Zimbabwe

Tourists will again jet around Victoria Falls

02 December 2018 - 00:00 By VUYO NDABA

A decade after the disappearance of two jet boats at Victoria Falls left adventure tourists high and dry, tour operators are hoping to bring back the rush.Leading tour operator Shearwater Adventures and another operator will reintroduce the adventure sport early next year after inquiries from tourists, especially from Europe, Australia and the US.Shearwater spokesman Clement Mukwasi said there had been tourism investment and a new jet boat was being built. Zimbabwe was recently named third-best destination to visit in 2019 on the Lonely Planet website.Rafting tour guide Trymore Ndlovu said people are still in the dark over what happened to the jet boats, which belonged to Shearwater Adventures and Regal Mass Tours respectively.One day in 2008, Shearwater Adventures tour guides awoke to find their expensive boat gone from its mooring.The water level in the Zambezi River had risen by a metre and it is believed the boat was swept downstream or sank to the bottom of the gorge below the waterfall.Regal Mass Tours went out of business after its boat also mysteriously disappeared the following year.There were no casualties in the two incidents, said operators. Shearwater Adventures and another operator have now been granted operating licences, with the top attraction being the rapids at the bottom of the main waterfall...

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