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GoPro Uganda Video

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 19:09:15 -0500

100% GoPro Uganda 2011 from Craig Rivett on Vimeo.

Da Nile

Fri, 02 Dec 2011 20:11:11 -0500

Last week I was fortunate enough to make the kayaking pilgrimage back to the Nile River. What made this trip different from previous journeys to the Nile was the fact that some of the most spectacular rapids in the world had disappeared less than a week before with the completion of the Bujigali Dam. These missing rapids included, what I had previously called my favourite rapid on the river, Escape Hatch. So by heading up the Nile I was in denial that anything drastic had changed on the river.

I soon discovered that the river had been drastically transformed by the dam with km’s of classic high volume whitewater disappearing for good. This transformation did not, however, deter from the quality of the kayaking. The water level was the highest I have seen it since my first trip there in 2003, this made the remaining rapids soft and scary. This water level also opens up some of the bigger rapids which I need to tackle at some point in the future.

My trip, this time, focused primarily on the hairy lemon. I was heading up with my dad and, despite all my previous trips, I have not spend more than a night on the isolated island next to Nile Special wave. The speed at which life moves is a little slower at the lemon compared to the NRE resort up north. This makes it a great spot for fishing very means of fall into the ‘African way’ of life. All the kayaker friendly resorts on the river are amazing and there is no way to compare them since they offer very different atmospheres in one of the most amazing locations in the world.

As my trip was only a week we were very keen to get onto the river as soon as possible, being one kayak short however forced me to head up the newly completed Buj Dam to see Jamie at kayakthenile.com. The site of the fallen rapids being tainted by wake boarders and open top canoes installed a fear that there was nothing left for me to paddle. As mentioned above, this fear was short lived. We spent the next few days surfing Nile Special and tripping the river from Overtime down to the Hairy Lemon once, and from Kalagala falls down to the Lemon a couple time after.

There were a number of additional things, other than the whitewater, that made this trip amazing. The first aspect was that fact that I was able to get my dad down the river again (he came up with me in 2007). He was very nervous on the water at first, but was able to hold his own in a very short space of time.

GoPro cameras also contributed to the trip by lending my a pair of Hero 2’s to tryout. These mounted cameras were perfect on this wide river as videoing from the bank is painful and often takes serious effort. The feature that most impressed me was the “time lapse” mode which allows one to take a photo every 0.5, 2, 5 ... seconds. I was able to mount the camera on my Fluid Nemesis and get some awesome, very high quality, action photos on the water. The video mode, as always was impressive, and hopefully I’ll have a video churned out in a few days.

To sum up, this trip re-enforced that long standing love I have for the White Nile. The rapids are absolutely spectacular, while being friendly enough to show intermediate paddlers down. The people are very welcoming and helpful and the views are breathtaking. This is a must see kayak destination for all white water kayakers. There is also very exciting news about the next Nile festival, I am not able to share all the exact plans but, as with the previous events, this is a festival you don’t want to miss.

Craig

Introduction to Cape Town living

Fri, 26 Aug 2011 19:10:24 -0400

2011, thus far, has been a year of exciting changes and new adventures. At the beginning of this year I moved to Cape Town to complete my studies and utilise the famous winter rainfall and big ocean swell, which provide some of the best kayaking South Africa has to offer.

After one very promising wet-week in the beginning of winter, the sky cleared and the rivers dried up. I did, however, manage to get onto the water a number of times to paddle two of the Western Cape’s premier rivers. These paddles also gave me the opportunity to paddle my new Fluid Detox on some hard lines.

My first paddle of the season was a solid-level run of the Molenaars River. As usual it was an awesome mission on a very fun river, at a pretty high level. It was the perfect start to the season and it really showed me the benefit of paddling the Detox on slightly higher volume rivers/creeks.

Very soon after the Molenaars run, Adrian Tregoning and I decided to hit the infamous Witte. As it was the beginning of the dry winter, the sun was out, but the water was still high. This made it a perfect opportunity to get some great photos on a river usually plagued by cloudy wet conditions.

Kayaking the Witte is always a stressful as there are so many rapids remembering the lines becomes a problem. Having many lines to remember becomes so much worse when there are many hidden siphons on every rapid which could very easily provoke horrendous consequences.

The paddle turned out to be another “tough day in Africa” with some awesome white-water and few surprises on the way.

During the descent, the Fluid Detox quickly became one of my favourite kayaks ever. Having pronounced rails gives you so much control when wanting to change lines down a rapid or carve effortlessly across the current into places that one generally struggles to get to.

Looking outside at the moment I can see rain clouds so hopefully this mid winter drought is coming to an end and I will be able to get my Detox wet again soon.

Craig

Rain Chasers: Finding something new (part II)

Fri, 08 Oct 2010 11:46:57 -0400

The Hawespruit

With the Transkei experiencing the highest river flows of the year, and after a successful descent of the Upper Upper Tsitsa we piled into a car and headed North into the mountains. AD had heard that one of the rivers that make up the source of the Tsitsa had big potential and according to local fly fishermen there is a stretch known as the waterfall section.

We would be staying on a farm owned by Diedre and Abraham, friends of AD’s, who had a quaint little cottage for us to stay in. The stretch of river that we would be running ran right through their property and they provided us with bird-eye-view photographs of the gorge. If the photos were anything to go by this would be a committing run with a number of must run drops. How technical and difficult these drops were, remained to be seen firsthand by us.

The landscape was not too different from that of Underberg and the walk into the gorge reminded us of Thrombi, with rolling hills, long grass and a gorgeous blue river snaking through a near vertical gorge.

As can be expected with rivers so high up, the water was chilly especially for a South African summer; but it was crystal clear and tasted better than any mineral water you could buy.

It didn’t take long for the action to start, and with any first descent the going was slow. Scouting was necessary for nearly every horizon line we got to. This was quite nerve wracking as the river was narrow and there were few eddies to catch. However, we soon learnt that the first few drops were small and straight forward, a perfect place for an intermediate paddler to practice their boof strokes.

After about seven of these drops in quick succession the river narrowed and disappeared over a much higher ledge than we had been running. We scrambled along a very steep gorge face and peered over the ledge. The drop was clean and about 8m high.

The problem here is that there is no way to walk around the waterfall and therefore you are committed to run it once you pass the third smaller drop of the gorge. Nevertheless, after AD fired up the first descent it became obvious that this drop is undemanding for any competent paddler who has some waterfall experience.

For those with less experience the first kilometre of the Hawespruit is a perfect proving ground, with seven decent drops that end in a fun waterfall. So no matter your level of experience this section is great fun and I can see myself coming back year after year because there is no other river like it in the country. If one chooses they can take out just below the waterfall’s pool.

Soon after this nifty little section the river character changes dramatically, there are far more boulders to contend with, no longer straight forward ledges. This makes for a more intense run and best left for competent paddlers that are confident with continuous, technical whitewater. For those of you that are familiar with the Witte river in the Western Cape and the Crocodile gorge in the Lowveld, I would say the lower half of the Hawespruit would fit somewhere in between. Unfortunately for us the levels were lower than we’d have liked, with a lot of bump and scrape. But we all soon came to agreement that if it had been too much higher it would have been a much more stressful descent. Especially seeing as I managed to get pinned in what seemed like a straightforward rapid. Luckily for me I was pinned upright with my shoulders above the water, where all I could do was wait for Craig and AD to come to my aid and dislodge me.

So, we now have good reason to come back when flows are higher and we know what to expect from the gorge. The take out is at a confluence with the Bishop’s river where it becomes the official beginning of the Tsitsa. The walk out is similar to most gorge runs in South Africa, steep and hot. Thankfully, Diedre met us half way down with her 4x4. The drive out was an experience in itself, with the car following a small track with a sheer drop down the side. More than once I thought we might tumble back down into the gorge. We survived the ascent and after enjoying some very well preserved Bushman paintings we headed home.

Drinks and a fire were waiting for us and we all agreed that this little run has the potential to be very popular among South African kayakers.

Big thank you’s must be said to Diedre and Abraham for hosting as, and of course to AD and Angela for always welcoming us into their home and for making this mission possible.

To view more photos from the Hawespruit Click Here or go to

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=3592&id=309100091&l=564cad8781

received another text telling me that

Rain Chasers: Finding Something New (Part 1)

Sun, 12 Sep 2010 17:12:31 -0400

The Upper Upper Tsitsa

There are ample rivers in the Transkei region of South Africa, and due to the remote nature of the area there are still numerous runs to discover. During aparticularly wet weekend in February we did just that.

On the Tuesday prior to our trip I received a text from our local Transkei paddling buddy, AD Badenhorst, saying that the rivers were pumping and that allour usual runs were “a go”. However, by Thursday I received another text telling me that there were full on floods and that our playboats might be theonly option.

Come Friday we arrived to a sodden Falls Backpackers and were greeted by a roar from the Tsitsa river. Unfortunately, the rain had stopped and the Pot river had dropped so much that the good play waves were no good..

With this in mind we began to plan the weekend. AD had business to attend to andthus couldn’t join us on the first day. Craig and I decided to attempt the stretch of the Tsitsa between the main road and the back packers on day one. The next day we all planned to drive an hour and half north because AD had heard whispers of a stunning creek in the mountains untouched by paddlers. With the plan settled Craig and I suited up for our attempt at the Upper Upper Tsitsa.

Wewere warned that there might be a bit of flatwater to start. “A bit offlatwater” is the understatement of the century; after an hour and half of slugging through droning water we began to think that there were no rapids onthis stretch at all. Until finally we saw a horizon line and some mist. Whatmet us were two drops separated by an island, below this was a long and fairly technical rapid. The left side was a large pourover and the right a clean 6/7mdrop. What characterised this piece of whitewater was all the wood, all the eddies were riddled with logs and branches and there were a few critical spotsin the rapid jammed up tight with trees. Not a pleasant site for any paddler.We decided on the right channel, with the 6/7m drop.

Itwas straightforward with a clear line on the left. After the long rapid below this the water flattens out again until you round a bend and hear an almightyroar on the right hand side of the river. We’d reached an old weir; it blocked the flow of the river on the left which created a shoot on the right. The entire flow of the river goes throughthis shoot which is only about 2m wide, the river spills over the sidescreating a “U” shape. There appeared to be a line through the middle but wedecided to leave this for another day as it was one of the most powerful waterfeatures I’d seen and quite a small margin for error. The dangers here include being pinned in a pothole which beset the rapid or being driven into an undercut on river right. We decided to come in from the left and right boof just infront of the main shoot. The ride was fast for both of us but good.

From this point on the river gets interesting, with a lot of gradient and continuousledge style rapids. Oh, and of course a lot of wood. After the main section of rapids comes another epic stretch of flatwater, one which neither of us want to repeat again. So if you’re in the area and want hit up the Upper Upper Tsitsa maybe try to find a put in closer to the waterfall and a takeout closer to theend of the rapid stretch. However, that is easier said than done, as this is the Transkei and roads are few and far between. But a decent 4X4 should do the trick.

Come back soon to read about our second First Descent of the weekend, one which many South African paddlers want read and learn about.

Scotty

VIbram Five Fingers Review

Fri, 02 Jul 2010 12:05:42 -0400

One of the most important pieces of equipment in any kayaker’s kit bag is a good pair of reliable water shoes as walking over rocks or slippery ground is inevitable. More importantly if anything happens to turn critical, one needs to be able to get out of a kayak quickly and move rapidlyto the person in trouble without any fear of slipping or being hindered by poor shoes.

Recently Scotty and I were given a pair of Vibram Five Finger Flows to test to see how “toe” shoes can perform on a river. This is an initial review of the shoes after a couple paddles.

Once you get used to having your toes separate from eachother the shoes are remarkably comfortable. There are two straps on the shoes, one that goes over the top and the other which tightens behind the heel. Whenthey are fitted the shoes mould around forming an extension of one’s foot. I admit that when you put them on for the first time they do feel slightly weird,but after a while you forget that you have anything on.

As far as grip is concerned, the shoes have minute slits inthe sole that make the grasping onto the ground extensive. Since the soles arethin and flexible they shape around the rocks and stones allowing one to getthe most friction possible while still protecting your feet from thorns, glassor almost anything else you can throw at your feet.

I used my flows on the Witte, the Molenaars as well as for oceanpaddles and my conclusion is that they are the most efficient shoes I have everused as far as grip on wet terrain is concerned. They are very fast drying andbeing thin it makes it possible to wear them in even the smallest, tightly outfitted play boats. The only issue I have with the shoes is that my toes got cold being separate from each other.

Apart from getting a pair of Flows I also received a pair of Sprints that are made for everyday use and for road running. I’ve heard of people doing the recent Iron man completions in them. That alone is proof of their durability. Personally my calves felt on fire from running on the balls of my feet, but it is something that I can see myself getting used to.

When you run in normal shoes the extensive sole makes one land primarily on ones heel. This jarring force gets absorbed in the joints likeones knees, ankles and hips. This leads to injuries in the long run (no pun intended). I hope that with time I will be able to run as comfortably in Five fingers as I do in normal shoes.

The last aspect of the shoes is their look. As they are very“different” one does get a hand full of funny looks for wearing them and people do tend to ask you lots of questions about them. I have been stopped inshopping centers and petrol stations by inquisitive observers. This has subsequently led to me been “banned” from wearing them in public when mygirlfriend (or family) is present.

When I test the shoes further I will add to this review in the future

If anyone has any questions of comments they can contact me by email on craig@lifebywater.com .

Good Lines

Craig

Introduction to the Cape

Mon, 14 Jun 2010 14:26:42 -0400

Compared to the rest of South Africa paddling in the cape often introduces one additional aspect that is a product of a winter rainy season, cold. Not Canada cold, but South Africa cold. Being a warm water paddler, the idea of putting on in single digit temperature readings scares me as I generally don’t come that prepared. So wanting to catch the water Scotty and I met up with Fluid paddler, Adrian Tregoning. He decided that my introductory cape paddle (since the Palmiet in 07) should be the Witte.

There was in fact too much rain so day one dictated that we put on the Molenaars first. The Molenaars shares a very similar catchment area to the Witte, but the water levels can vary dramatically. The Witte was a little too high for a comfortable paddle, while the Molenaars was just a little too low to make it really enjoyable. So it provided a safe opportunity to test a new camera mounting I made for my WRSI Pinch.

Here are some photos from the two paddles we did of the Molenaars:

The next morning we put on the more challenging Witte River with an awesome group of cape paddlers. The water was chilly and slightly low. It was a serious introduction to Cape Town creeking with no scouting allowed on a very continuous section of river. These photo were taken by Adrian Tregoning. (check out his site)

Good Lines

Craig

Rain Chasers Video

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 18:01:14 -0400

Here is the video to go with the Rain Chasers Articles.

If you missed them click here and here.

Rain Chasers - South Africa from Craig Rivett on Vimeo.

Video by Scott Reinders

Rain Chasers 2010 (Part II)

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 21:48:56 -0500

It is safe to say that paddling in Africa is different to most parts of the world. It has its own unique challenges and graces. For instance, many paddleable rivers are remote where the nearest hospital is, at best, a 4 hour drive away; and at worst medical help is not accessible at all because the nearest road is a 4 hour drive away where walking is the only option. That said, I do not own a heavy duty drytop due to the largely warm nature of the rivers (although at times I wish I did thanks to the Ash and Cape rivers). Yet, even the Cape Rivers are like hot tubs when compared to the snowmelt I experienced in Canada.

So it seems there is a flipside to every coin; and I am happy to be on the remote, warm water side of it. Of course this side of the coin also relies entirely on rain to fill the rivers which can be severely frustrating at times. Not this time, however. After having a spectacular trip to the Transkei and spending a wonderful Christmas surfing the warm waters of the North Coast, I found myself in land Natal. One of the most famous regions for its whitewater (if you have seen Wicked Liquid II or Wet House you’ll know what I mean).

I met up with long time paddling friend and well known South African kayaker, Luke Longridge on the banks of the Umzimkulu river just above the famous Thrombosis Gorge. Probably the most well known technical whitewater stretch in SA, Thrombi is where paddlers come to cut their teeth (so to speak), to gauge whether they are ready for class IV – V whitewater. But even for the seasoned boater this stretch of river is fantastic, it boasts a number of technical rapids before becoming continuous read & run and finally ending with an impressive 9m/30ft waterfall. Both being familiar with the run Luke and I made good time down the gorge, and we were often reminded that no matter how accustomed one is to this stretch it can still dish out a beating or two. Even the waterfall - the drop I have run most out of any other in my paddling career - kept us humble: I nearly copped a beating at the base and Luke was a bit too close to the undercut for comfort. Nevertheless, we both came out fine and all that was left to do was to make the climb out of the gorge after which it is named. After the Pot gorge however, Thrombi wasn’t too bad.

Luke had been spending the past week teaching his friend and house mate, Kate Comrie, how to kayak. Within the week she had managed her first few waterfalls as well as an overnighter on the Deepdale stretch of the Umkomaas. Kate’s family were kind enough to put us up for the night after our run of Thrombi, which was a godsend because it rained all night and camping would have been a nightmare.

After a very comfortable night, Luke and I rose early to make the 40min drive to the put-in of the Deepdale section. Our mission this time was not the overnight run, but to Park n’ Huck the 15m/50’ falls that mark the put in. The waterfall is split by an island in the middle of the river, essentially creating two very different waterfalls. The left side is slightly lower with more volume. While the levels were ideal for the run it was just a little low for this side of the waterfall. So the higher, more technically demanding drop, was left open to us.

I was thankful to have Luke with me as he is one of the few who has run the drop before at a lower level. He knew the technical lead-in to the falls which is the worry when tackling this drop. After a ferry to the other side and setting up safety and the camera’s Luke was ready to go. I noted the line he took, eddy next to the island, left of a shelf, right of the first hole, and clip the right of the second before lining up the lip right behind it. He went over the lip in the right spot and stuck a great line all the way to the bottom.

Getting into my boat I found myself unusually nervous, maybe because of my last experience on a drop of a similar size. Nevertheless, once I was in the current and heading for the eddy all doubts were banished; which is a good thing because once you reach the eddy you are at a point of no return. After concentrating so hard on the line I almost forgot that I had a 50’/15m drop waiting, so it was a bit of a shock to reach the lip and I quickly had to shift my thoughts on the coming freefall. The landing was much softer than the 50’er on the Inxu, something I was incredibly thankful for. I rolled up with the same idiot grin I always get after sticking a big drop.

After the short hike back up to the cars, Luke and I parted ways. He was heading back to Joburg where the Vaal river would soon be flooding; I would join him for this but not before I headed back to AD and Angela’s place in the Transkei, the Falls Backpackers, for some more creeking.

The wet season in South Africa really is a kayaker’s paradise if you’re lucky enough to be around to experience it.

Rain Chasers 2010 (Part 1)

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 16:30:33 -0500

If you had to ask me where I’d rather go – the White Nile in Uganda or South Africa – the answer would be seemingly apparent. So you could understand my frustration when I learnt I would have to postpone my trip to the Nile. This left me with little choice but to hit up my local runs. Little did I know at the time that this would prove to be one of the best paddling months I’d have since I started paddling over nine years ago

In South Africa all our rivers are rainfall dependent and being largely a semi-arid country this means there is no guarantee that our runs will be flowing even if it is the wet season. This often makes me jealous of you folk up north with your snowmelt. However, not this time. The rains had arrived early and, boy, did they arrive. For the first time in ages us South African kayakers were spoilt for choice – the Lowveld was full, Swaziland was having its best flows in recent memory and Natal hadn’t seen the sun for the better part of a month. So, while the rest of the country was wallowing in misery from the bad weather, us paddlers were facing a wonderful dilemma of where to paddle.

After a few phone calls I heard from my friend Adriaan “AD” Badenhorst that the rivers in the Transkei were flowing. This sorted my decision instantly because the rivers rise and drop very quickly in this region and the whitewater (in my opinion and in many others) is the best the country has to offer. Thus, within 24 hours I was packed up and on the road for a 10 hour drive to AD and, his wife, Angela’s pad, The Falls Backpackers near Maclear.

Arriving there I met up with fellow Fluid paddler and LifeByWater team member - Craig Rivett. After a warm greeting from AD, Angela, newborn Nika, Billy (the goat) and an assortment of dogs we settled into our home for the next week or so. The Falls Backpackers is a place I can only describe as nirvana; walking into the old farm house you are greeted with an assortment kayaking prints up on the wall, depicting all the great spots in the area. Something that really wets your appetite for a bit of paddling, especially seeing as the Tsitsa river and the first class V run is right on the doorstep of the backpackers, right below the spectacular Upper Tsitsa Falls. After a hard day’s paddle you are greeted by a roaring fire and everyone is eager to hear about the day’s war stories; and at times there are plenty to tell. While waiting for the rivers to rise or for those who don’t paddle there is plenty to do; be it hiking, swimming, mountain biking, bouldering – the list can go on and on. In short it is the perfect place to unwind.

While there we ran the three major runs in the area – namely; the Pot river, the Upper Tsitsa and, the now famous, Inxu river.

The Pot

The Pot is one of those rivers that can be downright scary, even for the experienced creeker. The higher the river the more terrifying it becomes. With many sticky spots, surprises and lots of wood, the Pot is not a run to be taken lightly. At the same time, for those that can handle it, it is a real gem and possibly my favourite paddleable stretch in the country. It starts off as a typical pool-drop section but a third of the way down is the Mooi river confluence and the nature of the river changes, becoming very continuous and technical; not to mention the volume can sometimes double. This makes the Pot a real big volume run when there is a lot of rain. For the three of us paddling, the day was fairly uneventful, with no beatings which have characterized our past runs of the same river. Maybe we’re getting to know it better. It was a good start for the trip. AD even managed to arrange a few porters to carry our boats for the takeout, which is one of the worst walk’s a paddler can do at the end of a full day of paddling. So much so that one of the porters flatout refused the job once he got down the gorge to the river, and who could blame him really.

Inxu first attempt

The Inxu is one of those rivers which Craig and I had been keen to run from the first moment its first descent article reached the pages of the Fluid kayaks website. The last time we were in the area the river was too high for us to paddle it, much to our disappointment. With two massive waterfalls, a must run gorge and a host of fantastic rapids; the Inxu is a favourite piece of whitewater in the country for the few that have run it. Despite this the logistics for a day on the Inxu takes some careful planning, as both the put in and take out are fairly remote and difficult to find. This we found out the hard way by underestimating the time we’d need to reach the take out by car and by losing a paddle from out the back of our truck. The 14:00 hour rang and we were still not on the river, forcing us to abandon our much anticipated run of the Inxu for the second time. With no rain in the foreseeable future we had to surrender to the fact that we might not be able to paddle the Inxu during this trip. My mood in the car on the way back to the Falls Backpackers was less than happy.

Upper Tsitsa

We awoke the next morning to a swollen Tsitsa river. With the put in right in front of the house and the take out only about 3km away it was a very relaxed morning getting our act together; however once on the water it was anything but relaxed. While it is a short section with easy access from the backpackers this stretch is one of the more demanding runs around, having claimed more than its fair share of shoulder dislocations and bad swims, even though people have only been running it (and not that often I might add) for the last couple of years or so. The Upper Tsitsa is peppered with siphons and undercuts from the first rapid right below the big waterfall right up until the takeout, scouting is difficult and has to be done largely from the boat and the second you relax will be the second you see your arse. Nevertheless, if you are careful and keep your wits about you (or have AD along to show you the lines down) the Upper Tsitsa is truly gratifying. By the time you reach the take out your heart rate will still be racing making the steep walk out rather easy - well almost. With home being just around the corner, we opened the door to a wonderful fire and lunch waiting on the table, which just confirmed why I love this place so much.

The Inxu River (finally)

Our 5^th day saw us wake early, we did the usual – check the river levels, play with the goat and tuck into a bit of food. While sipping on coffee we made the decision, the Inxu may well be very low but it would be worth a try. Imagine our surprise to find the river at a perfect flow at the put in. Like little kids at Christmas we hurried our gear on, had a lame photo and got on the water. It was only Craig and I as AD had some admin to do for the day, but he did agree to run shuttle for us at the takeout. Needless to say he was extremely jealous and would be even more so by the end of the day.

The river starts off easy and gradually gets more difficult as the gradient picks up and the gorges get deeper and more boxed in. The rapids are all runnable, difficult and fun; albeit a few are a bit pushy but not as demanding as the Pot or Upper Tsitsa. After about 6km we rounded a bend and were faced with a river wide horizon line and misty spray. We’d reached the 15m/50ft drop that has come to characterize this stretch. Upon putting on the river Craig and I thought it more than likely that we’d portage it, seeing as there were only two of us. However, one look at the drop and we both knew we could not let the opportunity pass.

Now, a few things about this drop: Looking at pictures the lead in appears straight forward and friendly (and it is). The issue comes in at the base where a monstrous boil rises and falls, making the landing incredibly hard. Of the three successful runs prior to us only one of those ended without incident (quite rightly it was AD). This trip would continue this trend.

Craig hit it up first; while getting into his boat the concentration was plain to see on his face and he soon peeled out into the current. His entry was perfect and he tucked early, I could hear the smack of his boat as it crashed into the boil at the bottom and disappeared. He popped up a few metres down stream and rolled up with a fist pump and a grin on his face that we couldn’t wipe off for days.

My turn started off much the same as his, stripping my mind of doubt as I peeled into the moving current. Coming over the lip one gets a proper perspective just how high something like that really is and I even had time for a few thoughts before smashing into the bottom. I had pitch-pulled slightly to the side and my paddle caught the water, smashing into my face and getting ripped from my hands. Happy to be conscious, I soon realized that I was being beaten behind the curtain and could do nothing but hang on. After a very long 10 second thrashing it took me three attempts to get my hand roll and I surfaced with a busted nose, bruised ribs, a sprained hand and the same idiot grin that Craig had.

In short the drop looks straightforward but there is something very menacing about it which I urge you to bear in mind if you do run the Inxu. The weird thing is, is that the waterfall was only the half way point. Downstream lay more technical rapids and the 13m/35ft waterfall. I chose to give this one a miss in aid of my battered body and left it to Craig to style. And style the drop he did with a flawless line down the centre.

After a few more days of relaxing at the Backpackers the rivers were down and it was time for us to head off in different directions for Christmas. Nonetheless, I returned to the Falls Backpackers twice more in the following month chasing rain; as well as returning to Natal, a favourite stomping ground for us. More on that later…

From us at LifeByWater.com we shout out a massive thank you to AD and Angela for their awesome hospitality. You guys really do have a spectacular home and we are very glad to call you our friends.

We wish them all the best and a hearty congratulations on the birth of little Nika and we cannot wait to see what is going to happen to the place with the allocation of the grant from the EU.

Much love,

Scotty R