Deepdale Gorge – Unadulterated Pleasure

 

Flowing freely without any dams from source to sea, the Umkomaas River is a super river to catch when the water is up. With the legendary Mike Pennefather as my only company on the trip it was bound to be one to remember. Having written before about Deepdale Gorge on this site I won’t go into too much detail this time round. There are some really sweet photographs for you to enjoy though. As for paddling it this time round, scroll down…

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Umtamvuna – Northern Most Transkei Border River

Ever since I started kayaking and read about the Umtamvuna River in Celliers Kruger’s book, I had wanted to paddle it. There was always a certain aura surrounding this river and it intrigued me for a long time. I would read the description again and again, perhaps in the hope of picking up something that I had missed before. When people spoke of it, I listened. The warnings of difficult and dangerous rapids had conjured up images in my mind and I could only dream of paddling that river about three years back. My lack of skill and the fact that I knew very few other paddlers kept me from going there for quite some time.

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Thrombosis Gorge - The Seldom Run Full Section

Another standard weekend, another epic adventure, what would we be in for this time? The plan was to paddle the full twenty five kilometre section. Many people run Thrombosis Gorge but I’m sure about 99% of paddlers take out at the falls themselves and thus only actually paddle just over five kilometres. Beyond the falls was a mystery to me too so I was really stoked about this one.

 

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Deepdale Gorge – KwaZulu Natal’s Hidden Gem

Deepdale Gorge on the Umkomaas River is one of my favourite runs if not my favourite. It’s not the biggest of rivers nor is it the smallest. It isn’t the most radical either nor is it the easiest. It’s just a plainly awesome run that will draw me back time and time again. I think it’s probably just the remoteness and raw beauty of this roughly 32km stretch that makes it for me. The sometimes house sized boulders in the river bed leaves a snaking path for the water to follow and makes for some really sweet rapids, all the while in a beautiful valley with some amazing trees, thorn bushes, flowers and various fascinating plants. This would be my third trip down here and I was not to be disappointed.

 

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X-Fest 2007

On the 17th and 18th the usually quiet banks of the Umzimkulu River would be transformed into a cacophony of bass music, announcements and excited, sometimes slurred voices of kayakers, mountain bikers and a host of other like minded people. A good recipe for fun and excitement. My account of the event will be unlike most people there as I missed out on most of the proceedings and did my own thing with a few people and wouldn’t change that for the world.

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