Kayak Session Magazine — Fall 2017

EXPEDITION

After some really fun pool-drop style whitewater, we were stopped in our

tracks by a 20-meter waterfall/slide that dropped into a deep gorge. With

the sun setting fast, we decided to call it a day and camp at the tree

line. Lying in my hammock that night I wondered what the river had in

store for us the next day. We knew that the waterfall was only two and half

kilometers away from the takeout, but that the section that lay downstream

was completely boxed in, and was the steepest part of the river.

Morning came. Honza and I ran the waterfall while David and Michal

abseiled down the side. Unbeknownst to us that would be the last thing

we would paddle on that river. From there on, the character of the river

changed completely. Now, there were massive boulders everywhere,

making scouting almost impossible. Walking around them meant climbing

over, and squeezing under and in-between. With our loaded boats, we

only managed to travel a distance of one kilometer by the day’s end.

We set up camp and got a massive fire going to lift our spirits, and spent the

evening discussing our options. The next morning we were up and moving

at 6 am, determined to make it to the takeout that day, driven in part by

the fact that we had only two bars of French nougat left. After about an

hour and half, it became clear that the riverbank was impassable and the

only way out would be to climb up over the gorge.

Climbing with kayaks loaded with overnight gear is no joke, but in a strange

way it is also fun. The climb started off steep, with almost vertical walls.

Using Z-drags made it easier, but slow. The terrain gradually changed into

thick jungle as we got higher, making it possible to carry the kayaks on our

shoulders, grabbing onto whatever vegetation we could find for support

and pulling ourselves forward and up. Though a bit scary and dodgy at

times, it was much faster. Even so, the climb took us the better half of the day.

At the top of the gorge we were in between two rivers: the Haroni and a

tributary. On the far side of the tributary we saw a well-used trail that would

be our back up option, but plan A was to try and paddle the tributary

out. We started the steep descent down into the tributary, our progress slow

in the thick, wet jungle. After a 12-meter abseil we made it to the river. The

“WE ALL NOTICED WHILE

PUTTING ON THAT THE RIVER

HAD A LOT OF WATER. WE

DIDN’T KNOW IF THIS WAS

A GOOD OR BAD THING ,

BUT WE WERE ALL SMILES

IN ANTICIPATION OF THE

UNKNOWN.”

Taking in the

beauty of the

sunset over the

Umkomaas Valley

in South Africa.