The wetlands are best traversed by an airboat, and guides warn tourists that anything dropped into the murk is gone for good.

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Dave Olson, owner of Kayak Chicago, which was cited, said the storm arrived about an hour earlier than forecast and that the guides pushed tourists to the closest available dock as soon as it hit.

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As Zimbabwe's economy went into free fall and political instability made it a no-go zone for most tourists, its safari guides were also forced to seek work abroad, mainly in Tanzania, Kenya, South Africa and Botswana.

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Kenneth Gesalva, one of the injured mountain guides who accompanied the killed German tourists, told television station ANC that he and two other guides saw large rocks roll over at least one of the five foreigners in their hiking party.

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Last Wednesday, the tourists said, during a lull in the fighting and helped by their local guides, they walked through the front lines, carrying one bag each, to the Serena, a bit more than four miles away.

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