The morning of the 26th was the one I had been most nervous about of the rip so far. We were heading from the falls to Sinamatella Camp in Hwange National Park. Sounds simple enough but we were going via the high wire activities available at the top of the gorge at Vic falls. My agenda called for the Flying Fox, Zip Line and Gorge Swing, all three of which involved stepping or running off the edge of a rickety wooden platform over the 250m drop into the gorge itself.
The Flying Fox is a horizontal ride where you face downwards into the gorge. This was the one requiring you to run as fast as you could off the edge of the platform.
The Zip Line was next. A massive descent into the gorge and starting back up the other side, at the end of which you are winched back to the starting position. The Zip Line gets up to about 106 kmh.
The Gorge Swing was last... and scariest. In principle it's really simple, you hold the rope and step of the edge. With me so far? You then simply drop for about 75m or so until the rope bites, at which point you swing out across the gorge.
I'm happy to report that I managed all 3 with no pausing or hesitating, despite being scared s***less by the gorge swing itself! If you'd asked me at the time I'd have told you I was never doing it again but now I think I would do so given the opportunity. Maybe next time I'll start from a handstand! (Pictures and video will hopefully follow at some point.)
Once the high wire excitement was done and much needed beers had been drunk we set off for Sinamatella taking the main road from the Falls to Bulawayo and then turning off and travelling through the national park to the camp. We didn't see too much game on the run in but we did see giraffes and impala and the scenery was fantastic. The camp itself was fairly basic. We had a self catering bungalow with 2 twin rooms plus lounge, kitchen and bathroom. It was on a height overlooking the park and the view was amazing. We spent the evening watching 3 lone bull elephants wandering around and then as it got dark we ate Boerewors and watched the stars, which were the. Leanest I've ever seen. The night was hot and sticky and I hD the worst nights sleep so far on this trip but the location more than made up for that, so no complaints from me!
