Remember that day a few weeks back when the Perfect Ten was in Swakopmund and we went sandboarding and skydiving and it was this insane, expensive, adrenaline-filled, epic day?

Well, today was crazier.

Day 19 started with our final breakfast as Acacia-ers at 6am, and then we were headed to our activity pickup in the front of the campground at 6:30. We were whisked off to a fancy hotel, where we checked into their activities “desk” — aka a table in the middle of their courtyard. We split into 2 groups because the boats that take you to the beach beside Devil’s Pool only accommodate 7. I ended up in boat 2, but boat 1 waited for us since it was only a short 5 minute ride to the other embankment. We walked for a few moments, passed where we’d be returning for second breakfast, and then we got to the water!!!!! We had to swim through one non-falls pool, hop out, and then hop back in the water AT VICTORIA FALLS. It was so incredibly surreal. The guides were VERY strict about where we could swim, obviously because the current could so easily scoop us up and drag us over the falls. You actually can’t even go to Devil’s Pool during most of the year because the water is too high/the current is too strong.

After our safety instructions, we all swam over to the edge and posed for a few group photos facing the guides. Then…they had us turn towards the falls and lay on our bellies, looking over the edge.

W.

H.

A.

T.

Looking over the edge of one of the most iconic waterfalls in the world is just an indescribable feeling. It’s beauty and adrenaline and awe all laced with a healthy touch of fear.

Absolutely amazing.

After that, we all swam around the pool while we took turns taking individual shots (and heckling each other) at the edge of the falls. Post-heckling, we swam back to where we had left our packs and shoes, got tossed some fresh and WARM towels, and stomped off towards breakfast.

We sat down and were greeted immediately with warm muffins and scones, along with some type of homemade fruit jam. Everyone except Emme scarfed them down (sorry Emme!).  After our carb-overload, we waited a few minutes (Emme got her fruit plate), and then we were treated to… Eggs Benedict! Now, mind you, I have never before had eggs benedict, so I was a little nervous because the idea of hollandaise sauce and runny eggs kind of grosses me out. But hey… why not right?

As I mentioned, I don’t like runny eggs… and somehow, someway, I was magically treated to a slightly “overcooked” egg in my  meal, so it was essentially the best version of an eggs benedict I could have possibly had! Totally delicious. Everyone else was bummed that the eggs weren’t runny, but I was ecstatic. Haha!

After breakfast we handed back our towels and put our regular clothes back on, and returned via boat to the original shore we started on. Our rides to our next locations were waiting for us, and we took nine along for white water rafting on the Zambezi but lost Amberlee, Lena and Johanna since they were off to do other things.

To our surprise, for white water rafting, we were whisked back to the falls park we had been to the day before, and then we were guided BACK down the Boiling Pot route!! Go figure, right?

Once we got to the bottom, we boarded our raft (we had lost Kris and Lauren to another raft for weight balancing purposes… BOO), positioned our paddles, which by the way we had to carry down with us!! and then we were off! We did a few practice paddle drills in the calm near the boarding area, but that lasted about five minutes before we were in for the real deal.

Now…. I did my first white water rafting earlier this year in Phuket with Bonus… we did NOT have paddles. And, truthfully, after rafting the Zambezi…. I don’t think it even COMPARES. We had 10 rapids to traverse, and the waves and water were absolutely breathtaking. As in… you’re going over and you’re paddling furiously and you’re completely airborne and then you slam into the water and a wave is crashing down and your guide is screaming “down down down!!!” and you have to jump off your seat, secure your paddle and just enjoy the ride.

Amidst the craziness of the whole thing, we had pretty smooth going until we hit rapid 8…. which is when we somehow lost Kitty overboard. Shit. We tried to rescue her quickly with a paddle-grab, but a wave knocked her away from us. She ended up having to swim against the current while we were simultaneously paddling towards her to pull her back in. It was definitely a shot of adrenaline for all of us, but when we had her back aboard, Kitty was all smiles and laughs. Like I’ve said before, total. badass.

Once we finished the course, we hiked back up this INSANELY rickety tree-ladder for probably close to half an hour to reach the top where our 4×4 was waiting with burgers and cold drinks (again, Emme was screwed out of food. Clearly NOT her eating-day…). We all hopped on the 4×4 pretty quickly and were again en route to our final adventure(s) of the day…

The final adventure had  our group splitting up again, this time with Jane and I peeling off from the other six because we opted out of bungee jumping (but KUDOS to those crazies who did it! I’m so proud of you!) and instead had signed up to do flying fox over the gorge.

Jane and I accompanied the jumpers to their drop-off point and then we were transported to our location. We were the only two when we arrived (Amberlee was scheduled to meet us there too!) but the guides said we should gear up and do our runs, so we figured we should do what they instructed…

When I envisioned flying fox, I thought it would be like zip-lining, where you just kind of hop off of a platform and gravity does the work.

Well…. that was wrong.

For the Vic Falls Gorge flying fox, you’re harnessed in just like zip-lining (the connection is at your back, though), but instead of a simple platform hop, you have to RUN at the gorge and launch yourself over the precipice.

Yep.

You read that right.

You have to use your own power to throw yourself over the edge of a gorge.

…..

I made Jane go first.

(Thanks for volunteering as tribute!!)

We each ended up getting two runs, and it was absolutely fantastic!

Amberlee arrived shortly after we were done, so we got to encourage and watch her as well.

TOTALLY glad we did it — it’s such a different rush from skydiving and none of the three of us were prepared for bungee jumping that day.

After Amberlee finished her runs, we visited the gift shop (yeah, we each got something, it was time for souvenirs!) and then the 4×4 was able to drop us in town so we could run a few errands. We took care of shopping/ATM/ForExing, caught a cab back to the campsite, showered, and waited for the rest of the crew to show up for Happy Hour.

Why?

Well…. today just also HAPPENED to be Kris’ birthday!

Happy hour was excellent (we even got Maja to do a springbok shot with us!), and then the bartenders recommended a club called “Seven-Eleven” which we didn’t believe was a real thing… but we gave it a shot and lo and behold… it was a club housed on TOP of a 7-11 convenience store. I kid you not.

All that to say we got to TURN UP on our last night all together. Clearly what happens in Vic Falls stays in Vic Falls… but we had an insane night and everyone made it home safely, if a little worse for the wear.