists to race on the last day of the festival were from 7 different countries from 4 different continents,  just goes to show how international this event really was! Our fearless finalists were: Kazuto Mamiya of Japan, Andrew Kellett of South Africa, Windos of Zambia, Mikey Amos of Zimbabwe, Morgan Kabenga of Zambia, Timo Bellen of Germany, Owen Glover of New Zealand and Phil Gibbins of Australia. The guys had no idea what the last race would entail until they got to the top of the gorge and were given rafting jackets, clients paddles and told that their boats were at the bottom waiting for them. At this point the penny dropped for most of them – Duckies. Yep, they were racing through some of the biggest volume rapids that anyone paddles in an inflatable kayak, as you can guess they were all pretty excited! Between 7 of them (due to unfortunate circumstances Windos missed the start of the race), on 9 rapids they took 26 swims in total, quite the tally for booty beers later in the evening!  All of the lads did a sterling job, and in the end the race was super tight, although Morgan has been dominating earlier in the week his poor start at number 1 took it’s toll, and Aussie slalom paddler Phil Gibbins took the crown, charging to the finish line as quick as if he’d been in a hard shell kayak. Second was Owen Glover, who, as he’s working in Livingstone, is classed as a local paddler, and third was Timo Bellen, the baby of the competition who only turned 20 the day before the final.

Photo by Nick Tsoupis

That evening was the prizegiving at Fezbar. There were prizes galore from all of our amazing sponsors: Water By Nature, Pyranha kayaks, Fluid kayaks, Palm Equipment, NRS, Kayak the Nile, Kathmandu, Angle Zambia, the Waterfront, Protea Hotel, and Max Bilbow with Means of Production. Every single person who entered the competition got a prize from one of these guys, which put everyone in a great mood for booties beers and the craziest party Livingstone had seen in a while (and that’s saying something!). Overall the whole week went with a big bang, but we couldn’t have done it without all the people that helped us along the way, Kim at Jollyboys was an absolute star all round, Graham at the Waterfront for transport and that delicious chili, Joie d’la Vie water for keeping us hydrated, John Zulu at Heritage Conservation for helping us out with the park fees, all of our prize sponsors, Matthews our star driver, Andy, Anika and Steve our guides who do a sterling job, I’m sure many many other people that I’ve forgotten about, and of course all of the people that came from all over the world to help make this week the success it was. Here’s to next year, 27th October – 3rd November, where we’ll come back bigger and better, hope to see you there!

Photo by Nick Tsoupis

Dubstep Dubstep Dubstep Dubstep.

 

 

May Newsletter.

May 19th, 2011

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Thinking about heading to the Zambezi this season? Good choice. Not only do you get to paddle one of the greatest rivers in the world, but if you time it right you’ll get to take part in the Zambezi Festival 2011! From the 22-29th zambezifestlogo2October this year Livingstone will be overrun with kayakers in town for great competitions, brilliant races and some fine, fine parties. We’re holding downriver races, head to head, slalom, a rodeo, raft races, and a Grand Final with some surprises along the way. They’ll be prizes for everyone, so even if you’re not scoring top points on the rodeo, it’s always worth flashing the judges a smile and a wink (nothing more!) during your ride and you might end up with a share of the bounty. We’ve got a brand new kayak from Fluid, subscriptions to Kayak Session magazine, nights in swanky hotels in Livingstone, activities in the area, some great spot and novelty prizes for those random acts that make us laugh and much, much more. Tickets cost $195, which includes your event entry, accommodation for the week, shuttles, park fees and a T-shirt, almost everything except your bar tab! Getting there is easy too, flights to Lusaka are going for less than £500 from the UK at the moment, and a new route from Cape Town is now opened up with Zambezi Airlines which gives you many more options, winner! Check out the website page for more information on how things are running, add yourself onto our Facebook event, and invite all your friends! Accommodation is limited so make sure you book up early to make sure you get a place, and we’ll see you out there for what’s shaping up to
be a whole lot of fun.

If you are after “Executive Kayak Transport” then look no further than our African Limo featured in this picture!  Set up with all the essentialsP9130101_2, cold beer, kayak trailer and 6 doors, travel to all the best paddling spots on the Zambezi in STYLE! Paddling fees have gone up with the Zambian Parks Service putting up fees by $10. Our rates for pick up and drop off from your hotel or backpackers, porters to carry your kayaks into and out of the gorge, lunch and a cold beer at the end of the day are just $40. PLEASE NOTE IF YOU BOOK LOCALLY, THE COST WILL BE $50, so well worth planning your trip in advance!

If you want someone to organise your entire paddling holiday, then let theZambezi.com arrange all your paddling needs. From people wanting to experience a Zambezi 4 day trip, to those wanting to paddle The White Nile and Zambezi, we have something to offer everyone. Our guides will meet you at the airport and accompany you on your entire trip, taking care of all the smallest details as well. If you want somebody to teach you more about Playboating? Or River Running in big water, Anika or Andrew will make sure you leave the Zambezi River, loving the place! Dates are now on our website ready for you to get excited about and book onto for this years paddling holiday!

People are always asking us about the best time to head out to the Zambezi? For those wanting Big Water paddling conditions, head out and see us in August or December. Pretty much everything in between, is an awesome time to paddle the Zam. In high water some rapids are bigger, but in general the best paddling/surfing is on offer in low water and the weather is awesome too. Expect hot and sunny conditions. Although we recommend taking anti malarials at all times in Zambia, the risk is very low and far lower than that in on the Nile in Uganda. If you are keen to avoid the rush this year when the Festival is on, come down either side of it!

IDSC_0419f you are looking to hook up with some other paddlers out on the Zambezi, then get onto our FORUM where you can see who is heading out to the Zambezi and when? If you are looking to head out on a multiday as well, it is a great way to get people together on the same trip for more fun. It is super simple to just sign up and also post any advice to people heading out there, like flight deals, places to stay in Lusaka or why not just tell us about your Zambezi paddling experiences, without of course exaggerating too much! If of course you try and sell Viagra on there, you will be banned!

2011 – International year of the Zambezi.

February 17th, 2011

A lot of people talk about the Zambezi as if it’s a dream location that they’d love to visit but just never quite make it out there. This has been puzzling us here at thezambezi.com, it’s easy to get here, the water is reliable, the weather is awesome, the beer is cheap, and there’s so much fun to be had! So make this year your year to get out on the Zam and see what all the fuss is about. Cheap flights to Lusaka are easy to find through airlines such as Kenyan airways (who are great with taking boats on), Ethiopian air, British airways and Air france. It’s then easy to get a bus link with Mazhandu Family Buses straight through to the centre of Livingstone, only a stones throw away from JollyBoys backpackers. An alternate route to get there is via South Africa, connecting flights to Livingstone from Johannesburg are easiest to get with a South African airline, 1time, dodgy name, but great service! There’s plenty of nice spots to stay once you’re there, our favourite places are Jollyboys backpackers and Fawlty Towers which are both right in town at the epicenter of all the apres-boating action! We’re the only company who run kayaking trips from Livingstone, and our great guides are available to get on the water with you for your first day or two to show you the best lines, features and moves to make so that you can make the most out of your stay. It is possible to do the Zambezi on your own, catching taxi’s to and from the river, but if you want to sort out your trip out so that it runs smoothly from day one we can sort out shuttles, park fees, porters, lunch as well as that all important cold beer at the end of the day. We’re also able to help out with gear hire, accommodation, other activities, or just some advice whilst you’re planning your trip. So now there’s really no excuse to get out onto the Zambezi, this is the time for action!

Scream if you love the Zambezi!!

Scream if you love the Zambezi!!

Zambezi River Fees Increased

September 27th, 2010

TheZambezi.com is the only company on the Zambezi permitted to take kayakers on the Zambezi River. We want to make it as user friendly as we can for people to come and paddle what is one of the best whitewater runs in the world. Recently the Zambian Parks put up the entry fee on gaining access to the river from $3 to $10 (excluding access to Victoria Falls) This is included with all our shuttles to and from the river, as well as lunch, porters and a cold beer at the end of the day. No matter whether it is your first time on the river, or you are a seasoned pro on the Zambezi, our team on and off the water will give you an amazing experience, on this, our home river.

Paddling The Pourover in 5

Paddling The Pourover in 5

We recommend getting flights in and out of Lusaka as they are loads cheaper than flying into Livingstone. A great place to stay in Lusaka is Lusaka Backpackers and then get the bus over to Livingstone with Mazhandu Family Buses, October is a PRIMO month to paddle. Its HOT and the water level is dropping. Come on out and play on the river and party in town until your heart is content. If anyone needs boats to hire, we have quite the fleet to choose from and can also arrange multi-day trips if you have the time. We can also sort any accommodation for you in either Jollyboys or Fawlty Towers and book any activities you wish to do. See you for some fun on the river!

The Zambezi – Now’s The Time!

September 6th, 2010

For any of you paddlers out there looking for the best time to kayak the Zambezi River, that would be NOW! The river has just gone to “low water” when the rapids are at their best, the weather fantastic, and you get to choose from so many great sections of river to paddle? If you are a surf demon, try the wave at rapid 2 and early October, head up to get in some serious surfing at the world class 12B. If you prefer running BIG waves then run from rapid 1 and take on Stairway to Heaven, Gullivers Travels or the Mother, rapid 13.

Howard running Ghostrider

Howard running Ghostrider

The river is excellent through until December, with the weather getting hotter at the end of October and the chance of rain which will cause the river level to rise. We can provide you with excellent support for all your paddling needs, whether it renting a kayak, needing to get to and from the river each day, or head out on a fantastic multiday trip, we’re happy to make your next paddling vacation easy. Get a group together, or just come on your own. Our guides will show you down the river and show you all the best (and worst) places to go.

Tony teaching Trevor on our Kayak School

Tony teaching Trevor on our Kayak School

Paddling big warm water is the ultimate. The Zambezi.com loves our “home river” and looks forward to sharing it with you on your next kayaking vacation. Flights are easy and simple into either Lusaka or Livingstone, so pop on over and enjoy some paddling no matter whether you are an accomplished kayaker, or you would like to take on a kayak school with our world class kayak instructors on the Zambezi River. See you there!

The World’s Most Awesome Paddling Holiday

August 16th, 2010

If anyone had to imagine the 2 best rivers for a paddling vacation, the Zambezi River and the White Nile would have to be up there. TheZambezi.com and Kayak The Nile have teamed up to offer what can only be described as the Ultimate Paddling Vacation. Due to the nature of the trip and the logistics in each destination the trip can be offered to all kayaking abilities from beginner to expert. Being our home rivers, we can offer you the best sections for YOUR ability and tailor make the trip for you. The trip is 14 days and will include all your accommodation, lunches (on paddling days) and boats. All you need to do is get to Uganda and Zambia… and home again.

Running Rapid 5 on The Zambezi

Running Rapid 5 on The Zambezi

Convenient flight connections are available with Kenya Airways stopping in Nairobi (you can get a cheap return flight to Uganda from there) and Lusaka. Most paddlers take the bus from Lusaka to Livingstone and we’ll meet you there. Trips start in Entebbe every Saturday where the Kayak The Nile team pick you up. They’ll drop you back at the airport after a week on the Nile. Once on the Zambezi, you’ll get a welcome “Booze Cruise” and dinner on your day of arrival into Livingstone.

Jarrod having fun on the Nile River

Jarrod having fun on the Nile River

Come and kayak the Zambezi River in Zambia and the White Nile in Uganda, The Ultimate Paddling Vacation.

Zambezi Kayak Rental

June 24th, 2010

Lets face it jumping on a plane these days with a boat is just a bit for trouble than it is worth. If you are planning a paddling holiday on the Zambezi this year from 1 day to one month, we have a great range of boats for you to hire and paddle on your trip. Most paddlers bring their own PFD, paddle, spraydeck and helmet, but you can arrange this also though us with our “Works Package“.

Hire your Fluid kayak for your Zambezi trip

Hire your Fluid kayak for your Zambezi trip

We have a range of Fluid Kayaks such as the Flirt, Spice and Nemesis in varying sizes to suit all shapes and sizes of paddler. So with prices starting at under $20 a day for week long hires, why give yourself the extra stress! Make this the year for your ultimate stress free and fun paddling holiday.

Zambezi Kayak Schools

June 22nd, 2010

So how can you possibly learn to kayak on what is described as one of the most challenging rivers in the world? Simple. The Zambezi is warm water, the season is long and there are plenty of long flat sections and easy Grade 2-3 to get your skills working before moving onto the harder stuff. Many people have learned to kayak on the Zambezi and in fact many of the guys who shoot video and photos on the river, have been taught and learned to paddle only on the Zambezi.

Practising paddling above Rapid 6

Practising paddling above Rapid 6

A Zambezi Kayak School, can be anything from a half day taster through to 5-6 days where we get to paddle most of the big rapids on the Zambezi. We teach you from the basics of the eskimo roll in a local swimming pool to running waves and on longer courses, playing and having fun on the river which, in the end is what it’s all about. Our world class team of international instructors will outfit you with kayaks (obviously) buoyancy aids, paddles, spraydecks (to keep the water from going inside the kayak) and helmets. Due to the “Pool Drop” nature of the Zambezi, if you do end up taking a swim, its easy to pick you up and get back in.

Having a play in a rapid below Rapid 18

Having a play in a rapid below Rapid 18

When it is 24 degree celsius water, 30-40 outside temperature, getting on the Zambezi River for a days kayaking and keeping cool, is one of the best places to be. Groups are small, so it is easy and condusive to learning this fantastic sport. The ideal season for kayaking the Zambezi is August – December. Additionally, you’ll get to stay in Livingstone, Africa’s Adventure Capital. Gorge Swing, Bungy, Jetboat, you can do it all!

Zambezi River Levels

March 29th, 2010

The Zambezi has had record water levels again this year and the river has been closed to all rafting and kayaking. Traditionally this is the time for highest flows on the river and from now on, levels start to drop slowly until they get to the best levels for kayaking start around late July early August. So this is the time to start planning your mission out to the Zambezi. Most paddlers join theZambezi.com from July until December, with August until October being the best levels for river running and play boating. For most people the highlight, would be to Paddle “12B” when it is at its best. Plan on getting here for mid – late September and play until your heart is content.

Ripping it up in 12B

Ripping it up in 12B

We have a comprehensive rundown on rapids on our website, but there is no substitute for experience. Our guides have been paddling the river at every level for years, so come and join them on your first day paddling and get them to share the lines they know best. Our paddling trips are set up for paddlers. You get to choose what section to paddle on the river, we will get you there, pick you up at a pre-determined time and give you lunch and a cold beer at the end of the day. We can arrange paddling trips from one day to one month and no problems to cater for groups of friends. The Zambezi is the perfect mates trip.

Awesome weather and even better SURF waves!

Awesome weather and even better SURF waves!

For everything about kayaking the Zambezi, we are your one stop shop. Make 2010 a year to remember with a Zambezi kayaking adventure.