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Victoria Falls White Water Rafting

Considered to be The Best One Day White Water Rafting Trip in the World.....

A Day you will remember for the rest of your life...

I guarantee this will be one of those days that you will remember for the rest of your life and whatever time of year you go you are going to get wet.. very wet.

Names of rapids like Stairway to Heaven, The Terminator, Oblivion, The Washing Machine, Judgement Day,  Devils Toilet Bowl and Oblivion, give you a small insight of what to expect.

Victoria Falls White Water Rafting was really the first of the adrenaline activities to start

 in Victoria Falls in the early 1980's. It was through this sport that adrenaline addicts travelled from all over the world to have a go on what is rated as the best one rafting trip in the world.

Rafting Trips run from both the Zimbabwe and Zambian sides, and operators on both sides are highly professional.

The water level of the Zambezi River is completely dictated by rainfall, and this has a huge impact on the white water rafting season.

As every years rainfall is different so is every years rafting. So the dates given below are guide lines only.

Low water trips (approx August through to early January) start at Rapid number one which is just below the boiling pot of the Victoria Falls.

These trips are either half day (10 rapids) or full day trips (21 rapids). On the shorter trips you simply exit the gorge after Rapid number 10 at about lunchtime. Exiting the gorge involves a steep climb of about 250m, although helicopter lifts are available, at a cost.

High water runs (May, June, July and Jan, Feb, March) miss out the first 10 rapids as they are just not safe to raft at the high water level. So on this trip you will only do rapids 11 to 23. It is a shorter day even though it is still sold as a full days rafting.

This is not nearly as exciting, so please be aware that if rafting is your main focus plan on coming between August and early January.

The intensity of rafting varies due to the fluctuating levels of water plunging through the gorges. On the whole, lower water levels means higher thrill levels. This is because when the water levels are very high, they flood the rocks and outcrops which are the formation of the rapids. As water levels drop, rocks get closer to the surface and the white water starts to really boil and crash through the gorge.

However when the water level is very high the sheer volume of water makes some rapids unsafe, hence the need for the high water run where the first 10 rapids are left out. As water levels get increasingly higher around about March, the whole river becomes unsafe so the Victoria Falls White Water Rafting is closed until the water levels start to drop again in around June.

Contrary to what some people think, it's not one long rapid there are calm stretches of water in between these monster grade 5 rapids.

This gives you plenty of time to chat and laugh with your fellow rafters, take in the breathtaking scenery, and view birds and other wildlife.

Your safety is of high importance...

Safety is of paramount importance to these operators and they are extremely experienced in judging the safety of water levels.

Appropriate clothing would be swimming shorts and a T shirt a base ball style cap and some old footwear. Don't forget your suntan cream. You will be supplied with safety gear such as life jackets and helmets.

It's like spending the day in the dishwasher so don't think of taking and any valuables, including cameras and spectacles, unless they are absolutely vital.

The two main Zimbabwean Victoria falls white water rafting companies are Shearwater and Wild Horizons. A couple of other rafting licences have been issued, but these companies are in their infancy and have yet to prove their safety records, so at this stage I would not recommend using them.