If you’re thinking about taking on an extreme challenge for Rowcroft, my advice would be to do it.

I’ve just got back from one of the most amazing experiences of my life; it has changed the way I look at things – and I also ache a lot!

Our journey to Zambia was a long one via Nairobi and we were disappointed to arrive to find ourselves in the middle of a torrential downpour – we had brought the first rains of the season a month early!

What we didn’t realise at this point was this was a sign of some unseasonal weather which was going to make our challenge even tougher.

Our first day on the river started in narrow, flat-bottomed canoes known as a makoros; you need good balance as you paddle standing up rather like a gondola.

As the makoro is vulnerable to attack from hippos, we switched to our inflatable kayaks by mid-morning and these would be our vehicles until our final day.

We had long days on the river, seven hours being typical, with a short break for lunch. The struggle of paddling nonstop each day was made easier by the spectacular views of the river and wildlife.

We passed through both the Zambian and Zimbabwean national parks and saw all sort of animals, including elephants, giraffe, waterbuck, an enormous crocodile (our guide said it had eaten someone – not sure if that’s true!), and a wide variety of birds, including vultures.

The climax of the challenge was at Victoria Falls, known locally as The Smoke That Thunders.

Swimming to the edge of the waterfall and feeling the full force of the Zambezi flowing past me, crashing down more than 100 metres was absolutely amazing.

One of my most memorable moments was meeting an angry, isolated hippo on a narrow section of river.

Our guide ordered us to paddle rapidly to the bank and get out; by this time he was mock-charging and making quite a statement! We saw hundreds of hippos on our journey; thankfully we only had a couple of close encounters like this one.

Apart from hippos, the other thing we had to be wary of was crocodiles, particularly at night near the water’s edge.

We shone a high-powered torch into the water at night and could see the reflection coming from the crocodile’s eyes. We didn’t spend a lot of time near the edge after that. Generally we felt very safe and we had an armed wildlife officer with us throughout the trip.

Now I’m back I’m missing Africa already; it seems strange going back to normal life.

The discipline and hard work of training and preparation for a trip like this were totally worth it, and having a focus and targets for fundraising were great motivation.

Rowcroft’s fundraising team were incredibly supportive. Just before I went the team made a farewell video and posted it to YouTube, I watched it just before I left for the airport and it put a smile on my face.

So far I’ve raised almost £3,000 for the hospice, and if you’d like to help boost this total, please visit my JustGiving page www.justgiving.com/riverzam bezi or text BEZI50 £5 to 70070 to donate £5.

If reading about my experience has inspired you to take on a challenge for Rowcroft, call Hayley Norrish on 01803 210835.