A Thousand Feet of Hand Over Fist

In Botswana at Chobe game lodge
on the Zambezi river  
Across the River a thin slice of Namibia    
The poachers cross at nite to hunt 
and the army hunts them
-	shoot to kill  
 
Got to Joburg and had my luggage stolen
as expected 
(Still got your glasses Steve)  
Zimbabwe is on the verge of civil war 
so we have the country to ourselves as tourists    
Ghaddafi (Libya) was in the camp next to us
with most of the Zambian army  
  
White watered the Zambezi River    
Think of Victoria Falls as one mile wide
the river below narrowing to 60 feet
thru a thousand foot vertical gorge
Boiling water three hundred feet deep and 60 feet wide!  
Hydraulics like you have never believed existed    
Flipped the raft with 6 paddlers (no guide) twice    
Whirlpools that could suck down a train    
You get sucked and think it over    
Full run 7 hours    
At the end up the gorge, vertical 
a thousand feet of hand over fist  
 
Took a canoe on the calmer Z in the north
Me, Sharon and a Guide with a 458 canon
Got out to photo an Elephant and it charged
Guide put gun up and elephant never stopped    
He was going to shoot at 10 feet 
-	it got to 12    
He shot 3 last year 
and a cape buffalo that stalked him for miles    
The animals are extremely dangerous and aggressive    
Will kill you if they see you    
We had to ditch the canoe 3 miles from camp cause of high chop   
Hiked back via bush,
gun up and loaded    
Capes will kill you and they're all over    
Popped a stick through my sandal into my foot 
lot of antibiotics, seems to be getting better   
At night crocks and hippos wander inside camp
you got to watch it or not wander around  

Trip Report by J Klonoski.
(Punctuated by the Po'try Posse)