Fluid Kayaks Team

The Umzimkulu River is one of the major rivers in KwaZulu-Natal, starting way up in the Drakensberg mountains in the Underberg area. It picks up a number of tributaries along the way before spilling the liquid stuff into the ocean at Port Shepstone. Over the years I've paddled just about every section of this river, except for the long section between Umzimkulu town and the start of the Oribi stretch, which is the last bit to paddle before the sea. This long section hosts the biggest rapids of the Umzimkulu, but it is very isolated with few access points. As a result only a few parties have paddled this section before.

We took four days to complete the journey, starting about 7km downstream of Umzimkulu town, cutting out mostly flatwater, and ending at the lime works about 10km upsteam of Port Shepstone, again cutting out mostly flatwater. Joining the party was Hugh du Preez (of Whitewater Training, usual paddling buddy of mine), Tim Biggs (the legend, I paddle with him quite regularly so that I can do some name dropping), Leon Pieters (who used to shape boats at Fluid R&D, now builds downhill mountain bikes), and Mark McLeod (from Matatiele, first time I paddled with him).

As much as I like these two-day-one-night overnight trips that I often do, a longer trip is so much nicer. You only really get into the rhythm of river life from the third day.

When we drove down to the put-in that Mark found at a rural village, we realized that the river was very high. We heard rumours of good rain in the catchment area and hoped for good water, and were not disappointed. The eddies on the sides were between the reeds. A sure sign of action waiting. As I packed my E Solo (in custom white) I appreciated again how much space there is in this boat. I had everything needed plus some luxuries, including bivy bag, thermorest, sleeping bag, little pillow, warm clothing, gas stove, water purifying filter, split paddle, rescue gear, medication, food, etc, and when I put in my big Pelicase with my camera and lenses, it was still loose in the space I left for it. Hugh and Mark also used E Solos, while Leon and Tim used S Solos.

The first big rapid, which is truly massive and in my opinion unrunnable at the water level we had, waited only about 1km after put in. A chicken run on the far left, bony and steep, was runnable at least, and Hugh, Tim and Leon had fairly clean lines down it. After this big rapid everything was read and run for the rest of the first day. After about 25km we found a decent camp spot not too long before dark, with a drizzle setting in. We pitched camp quickly in the long grass, and soon it felt like home. Its amazing how quickly a random piece of wilderness can feel like home as soon as the bare essentials are in place. Hugh and me decided to share dinners on this trip, and the first night was his turn. He treated us with something that is most unusual on a paddling trip: sushi. With great skill Hugh and Leon prepared our sushi rolls, which were carefully laid out on the hatch cover of my E Solo, serving as a plate. I documented the whole episode with my camera. The result speaks for itself, check the pics below.

The next day saw us down the main gorge section of the trip. A huge rapid marked the entrance of the gorge, with the majority of the rapid unrunnable. A line on the far left, once again, proved to be runnable. Hugh had a nice line, while Leon messed up the entrance but recovered quickly to clean the second part of the run. Like the major rapid on the previous day, I portaged this one too, to my shame. I was paddling conservatively, having very nearly drowned on another river in the same area exactly a year ago, and it took me a good day and a half to get rid of the flashbacks that haunted me since we put in. Sometimes it's good to push your own limits, other times you just got to listen to that little voice in your head, as unreasonable as it might be at the time. As we progressed through the gorge, scouting most of the rapids from the bank, I loosened up and ran some great lines.

Once we made it through the gorge it was already getting late in the afternoon, but we put our heads down to get some more distance in. The water was still high, even though a bit lower than the first day. Again we found quite a nice campsite just before dark, after some debate in the group...

When we woke up the next morning, we knew that we still had a long way to go. We only managed 30km on the second day, leaving a good 80km left to paddle between the third and fourth day. Mark was feeling very ill, puking all over the place. Must have been something in the water. With his GPS and map, Mark worked out that we had about 30km to go to a little road that went down to the river. This was also the day that held the least gradient of all the days, and the water has subsided to a medium level. We got on the water much earlier than usual and got into the rhythm. The rapids were all read and run, interspersed by some long flats. When we got the road Mark was hoping for, he got out, and Tim went with him. They walked up the hill and found a local with a bakkie (pick up truck) who was willing to take them to the nearest town. For a fee of course. We were sorry to lose them from the group, but it didn't make sense for Mark to continue in his condition. Once we were sure they were sorted out, Hugh, Leon and myself headed downstream again. We got another 25km in before dark, making it a total of 55km for the day. 55km is a long way in a kayak!

The last campsite for the trip was the best of them all. But it was also close to a village, making us a bit worried about nightly visitors. A few locals came past before dark though, and they were very friendly. The next morning one of the same locals came past again. He introduced himself as the greatest hunter of the area, and treated us with a traditional Zulu dance before we parted ways.

We had another 10km of mostly flat water left before we got to the put in of the Oribi section, which I've paddled many times before. The Oribi section is a great play section with lots of waves and holes to catch on the fly, especially at high levels, with a couple of bigger rapids thrown in for good measure. This was the first time I paddled the section with anything other than a playboat, and as usual it was obvious how much easier the bigger rapids are with a creekboat.

When we arrived at the lime works, we've paddled 25km on the last day, and completed 135km in total. Next time I'll do the trip in five days, not four... But the trip was more than worthwhile. We paddled some excellent rapids, had some great, unspoilt wilderness scenery, met a few very friendly locals, and had a good time with good friends. What more can one ask for.

Pics by Celliers Kruger, except for action pics of Celliers, which were taken by Leon Pieters and Hugh du Preez