Kayak Session Magazine — Fall 2017

EXPEDITION

From here the river character changed, transitioning to some nice,

continuous boulder garden stretches. About two kilometers after the

big powerful slide we walked around another five-meter drop. After this

portage, the river started to slowly ease off, becoming more pool-drop

until the take-out bridge. While we would have loved to stay, run the upper

section, do more laps on this awesome river and get to know the lines,

levels were already high and more rain was predicted, so we made our

way down the escarpment to the Honda Valley to meet up with local

kayaker Chris from Far and Wide Zimbabwe instead.

The Honda Valley is an amazing place, with lush tropical jungle and clear

views of the Inyanga Mountains. It was a great place to end our trip. We

spent our last two days kayaking on the Nyamingura and the Pungwe

rivers. The Nyamingura is a great little river with non-stop, smooth granite

boulders completely canopied in by jungle. Even at lower flows, it was

fun. The Pungwe is the biggest river in this particular valley. A steep and

powerful big boulder run, you can break it up into three sections, or do the

whole run from top to bottom if you are up for a long day on the water. If

not, the Pungwe is also possible to do as an overnighter.

The Eastern Highlands of Zimbabwe is must for any kayaker who loves to

travel off the beaten track. A two-week trip is plenty of time to paddle

the Zambezi and still get a taste of what the Eastern Highlands has to

offer. Once you visit, you will be sure to want to return, drawn back by the

same world class runs, as well as the new rivers waiting to be discovered.

Beyond the paddling, the Eastern Highlands is a place where you will learn

to appreciate the smaller things in life and come to realize what really

matters.

Thank You VPG.no and Soul Kayaks for the support. If you want more info

and/or want to kayak Southern Africa, conact kayasouthafrica1@gmail.

com or visit our website: http://kayaksouthafrica.com. dewetmichau@

yahoo.co.uk

“TRAVELING IN ZIM IS A GOOD

REMINDER THAT MOST OF

THE DAY-TO-DAY “PROBLEMS”

I FACE IN MY LIFE ARE

MORE PRIVILEGES THAN

PROBLEMS.”

Dewet Michau

checking out the

local produce

in one of the

markets.

Walking into the

Gairezi River.