jiggylou

Hello Everyone,
I can't believe I'm only 4 days away from traveling back to Africa. My husband & I are going to celebrate his 50th birthday with a big bang. As soon as we arrive in Livingstone, we plan on taking the plunge by doing a gorge swing. Now, if we don't suffer a heart attack, on our second day we plan on river boarding/white water rafting. Does anyone know how many times you have to portage during a run #1-10 & #10-23 to avoid dangerous rapids? Does anyone have a favorite run? Or, how cold the river is? Is a wetsuit recommended? Will I be able to bring a dry bag to store extra clothes? I was also told that there is an elevator ($10US lift) at the end of run #23. Does this mean you don’t have to hike out of the gorge? If we decide to hike out, how long does it take?

Now, if we manage to survive this activity, than were off early in the morning for 30 minutes microlight flight on our 3rd day; since we will depart early afternoon for our short flight to Impalila airstrip where we will take a boat ride to our accommodations at Ntwala for 6 nights. Has anyone been there recently who could tell us what to expect: game sightings, abnormal weather (cold/hot), lots of mosquitoes, etc? Unfortunately, this is the tail end of our trip. We plan on spending an evening in Johannesburg and return back home to get ready for our 6 weeks journey to Thailand, Cambodia & US on Sept 20th.

I would like to thank everyone ahead of time for your input. When I return, I will submit a short trip report with some pictures.

Warm regards

Kavey

No idea on any of your questions but BON VOYAGE and happy birthday to your husband!

matnikstym

No answers, just wanted to say have a great time and please report back when you return. I'll be going to Ntwala in October. Travel safe, Dennis

Mediatorr

I don't have any answers either. Seems like you're going to be the scout for others, such as myself and my husband. I will be eager to hear what you found about these activities. I am most interested in the microlight but the river rafting is also very appealing.
Happy birthday and have a fabulous time!

OnlyMeOirish

I'm going to join the gang and say I have no idea of the answers to your questions but I want to say @have a <b>great</b> time and Happy Birthday to Hubby!

Imelda

mkhonzo

I cannot remember the number of portages and where spcifically they were, suspect there were two.
Since I have only paddled the river four times, I as yet have to identify my favourite run. Each is pretty unique and equally thrilling.

No wetsuite necessary, once you are in the water your focus is on getting out, you won't notice the temps. Guides have a dry bag, but don't take a lot of stuff, you won't need it. You'll dry rapidly once back on the boat &amp; believe me on the way up the gorge you'll either sweat it back to dampness or the sun will dry it out.
Elevator out the gorge???
I have not experienced that in the past, perhaps a new innovation? Otherwise hike out is roughly 20 to thrity minutes, depends on your level of fitness. Oh and number of porterages will be dicated by the water level.

Ntwala: Plenty birds from your private decks and outside bathrooms. The mossies were there when I visited earlier in the year, they seemed more prevelant around the dinning area than elsewhere, but that's probably because I was out fishing most of the time.

Not much game on the islands, the odd hippo and croc, but the Chobe is fifteen minutes by boat &amp; because you're in Namibia, you can get into and out of it earlier and later than the Bots guys, so you'll find that you can head further up stream where there are less boats. Game should be prolific.

Enjoy the birthday, what a celebration!

jiggylou

Thank you all for your inputs and your well wishes. I will definitely write-up my thoughts/advice on these activities at Victoria Falls and anything exciting that comes up at Ntwala Island.

All the best,