Adrian Tregoning

Class: 2 – 4 (4+ at flood)
Length: 3.1km from top to Lodge, another 5.1km to OUT 1, another 4.4km to N1 bridge, OUT 2.
Gradient: 8m/km to Lodge, 14.3m/km for middle section and 11.4m/km for final section to N1.
Character: Continuous with swift flowing pools, no drop higher than 1m, bottom section sometimes braided and fast with strainers and at high levels some solid holes.
Level: 4 – 40+ cumecs.
Gauge: If the Wittenberg rain gauge has had more than 8mm you can try your luck – DWAF gauge H1E011.
Duration: 15 minutes for top section, 25 minutes for middle section and 30 minutes for bottom section.
Dams: None – this river rises very fast and drops quickly too.

I had seen whitewater kayaking whilst rafting with my father on the Zambezi in December 1999 and knew deep down that that is exactly what I wanted to do. April 2004 I bought my first kayak, a Necky Blunt, with the money received from a third party accident claim because I had a car crash, compressing the third vertebrae in my neck. With a mate in the pool and a book lying precariously next to it, I taught myself the Eskimo roll. I lived three streets up from a lake and would go down and paddle the flat water as often as possible. Internet resources were limited using a dial up connection but I found a few small video clips of cartwheels and bow stalls. It took me 3 months of struggling to get the bow stall right but I was loving it. At a stage I stumbled onto Playak.com which is still the best kayaking resource on the net and somehow became friends with the owner, Jeroen Houttuin. My enthusiasm for kayaking was quite evident and I can’t even remember how it started but I must have posted more photos when Jeroen offered to create my own little space for me on the internet where I could post my photos and articles – this was the birth of adrian.playak.com.