It's Monday afternoon, and what better way to round off a day at the office than to go for a sundowner cruise on the Zambezi River? We were out on the water last night, and the sunset was spectacular; billowing clouds, purple sunset, cattle egrets winging their way up the river to bed, the tips of their wings almost touching the water as they skimmed along, the wind from their beats forming little eddys in the blue.
The river is swollen, bulging at the seams. I am told that the Zambezi has not been this high since 1979. Some argue and say no, not 1979, but 1972. However, all they can agree on is that it is high! The rapids have been drowned, and we can now navigate our way, almost unimpeded, from the falls to Mwande, some 40km upstream. There was talk last night of marketing an expedition at this time of year, where clients board our boats, and are taken on unforgettable motor-boat adventures up the river (as opposed to canoe safaris, where you have to paddle downstream). We would send runners up ahead, who would set up camp for us, cook, make sure the beers were cold for our arrival in the late evening. We could sit around the campfire, discussing the day, letting the cold beers iron out any stiffness caused from sitting all day.
Once home yesterday we listened to the hyena's laughter from the Zim side, no doubt sharing jokes with the baboons who come to drink water late in the evenings. Later we heard some elephant discussing the dangers of crossing the river while it is so high. Last week three elephant and a hippo were washed over the falls, their swollen bodies were found swirling round and round a whirlpool below. Life is cheap in Africa.
