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South Africa 17 years 2 months ago #20225

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I am going on a business trip to South Africa towards the end of Feb, and have a weekend to spare where I would to try my hand with one of the South African rivers. Can any one suggest an outfit that can help me in this regard - I will staying in Sandton, Jo'burg and are free to leave late Friday afternoon and have to be in the Jo'burg international airport around 1800 Sunday.

I will only be able to bring pfd & helmet, but no boat or paddle.

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Re:South Africa 17 years 2 months ago #20226

Exactly which weekend in Feb? :)

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Re:South Africa 17 years 2 months ago #20229

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To be exact it is March 1-2 - Technically it is not February.

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Re:South Africa 17 years 2 months ago #20231

Paddling in South Africa is all about rain. One doesn't have to catch most of the rivers - 'the day after'. But if it hasn't rained and things aren't looking good then we don't bother taking a drive.

Your situation leaves you not in the best position. Although we sometimes leave on a Friday afternoon we prefer not to as traffic is murder. Coming back by 18:00 on a Sunday is unlikely if the trip is to Natal. This of course depends on where we paddle and if we paddle that specific weekend.

The option giving you the highest chance of success is to contact Whitewater Training:
www.whitewatertraining.co.za/

and get hold of either Deon or Hugh. They can help you out with a boat and a paddle and then you'll get to paddle the Vaal. It always has water but might not be enough for the bottom wave of this one rapid (Gatsien) to work, only a small chute at the top. This is near the town or Parys, about 130km from Sandton, and no, public transport does not exist. :grin: The river, in my opinion is very boring with not much to get excited about. Class 2/3+ at the most, even if it has water, which by March is hard to say. Check it out here:
adrian.playak.com/index.php?option=com_c...p;id=50&Itemid=5

That is at the rapid called Gatsien and is basically one of the only park and play spots in South Africa... At the bottom are some pictures of the bottom wave when it's working. See levels here:
www.dwaf.gov.za/Hydrology/rtmain.aspx

Vaal at Goose Bay Canyon is the one to check. Anything above 50 is good. Just below 60 at the moment... If no other option exists then the Vaal is at least better than hanging around Johannesburg, being bored. There are far better rivers to paddle, but the closest are around 400km and further away from Jhb. I travel thousands of kilometers in a year to reach decent rivers! :grin:

Good luck ;) Hope this helped.

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Re:South Africa 17 years 2 months ago #20243

i'm sure someone will organise a trip closer to the time
so keep checking in
we'll hook you up somehow :D

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Re:South Africa 17 years 2 months ago #20244

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Hey guys,

thanks for the help. i will see if i can postpone the departure to early monday morning. would be great to get on the water somehow.

cheers. peter

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Re:South Africa 17 years 1 month ago #20520

Hey H
Checking if you've been hooked up?

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Re:South Africa 17 years 1 month ago #20527

Hey Peter,

I remember you now when you contacted me via my site last year regarding the Forsguiden site... ;)

I've got your g-mail address still. I'll contact you regarding this weekend.

Cheers,
Adrian

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Re:South Africa 17 years 1 month ago #20567

Well, too bad you didn't respond to this offer. I did mail you as well on your gmail account. We are leaving tmrw morning early for a nice 40km, overnight paddle in a really remote and beautiful gorge.. 8) Maybe you never got the mails or something else turned up. Next time! ;-)

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Re:South Africa 17 years 1 month ago #20587

Peter was unable to open his gmail while in SA! What a pity! My cell number is on my website though.. We had an awesome weekend with some better than expected water (Olifants River) and doing between 40 to 50km in a remote and beautiful gorge. Seeing as though I have a growing backlog of articles do come out on my site I quickly edited a few pics, check them out! Sorry to do this, but you missed out on this: 8)8)8)

Adrian. Photo by Karl Martin.


General scenery. Photo by Adrian Tregoning.


From left: Dave Joyce, Karl Martin, Kobus Oosthuizen, Adrian Tregoning. Photo by Adrian Tregoning (set on tripod)


Kudu. Photo by Adrian Tregoning.


Dave Joyce. Photo by Adrian Tregoning.


Dave Joyce. Photo by Adrian Tregoning.


More scenery late into the first day. Photo by Adrian Tregoning.


Our camp fire. Photo by Adrian Tregoning (set on tripod)


Early morning at our campsite. Photo by Adrian Tregoning.


Dave's lonely tent early in the misty morning. Photo by Adrian Tregoning.


Adrian. Photo by Karl Martin.


Dave Joyce (back, left) and Karl Martin (front, right) early on the second morning. Photo by Adrian Tregoning.


A locust! (really?) Photo by Adrian Tregoning.

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Re:South Africa 16 years 11 months ago #21361

As I had a large back log of articles it took me a while to get to this one... Here it is, enjoy. Pity you missed out!
Upper Olifants – A Two Day, 50 km Trip:

adrian.playak.com/index.php?option=com_c...=view&id=90&Itemid=3

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