Fluid Kayaks Team

Last April Team Fluid paddlers were invited to gather in Fluid Kayaks homeland, South Africa. The aim of the trip was : get the Fluid team paddlers together and go paddle. Simple as that!

We ended up being a group of 12 people. Unfortunately some of our american and european team paddlers couldn't make it due to other obligations, but we had an excellent group of paddlers nonetheless.

It was decided to paddle in the Transkei region, a quite huge and somehow isolated area. We soon realized that waterlevels were quite low in the area. Our paddling options would be limited, and we headed straight to the Mzumvubu river for a 5-day trip, one of the largest rivers of the area. Soon we were gearing up and packing as much as we could in our Solos and Detoxs. This meant a shopping mission first. Here Celliers Kruger, Fluid's owner and designer, proudly exhibiting a fairly long receipt from the supermarket...

The Transkei is a fairly remote region of South Africa. From what I've been told it's quite poorer and underdevelopped compared to the rest of the country. Some pics taken on the way to the put-in:

Upon arrival at the put-in, we realized that the Vubu was at a very low level. Just a couple of expeditions had taken place on this river in the past, with epic tales of big class IV/V whitewater that sounded very challenging. Unfortunately due to low water the river turned out to be a nice contemplative run of class II/III, with long stretches of flat water in between rapids. But no one complained: the friendly atmosphere, the nature of the trip and the great scenery made it a fantastic experience nonetheless.

Celliers Kruger melting the camera with his laser look:

The new Detox was used by a few paddlers on the trip and proved to be a very good alternative to the Solo on this expedition. Even heavily loaded with gear, tent, food and such, it still handled perfectly. The Detox is just getting into Europe and North America these days, make sure you try one this season! More on the Detox

On the third day we got to the main point of interest of the trip, a massive rapid next to a small village (actually a few huts on the banks of the river).

The main waterfall is not runnable at this waterlevel, and the remoteness of the place would really be a factor to consider before launching yourself off.... Nothing can go wrong in such an isolated area.

We found a few smaller falls on an alternate channel to keep us busy. Here Andrew Kellet is firing up a tricky waterfall, not very high but defenitely challenging. He nailed it perfectly, flying just a few centimeters away from a threatening rock halfway down the fall, landing with just the right angle in the flat but probably not so deep pool at the bottom.

We met just very few people on our way down. Our presence, and gear, would raise the curiosity of the locals that we met.

A couple days later we'd reach the take out and exit the river, tired but happy. Water was low, there were few rapids, but is there really room to complain when you open your tent in the morning and see this?

We're already looking forward to next year's team trip. It was a great experience, and also my first time in South Africa, and I can say I want more! The country is so vast, there are countless rivers to run. I guess we'll just try to hit it with more water next time!

Photos courtesy of Will Clark, Celliers Kruger and myself (David Arnaud)