South African Country Life – September 2019

timekeeperandstarter,JohnOliverofthe
KwaZulu-NatalCanoeUnion.Hehasbeen
wieldingtheracestopwatchandmegaphone
withaplombsince1986.
Oncereleased,thecanoeistsheaveoffinto
therisingsun,headingforthedamwallonthe
otherside,paddleschurning,waterdroplets
flying.Thefirsthazardtheytackleafter
portagingalongsidethedamwallis thehigh
weirandchutenicknamedDoubleTroubleon
NormanCollett’sfarmGrassridge,afterwhich
thehistoricdamwasnamed.Thechuteswere
specificallybuiltto makethingssafer– and
morefun– forpaddlers.
OntoAdamsfontein,TedandIngridCollett,
partofthewidespreadCollettclan,farm.Here
theFishRiver’sentirevigorousflownarrows
to a deep,winding,rockychannel,bridgedby
a neatroadwaycalledKeith’sFlyover,builtby
theDepartmentofWaterAffairsandnamed
forTedandNorman’sfather.
Thisis oneof therace’smoreformidable
rapids.Rareis thepaddlerwhodoesnotgo
throughtheserapidsbackto front,upside
downor both.It’sa perfectvantagepointfor
spectators,withplentyof picnicspots,alloffering
spectacularviewsof daredevilryandskill.
Fromthere,thewatermadnessabates
somewhatuntilSoutpansdriftrapid,where
SinclairandMaryCollettfarm.Hereagain,
chuteshavebeenbuiltspecificallyforpaddlers.
Butevenif you’renotona boat,thispartof
theriverclaimsallkindsofvictims,including
severalofSinclair’sfarmingvehicles.
AfterSoutpans,it’sa comparativelyeasy
dashto DayOne’sfinishlineat Knutsford,
wherefarmers’wivesfeedthepaddlersboerie

rollsanda mysterioussoupthathasallthe

secondsclamouringfortherecipe.(Thesecret?

Thelocalwomenallmakepartofthesoup

in theirownkitchen.Everyone’ssoupis then

addedtogetherin a hugetureen.It’sdelicious.)

Thefarmers(mostlydescendedfromthe

1820 BritishSettlerCollettclan)alongthe

82 kilometresoftheriverracearecriticalto its

success.TheirHuckleberryFinnchildhoods

havecementeda relationshipwiththeriverthat

compensatesfortheannoyanceofhundredsof

citypeopletraversingtheirproperty.

Fortherace,theyhaveto movetheirstock

outtheway,smoothroadsthroughtheirfarms,

leavegatesopen,resignthemselvesto thedust

thatcoatstheKaroobossiestheirsheepeat,

makevastamountsoffoodandaccommodate

paddlers.Everyyear,shedsandbackyard

cottagesaredeployedforout-of-townguests.

Inexchange,theyexacta noblekindoftoll,

collectingmoneyfrompaddlersviaboerieand

breakfastrolls,potjies,koeksisters,spitbraais,

anda wholebunchofwell-lovedritualsand

celebrations.Muchofthemoneygoesto

Cradockcharities.

RoyCopemanpuckishlystarteda new

traditiona fewyearsbackwhenheobtained

a stuffedcrocodilefroma localtaxidermist

andplacedit ona riverbank.It causeda ripple

ofamazementandconsternationamongthe

paddlers.Nowthere’sa competitioncalled

SpottheCroc.Paddlerspayto enterandcan

wina boatandvariousotherprizes.Onceagain,

Cradock’scharitiesbenefitfromthefunds.The

croc(nicknamedCeciliaaftertaxidermistCecil

Henning)spendstherestoftheyeargathering

ABOVE: Every year there is a fancy dress theme. In 2018, it was Cowboys and Indians. This year, it ‘s Rugby

World Cup. BELOW LEFT: Rare is the paddler who doesn’t take a swim at Keith’s Flyover. BELOW RIGHT: There

are plenty of lifesavers at the Cradock Weir, and for good reason.

CANOEING ◗ FISH RIVER