Imvelo are very excited to have been involved with Reinhard Kleindl of Austria and Lukas Irmler of Germany in a slackline project inside Hwange National Park. Slacklining is a practice in balance similar to tightrope walking, using dynamic nylon webbing tensioned between two anchor points. Imvelo hosted the slackline team at Bomni Tented Lodge and assisted them setting up slacklines inside Hwange National Park - photos to follow shortly. Recently, Reinhard and Lukas crossed the 100m high gorge above Victoria Falls on a highline! The venture was by no means and easy task! It took the slackliners several months to convince the local authorities of the project and get all the necessary permits and ensuring the right water level was imperative - “If the water level is too high, the spray rises up to 300 metres and you can’t do anything”, Kleindl explains. “Since water levels vary every year, it was difficult to determine the right point in time that allows us to rig a highline. The small islets on the waterfall side are only accessible by boat for a few weeks each year.” Furthermore Kleindl and Irmler didn’t know how to fix their line on the other side of the gorge until they actually got there. “Fortunately we found a tree within a distance of 91 meters, which enabled us to do a clean highline set-up. We did get permission to put in some temporary bolts, but in our sport – as in other mountain sports – we want to leave no traces behind. Especially since the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority trusted in us.” In the end they were successful and the two slackliners not only enjoyed a million dollar view of the majestic waterfalls, but also the unique sight of a circular rainbow in the spray underneath their highline - We will never forget our time here in Zimbabwe and our African highline, which we named “NyamiNyami” after the Zambezi River God.” Thank you to photographer Jacques Marais for supplying us with fantastic images if this activity.
Posted on: Wed, 12 Nov 2014 05:31:56 +0000
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