Ultimate African Tiger
Fishing Safaris
1997
Ultimate African Tiger Fishing Safari Early morning finds us bumping along the winding dirt road back to Victoria Falls. Upon arrival at the town, the adventure capital of Africa, we leave Dave to sign loads of indemnity forms and to attend his pre rafting safety briefing. We make our way to the Falls. No matter how many times you visit they hold you in awe - one of the seven wonders of the world. With tremendous force upon hitting the bottom of the gorge the falling water explodes skyward and rains back down. We visit the numerous viewpoints as monkeys and small antelope watch from the rainforest. After touring the Falls we hop into our Land Rover and cruise back into town. We head to the local craft market in search of interesting trinkets and keepsakes. The market is a hive of activity as local vendors ply their wares....elephant hair bangles, stone and wood carvings, shoes made from old car tires… It is now well past noon and we drive east along a dirt road to a small lodge perched high above the Zambezi river on the gorge's edge. We settle in at the bar with a cold beer and binoculars in hand waiting to catch a glimpse of Dave as he rafts by. After 20 boats and several false sightings we are certain we have spotted Dave. Happy to know he is still alive after shooting and flipping through rapids such as "The Devil's Toilet Bowl", the "Overland Truck Eater", and "The Mother" we make our way through the bush to the raft pull out point. From deep within the gorge a straggling line of rafters can be seen climbing exhausted to the gorge rim. Dave finally appears, life vest and all, and we congratulate him with a cold beer from the cool box. We explain that with a bit of quick driving we can be back at the lodge and fishing for tiger before the day is done. Dave gives the thumbs up and off we roar. Two hours (and one squashed chicken) later we are on the river fishing. Again the fish tease us with their snatch and grab tactics and not until the last minutes of daylight does the real action begin. We all hook into some nice 6-10 pound fish and we are fortunate to get a few in the boat. I got a good fight going with a large tiger but several other tiger began to viciously attack my line and soon I was left with a useless frayed mess (not to mention another straightened hook). It had been a long day and I began to ponder what could happen next. A glance at the nearby hills confirms that the bush fire we spotted yesterday has moved considerably closer to camp. Back at the lodge the African night has set in. The insects are busy humming and baboons are barking out calls of distress. The fire is just over the next rise, not more than 1 or 2 kilometers away. Dave and Sukh decide to join Tim and his African trackers in burning a fire break. Deep in the bush they begin to back burn. The smoke drifts by in great clouds and the wind shifts carrying super heated air and ash. Sukh finds a tortoise racing slowly to safety and lifts him into the Land Rover. The trackers are busy beating out the flames with green, leaf covered branches. A startled kudu leaps passed Dave as everyone toils in a race against the fast approaching flames. The back burn must reach all the way down to an old bush track if the fire is to be stopped. After two hours of intense work they are confident that the lodge will be safe from the advancing fire. In a cloud of dust the Land Rover pulls back into camp. Cold beers and a tasty meal are waiting. What a day - the world's ultimate one day white water rafting trip, fishing for the world's ultimate fresh water fighting fish and then battling a bush fire. Tim, our expert guide, then walks up to the dinner table and explains "the number of rings on that tortoise's shell indicated that he was twenty years old". One thing about good guides - they can bring you to the edge of danger and back, and still count the number of rings on a tortoise in the middle of a raging bush fire!
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