Adventure on the river: the Kafue River Recce

In planning a river trip to Zambia, two explorers travelled to the Kafue and followed this sometimes wild, always beautiful river on an expedition-tested mission for The Safari Store. It was a trip that demanded grit, but also the right gear – and the recce presented the perfect opportunity to test the performance of our clothing and luggage in extreme, raw conditions on the back of a boat.

A man. A woman. A yellow inflatable boat. In preparation for an upcoming expedition, the pair followed the branching waterways of the Kafue River through Zambia – navigating past pods of hippos and the calculated gaze of crocodiles through exquisite natural landscapes. With a small motor, SUP paddle, and pair of oars, Steve Adams and Claire Fraser explored the changing waterways along the length of the Kafue River. When off the water, overlanding became the order of the day and, by water and by dust road, the strength of the luggage and the efficacy of MaraTech and BUGTech technical fabrics were put under close scrutiny – from mosquito-ridden riverbanks and tsetse fly country to the inescapable heat of the midday sun.

For the raw experience of the river and its surrounds, the Kafue River Recce was memorable for the places, people, and wildlife discovered along the way. Read Claire’s diary entry here: https://www.thesafaristore.com/en/stories/recce