Below Victoria Falls, the Zambezi crashes through the Batoka Gorge in a day-long conveyor of grade-five rapids with names like Oblivion and The Washing Machine — widely rated the wildest commercially rafted white water on earth. First-timers are welcome: guides brief hard, safety kayakers shadow every raft, and unscheduled swims are considered part of the syllabus. Low-water season, roughly August to December, serves the biggest rapids. The 200-metre hike out of the gorge afterwards is its own workout.
Featured in Ten adrenaline days out: canyons, bridges and big jumps · Adventure