Whiskey Creek Cabin and the Keurbooms River Canoe Trail

 I usually use weekends to catch up - on work, emails, admin and home tasks. I've neglected a whole lot of To Do list items because I've spent the last three weekends out-and-about. First there was volunteering at the MUT event, then an overnight paddle on the Keurbooms River and this past weekend I went on a group hike, my first group hike attendance, I think, since 1999! I'll post about the hike in my next post. This one will be about Keurbooms.

Whiskey Creek Cabin is an overnight hut on the Keurbooms River near Plettenberg Bay. It is managed and maintained by CapeNature. The hut can only be accessed by kayak so the booking includes paddling up the Keurbooms River - a journey of seven, pleasant kilometres. Kayaks are provided by CapeNature and for me it was the first time paddling a Legend Big Horn three-seater kayak*. While not quite one of my Vagabond kayaks, it suits the purpose and can carry a lot of load.

* Canoes are paddled with a single blade paddle (they're often too wide to be paddled with a double-blade paddle). Kayaks are paddled using a double-blade paddle. We used a double blade effectively making this craft a kayak, but it is styled on an Canadian-type canoe, just more narrow.

We had a good paddle, stopping at a scenic beach or two on the way up. On the path leading to the cabin I discovered some fungi, seeing an earthstar for the first time and finding Wood Ear jelly fungi for the first time in a while.

We hung out in the afternoon, had 60th birthday celebrations for a friend in the group and enjoyed a dinner braai. Sleep in the cabin was good. The morning brought with it a delicious breakfast and a leisurely paddle down the river.

If you ever plan to do this paddle, I definitely recommend staying over for two nights. No less. It really is special out there. The hut sleeps 12.

I shot some video clips, took some photos (all the good ones were taken by Zelda) and made a six-minute video.

Pictures speak louder than words. 

My first time paddling a Legend kayak. This Big Horn does its job as an big kayak to transport people and their gear. Photo: Zelda

Me.  Photo: Zelda

The cabin is big and solid with a big deck, which is where we all hung out. We got lucky with the weather. Photo: Zelda

The big deck and fire place. Photo: Zelda

Playing a general knowledge quiz game created by Zelda. Girls (me, Jolene and Carin) against the boys. We won. Photo: Zelda

Back on the water to paddle home. Photo: Zelda

A memorable weekend in good company with
Zelda, Carin, Jolene, Johann, Johan, Otto and Constandt. 

Social paddle group outing

 At the beginning of last year, I started the Kingfisher Social Paddle Group. The focus of this group is to offer monthly paddling outings to people with their own kayaks - primarily recreational paddlers - to explore the waterways between Mossel Bay and Knysna. Each month I schedule a paddle, publishing the location and details on the Group's Facebook page and Whatsapp and Telegram groups.

The outings are usually on the 3rd or 4th Sunday of the month - depending on the weather forecast and my availability. With volunteering at MUT next weekend, I schedule the May paddle for this weekend. Earlier in the week, I saw that the weather forecast looked solid for rain on Sunday (today) so I moved the day to Saturday.

It proved to be a good call. We had spectacular conditions for our small group as we explored the Karatara River, Ruigtevlei and the Hoogekraal River. The reflections of mountains, trees, kayaks and paddlers in the water were beautiful.

Birdlife was good too with sightings of a kingfisher (saw the flash of blue but didn't get a close look), two Knysna turacos, a fish eagle, purple herons, loads of cormorants and other waterbirds. 

These outings are a pleasure to organise. We've got a great group of regulars and others who drop in when available. Logistics are as easy as maybe making a call and then putting out info on where and when. Then people just rock up with their kayaks and we enjoy the outing together.

As we move into the winter months, which are cold and dark early, I'm planning to schedule the outings for Saturday lunchtime so that we can paddle-and-picnic. This will see us nicely through June, July, August and even September until the sun and warmth returns.

Scenery on the Hoogekraal River.

Paddling across Ruigtevlei

Louis (left), Joan (centre), Stan (right).

Emerging from the Karatara River into Ruigetvlei

An easy put-in from a bridge over the Karatara River.

After yesterday's paddle, I headed out with my mom to drive the Robinson Pass, which links Hartenbos with Oudtshoorn. We made a stop at the Eight Bells Inn for scones and tea. This was a belated Mother's Day outing as last weekend it was rainy and my mom was sick-as-a-dog with a bad cough. We had a super drive - with the dogs - and a beautiful afternoon together.

Local kayak race

With thunderstorms and heavy downpours predicted for Sunday, I was undecided about participating in a local kayak race hosted by the Knysna Canoe Club until I saw the forecast on Sunday morning had turned in our favour. So, I headed in Knysna direction to the Goukamma River and arrived in overcast conditions with glimmers of blue sky and sunshine.

This is what it looked like about 20 minutes before the start.

Of course, within 10 mins of the start, the heavens opened, the thunder rumbled and the wind picked up. And then it calmed. And then it stormed. And then it calmed, and then it stormed. All in a 10km - 90-minute period. And it was fabulous. For me, Goukamma never disappoints.

Getting above the weir for the start. This is the first time that I've seen the weir exposed - I usually paddle right over the wall.

Lining up for the start. I was the only plastic kayak. Yay and three cheers for my Vagabond Marimba kayak. We paddled upstream above the weir for 1.5km. Just after the turnaround, the first storm hit. Back at the weir, I wavered and considered waiting for the rain to pass. Instead, I just carried on and the storm was done within a few minutes.

On the section below the Weir, we had wind and rain and clear. This was on the way back - maybe 2km from the end. Beautiful, still, bit of sun. Not even 10 minutes later this changed....

From the photo above to this one - in 10 mins. It was barely a drizzle when I got to the finish less than 10 mins later. Fortunately warm out and quite fun.

As a bonus, I was first K1 lady today. Hahaha - I did ask if I was the only one.

It turns out that I wasn't the only K1 lady, but a group of paddlers overshot the turnaround, putting in at least an extra two kays overall, so the other ladies were likely in that group. I didn't spot the turnaround either but I only did an extra 150m to 200m before turning around - a hundred metres on the return I did see the tag on a log.

I was the only paddler with a plastic kayak. Three cheers for my Vagabond Marimba. A few of our Social Paddling Group paddlers were keen to come but this iffy weather was definitely a deterrent for them and many other paddlers in the area.

Good experience and I'm glad that I went.

Full Moon social paddle

I've coordinated a few monthly social paddle outings this year, created initially for my Vagabond Kayaks kayak owners in the Garden Route, but then expanded to welcome anyone with a recreational kayak - because something like this is really needed.

On these Sunday morning sessions, we've explored the Garden Route Dam, Touws River, Goukamma River, Grootbrak and Klein Brak Rivers. A few months ago, I had what I thought was a good idea for a Full Moon paddle. I didn't get around to making it happen until recently.

 
Well, it seems like others thought that my idea was a good one too. Best turnout ever!

A good crows of over 40 paddlers, probably closer to 50 with some out of shot and on the water.

Tonight, recreational paddlers from Mosselbay, Sedgefield, Knysna and Waboomskraal joined the first Full Moon paddle on the Touws River. They came with their plastic sit-on-tops, surfskis, inflatable canoes, handcrafted wood canoes and sit-in riverrunners.

 
It gets dark after 8pm here so we had daylight on the out route to take in the pretty scenery. After a social stop at the 'top', we turned to head back and it was on this return route that we were treated to watching the golden orb of the moon rising from behind the hills surrounding Wilderness, adding its reflection to the water.

My aim for next year with the Kingfisher Social Paddle Group is to see it flourish with more recreational paddlers from our area discovering the paddling abundance that this region offers - with good company on the water.

New paddling discipline for me - learning surfkayaking

 There is not just one type of paddling - or one type of kayak. 

If you consider bicycling, there is road, track, downhill, cross-country and general mountain biking. And within these are a range of bicycles with different gears, brakes, frames, geometry, handlebars, suspension, forks, price tag...

It is the same in paddling with flatwater, whitewater, touring, racing, surfski, canoe polo, marathons, sprints, slalom and every variation imaginable within these and a range of kayaks for preference, stability and performance within each discipline.

For me, paddling began with paddling whatever was provided at events or that I could get my hands on for adventure racing. Later it was more K2 (Accord) with a dash of K1 and sometimes other models. And then it was learning whitewater on another brand of plastic kayaks, then an Epic V7 surfski and then our Vagabond Kayaks. My personal fitness/touring kayak is the Marimba model (longest and fastest in our range), I learned the basic skills in whitewater on the Usutu sit-on-top and I have my own Pungwe whitewater creek kayak. I also have a Design Kayaks sit-in touring kayak, the Endless.

I don't have a very good sea constitution so I generally avoid anything that has me bobbing on swell. Thankfully, anti-nausea tablets work well and so, a few weeks ago, I hit the surf to learn to catch waves and surf 'em on our Vagabond Dumbi surfkayak. I'd only ever paddled the prototype on a wild and awful day at the sea (it wasn't pretty).

My first session surfkayaking, at Vic Bay here in George, saw me swimming quite a bit as I struggled to find the right balance and body positioning. Sea waves are not as strong as an equivalent-sized river wave and they move slower. I see a wave coming towards me and expect to be slammed by it, but instead the nose of the Dumbi punches through easily and I maintain course. 

In catching waves to surf them, I am learning about timing and also just how hard and fast I need to paddle - not as hard or fast as I expected.

Waves that look like 'baby waves' from the beach feel a lot bigger when they're higher than your head height. Fortunately, they don't hit very hard.

Session 2, a week later, went better with less swims and better control. I needed to work on my body positioning (how much to lean back or forward at different stages of the 'surfing cycle') and paddle strokes.

Session 3, on Sunday, was the best yet. Tide was out and waves were low. I stuck to the baby waves to really get my sea legs and a good feel for this discipline. Only a few swims and lots of surfing. A sure progression. Importantly, I felt a lot more relaxed too.

Before hitting the sea on Sunday, I did a stint on the local dam to try to roll the Dumbi as I had never tried before. As luck would have it, I rolled it on my first attempt but then struggled later with only a few successful rolls out of numerous. I'll need to do some work here so that rolling becomes reliable and second-nature. Right now, I don't even think about rolling in the sea because there is so much else I'm focusing on. But with a bit of work and improvement in technique, I should nail it. I can feel my stiff intercostal muscles from this session.

Being on the up in the skills stakes feels good and I'm looking forward to the next session.

Paddling the Groot Brak River

 I needed an outing and this morning I decided to explore the Groot Brak River. Located about 30km from George, the river passes through the little town of Groot Brak. It is a pretty, mostly retirement-and-holiday location.

The river mouth is one of those mostly-closed estuaries. The opening of the mouth to the sea is humanly managed, especially after the Wolwedans Dam was built a short way upstream in the 90s. 

From what I've seen online, the building of the dam has been something of an environmental bugger-up because too little fresh water now reaches the mouth. That's not to only blame the dam. Other human-influenced activities that suck water from the river upstream of the estuary, like agriculture, alien vegetation on the banks and small farm dams, have contributed to the estuary's current problems. This, and the mouth being closed for too long, which results in higher levels of water in the estuary, which is not good for the fauna and flora that live there (and odd sewerage intrusions).

That said, I thoroughly enjoyed paddling there today and I was delighted by the abundance of birdlife.

I set off from the river mouth. There is a large and convenient parking area.

I didn't take many photos on the route upstream as I was paddling into the sun.

At almost 5km upstream, you get to this low-level bridge. 

The water here and in the estuary was crystal clear. What you see here is not reflections but the plants under the water.

The end of the 'road'. This was as far up as I could paddle.

I like close channels so I enjoyed this short section of river. Calm, peaceful and I had the company of a half-collared kingfisher.

A burst of colour from aloes in flower.

Lots of yellow-billed African ducks.

Grey herons (I saw many of them) and some cormorants.

Cormorants sitting on the old metal supports from a previous bridge. The other bridge in the photo is the one for the railway line. To the right, out of shot, is a road bridge and the highway bridges.

The home stretch and nine flamingoes! The house with the blue roof was spotted by Mark on my FB page - turns out that this is his aunt's house. Fancy that!

My bird tally included of grey herons (they seemed to be playing with me - flying up and down), Cape cormorants, darters, yellow-billed ducks, a pied kingfisher and a white egret-something. A real gem was a half-collared kingfisher who stuck with me for a while. I watched him dive and catch a fish too. Spotting two black-crowned night herons was a treat and then nine greater flamingos on the home stretch. A grey-headed gull and a few curious kelp gulls had a good gawk at me.

More than this, I'm super impressed that I only had to look up the grey-headed gull and the half-collared kingfisher in my bird book!

I'll do this paddle again. Soon.

Why I need to start a women's paddling group

 Yesterday evening, I joined the local canoe club, my new canoe club, for time trial on a private farm dam. 

I arrived early to test a new setup that I've done to my footrests for our rudder-pedal system. A husband-and-wife couple were already there in their car. As I don't know any of the local people, I have no idea who people are and at what level they're paddling.

On the dam, I saw them in a K2 looking very shakey on the water. Going around the top, I came up alongside them and asked if they were ok. They said it was their second time in the kayak.

Let's hold it right there and digest this.

• Two brand-new paddlers in a K2 together. The Knysna Racing Thor is not a kayak that I know. It is listed as being "very popular for beginner paddlers. Big, stable and very comfortable. This legend is ideal for larger beginner crews who want to take on big water". From the look of it, I don't think that it is as stable as the Accord K2, my favourite. I'd need to get into it to see.
• Him - significantly heavier - in the front, her - smaller than me - in the back. We usually put the heavier paddler in the back.
• No PFDs (I was the only paddler there wearing a lifejacket; when Celliers has paddled he has been the only one too). If you capsize, you've got 6.5m kayak full of water to guide and swim to the bank.

I know what it is like to teaspoon around a dam, wiggling and trying not to capsize. It isn't nice. Worse with waves and a side wind. And it is exactly this that results in hundreds of people being lost to the sport of paddling each year. 

I offered to them that once they were done, they were welcome to give my Marimba sit-on-top a try.

It started drizzling and I saw them get off the water. I got off to chat to them.

The wife seemed keen to give my Marimba a shot but the husband was not (and he prevented her from having a go). He is of the "We'll get it right eventually" camp. The problem is, it could take them weeks and weeks. They are paddling once a week. It will take them even longer. During this time, they are developing bad posture, bad form and bad habits that will be a nightmare to get out of them (I did tell them this). They have no skill, no technique and no confidence. And, if they stick with it, they'll go from paddling one unstable kayak to the next, thinking that this is what paddling is all about. 

Celliers wrote an excellent article for The Paddle Mag on this point. In the article he says, "If a paddler can’t put 100% of their pulling power into a forward stroke because of the need to use some energy to maintain their balance, the paddler is in the wrong boat".

Just as a baby and then toddler first crawls, stands, walks and then runs, so too can new paddlers take a step-by-step approach. In paddling you need to learn technique first.

In this whole situation there are a bunch of issues. New, keen paddlers who have been welcomed and given access to a kayak sans hand-holding or instruction (and I totally understand limited club resources - it is usually a struggle for clubs). No PFDs. Him overruling her. Closed-mindedness to trying another kayak and accepting my offer of assistance. I don't take it personally - they don't know me either.

What to do?

My solution would be to paddle the kayak with one of them. It helps to have a more experienced paddler to stabilise. But, I don't think he is going to 'release' his wife to paddle with me. 

I've had it in mind to start a women's paddling group. My friend Nicola has a Monday morning women's group in Cape Town. It totally rocks.

I saw a couple of women at the time trial last week (the first that I've seen). Two in a double (I didn't see which double) were slower than I was in a single plastic. I didn't see the others on the water. I did pick-up that the one was learning to paddle - paddling a K1 from the club trailer - and seemed to be challenged and possibly taking swims. She said something about "trying again next week". That made me sad for her because it is unnecessary to be in that position.

A women's group would offer a more supportive (and fun) paddling environment. It also removes interference (psychological or otherwise) from the faster, more experienced male paddlers who may be their partners / husbands / brothers. I've found all the paddlers that I've met to be very friendly but this 'interference' is a real thing (even if totally unintentional and unconscious like giving the woman an unsuitable kayak to paddle) that can inhibit the women in their lives and prevent them from finding their paddling preference and confidence. 

There are already too few women in paddling. We don't need to lose more of the keen ones.

(I've been in George for three months and already I can't help myself from organising something!)

Paddling in winter

I've had two successful paddle outings recently. 

The first was a two-day trip on the Vaal River, almost from my doorstep, with Celliers. Our boats have been gathering dust and we've been a bit all-work, no-play for weeks. It was time to get out to celebrate our products.

I've never been on this section before so it was a revelation. I printed off Google Earth images so that I could follow along and really get a feel for our location - twists, turns and distances on rivers can be a blur. It was spectacular!

Day 1's section of about 15km was mostly flat sections with clumps of islands, channels and class 1 rapids. There was only one class 2. We stopped, got out, scouted, chose our lines and then hit the water. It was a piece of cake on my trusty Marimba.

Day 2's section of 13km was all flatwater but the hills of the Vredefort Dome area made up for the lack of excitement on the water with the move lovely scenery.

We had good sightings on both days of fish eagles and Goliath herons and even a big likkewaan (monitor lizard). 

We paddled for around 4hrs each day, enjoying the sights along the way. We camped on a small island in the late afternoon, setup and got to enjoy the last of the day's warmth. I'd packed a home-made hearty soup, which we heated and ate for dinner before dark. By 18h15, we were in our tent with plush sleeping bags, warm jackets, beanies, headlamps and books. Like this, you don't feel the cold.

We had a leisurely morning making tea, coffee and instant oats for breakfast before packing up camp and our kayaks. We were in no rush with only 13km ahead of flatwater and our pick-up at 2pm.

We had spectacular fish eagle sightings on this section and a lovely warmth. To our advantage, this trip was a few days before the real cold set in. 

Celliers last paddled this section more than 20 years ago. It was my first trip down here and I'll definitely be back. If you're looking for exercise, it can easily be done in a couple of hours. If you're looking to have a break, the two days is superb.

I made a 2:30 video with photos and two video clips.

 

My second paddle outing was on Sunday afternoon. 'Top Section' is a stretch of whitewater above town. The water level was up on Saturday but unfortunately it was down again on Sunday but we still decided to go anyway. I have only done Top Section three or four times and this was my first time taking the right-hand channel.

I paddled my Pungwe whitewater kayak. I got in quite a bit of paddling before lockdown so my skills have much improved and my roll is getting more solid in current. But in the cold winter water?

Before going down the weir (there is a 'slide'), I did a roll. I figured that it was worth a planned dunking to get it over with rather than a surprise dunking in a rapid. I was very pleased that the brain freeze wasn't as bad as I'd expected and that my dry top and spray deck had kept me warm and dry. This was good for my confidence - to know the bad is not really as bad as I'd imagined (which is usually the case!).

Start of the section - weird in the background. That's me in the blue kayak.

I did pop a Valoid before heading out. Generally going straight down river is no issue for my weak sea stomach but any kind of playing in rapids makes me queasy. I find the whole experience is better with my equilibrium chemically balanced so I'm getting in the habit of taking a tablet at least 30 mins before getting on the water when I paddle whitewater.

Gideon

On this outing it was me, Gideon, Celliers and Ruben. Gideon and Celliers have paddled this side a lot and there are loads of channels and options. At such low level, everything looks different and the paddle was very crunchy with lots of rocks. We had to get out only once when a channel was obstructed by rocks, we snuck under some low branches and I slithered my kayak over barely-covered rocks. 

It was stunning and I loved it. Looking forward to the next one.

Winter in all its glory.

Combating sea sickness (on rivers)

I don't have a very strong constitution when it comes to the sea - I feel queasy just at the thought of bobbing on the swell. When it comes to rivers, I'm fine going down, but my stomach can't handle too much in the way of catching eddies, ferrying and surfing. Watching that water flowing towards me, the deafening sound of the water, and the bobbing and weaving leaves me feeling very green after a short period of time.

These past weeks I've been working on my whitewater skills - paddle strokes, nailing a strong roll in current, eddy catching, ferrying and edging. I'm getting better but my tolerance for spending any duration on the water doing these skills is low.

Welcome Valoid!

I have successfully taken Valoid for paddling on the sea in the past and as I was intending to hit the Gatsien rapid for some drills, I headed to the pharmacy.

My session last Sunday left my head swirling for hours after getting off the water. My Valoid-assisted session on Thursday evening had me feeling quite normal on and off the water. I put in some better ferries in stronger current and even enjoyed a dash of surfing as I learn to feel the water.

As we have a factory of kayaks, we paddle a bunch of them. My personal kayak has been my green Marimba but now I'm proud to add one of our whitewater kayaks to my personal collection. On Thursday I climbed into my own beautiful blue Vagabond Pungwe. This paddle is also a new one - Celliers' new CEKR whitewater paddles (I've got one of his touring ones too). Beautiful paddles.

In my Vagabond Pungwe kayak.

I've still got a way to go until I feel really competent, but I am improving and it is rewarding to be able to do things now that I couldn't a month or two ago.

Big youth group for two-day river trip

This weekend, we (Paddle With Us) had a big youth group from the Joburg-based Bryanston Bible Church on the river with us for two days. With a group of over 80 paddlers ranging from 10 to 17 (and a few adults), we used a combination of 6-person rafts, 2-person inflatable 'crocs' and our double-seater Vagabond Mazowe kayaks. The planned pace was easy with short distances between start, snack stops, lunch stops and the finish for each day. I had a great team with some local guides from Flo-Pro Rafting, Otters' Haunt and further away from Impact Adventures.

The section that we chose for this novice group was primarily flatwater on the river but with highlights for each day. On Day 1 we stopped for lunch at Candy's Lodge in Vaal Oewer for filled rolls, fruit and copious amounts of iced water. We then went down the kayak chute of the Goose Bay weir. The water level was just right for a fun, safe run. We ended the day at Camp Riverlake where the group slept overnight.

On Day 2, the paddlers enjoyed a few kilometres of paddling and then some kayak games followed by a snack stop at the lovely Kedu River Lodge. The pool was a welcome attraction and distraction from the day's heat.

Then, it was time to go down two rapids (the first runs into the second). At this low water level it is good fun with no scary bits. Shortly after the rapid, we reached our take-out at Bly of Gly, a spot popular with fishermen for hefty catches. We quickly ate lunch before the buses departed to head back to Jo'burg.

I usually paddle a Vagabond Marimba kayak, which at 4.5m long is like a cross between a surfski and a rec kayak. This weekend I paddled a Tarka, a kayak perfectly suited to those who weigh less than 90kg (and still has carrying capacity for gear). This is a superb kayak and is now officially my second favourite kayak from our range. It is a perfect women's kayak as it has an ideal size that makes it easier to lug around and to manoeuvre.

Thank you to Rene for this photo.

This was a super group of teens who were friendly and polite and game for this paddling adventure. It was a good weekend.

We look forward to hosting them on another section of the river next year.

Vaal Explorer 2019 Awards - silver!

On Wednesday night, Celliers and I attended the Vaal Explorer 2019 Awards.

Vaal Explorer is a magazine & website, Facebook platform that promotes tourism in the greater Vaal region - from Heidelberg to Venterkroon and Vredefort, including all kinds of little places you've never heard of.

This region is on Jo'burg and Pretoria's doorstep and the offering of places to stay, restaurants and cafes, spas,  activities, operators, galleries, and wedding and conference venues is as good and better than anything you'll get in popular far-flung locations.

This Awards evening was held at the Three Rivers Lodge in Vereeniging - I'd never heard of the place. What a lovely venue it is. The Awards so impressed us for the places and services that won bronze, silver and gold awards. This should be drawn up as a must-visit list in the region of the quality and diversity of the offerings.

Vaal Explorer's Petra Stuart is passionate about tourism and this region and in promoting all that there is out here. Petra and her son Brandon are the people behind Vaal Explorer - they are doing wonders for our region.

We were chuffed to be a nominee for the awards but even more so that we received a silver award.

Although awarded jointly to me and Celliers, this award is certainly a tribute to Celliers' almost two-decade contribution to putting Parys on the map with his acclaimed kayak designs, the creation of his first kayak company and now our company Vagabond Kayaks, which manufactures kayaks in Parys and, the writing of his books 'Run the Rivers of Southern Africa' and 'African Veins'. In the paddling industry and community, this has put Parys, paddling and the tourism elements of the area on the map.

For me, it was inevitable that my two decades spent organising people and events would be carried into the four years that I have lived in Parys. From my Forest Run trail run in the Vredefort Dome to being Event Director for the Parys parkrun and now my kayak-centric focus with Vagabond Kayaks, Paddling Race and Paddle With Us, I'm just getting warmed up.

This award was more in an individual capacity than strictly Vagabond for our proud, individual representation of Parys and all that this town has to offer. Celliers and I are only at the beginning of what we aim to accomplish for our town, community and for the activity of paddling.

Vaal River Overnight Kayak Tour

Last weekend we enjoyed our first official Paddle With Us - Vaal River Overnight Kayak Tour with six clients - three adults and three teens. The river came up a bit on the Saturday and fortunately stayed up on the Saturday and Sunday.

The difference in our paddlers from Day 1 to Day 2 was significant. By Day 2 they were blasting into the small rapids and handing their kayaks with significantly more confidence - I find this immensely rewarding to watch how they improve so quickly.

This really is a lovely section of river and we look forward to more of these monthly trips throughout summer. A few snaps from the weekend.

Lunch stop on One Tree Island

Camp shower at our pop-up private campsite on the river. Bliss!

Composting toilet at our pop-up private campsite. Cover with sawdust - no odour, no mess.