Watch: Go Easy On The Zambezi Starring Harry Bryant, Michael February, And Dylan Graves

There’s an old hory cliche about surfers, that there’s no limit to the length they’re willing to go in search of the perfect wave. But what does that even mean: The Perfect Wave? 

Like other perhaps more mature obsessions, there are niche fetishes.

For some surfers, perfection’s a size thing: the bigger the better. For some, it’s length. The longer the more impressive. For others, it’s shape: the Aristotelian aesthetic dream. 

The average surfer’s sweet spot lands somewhere between the later two: voluptuously shapely, and near-exhaustingly long. 

And like all romantic pursuits, much of the allure lies in the wave’s virgin beauty—no crowds, thank you very much—as well as the effort the chase requires thrill and adventure of the hunt. 

So what if we told you that there was dreamy, three-foot wave that broke for hours—days, even—deep in the African continent, which only appeared suddenly twice a year? And what if we regretfully inform you that this might be the very last time it appeared? That a massive dam project might bury the whole miracle a hundred meters underwater as early as next year?

Welcome to the Zambezi River. Don’t forget to pack your river quiver!

For more on this project, peep the digital zine here!