In South Africa all our rivers are rainfall dependent and being largely a semi-arid country this means there is no guarantee that our runs will be flowing even if it is the wet season. This often makes me jealous of you folk up north with your snowmelt. However, not this time. The rains had arrived early and, boy, did they arrive. For the first time in ages us South African kayakers were spoilt for choice – the Lowveld was full, Swaziland was having its best flows in recent memory and Natal hadn’t seen the sun for the better part of a month. So, while the rest of the country was wallowing in misery from the bad weather, us paddlers were facing a wonderful dilemma of where to paddle.
After a few phone calls I heard from my friend Adriaan “AD” Badenhorst that the rivers in the Transkei were flowing. This sorted my decision instantly because the rivers rise and drop very quickly in this region and the whitewater (in my opinion and in many others) is the best the country has to offer. Thus, within 24 hours I was packed up and on the road for a 10 hour drive to AD and, his wife, Angela’s pad, The Falls Backpackers near Maclear.
Arriving there I met up with fellow Fluid paddler and LifeByWater team member - Craig Rivett. After a warm greeting from AD, Angela, newborn Nika, Billy (the goat) and an assortment of dogs we settled into our home for the next week or so. The Falls Backpackers is a place I can only describe as nirvana; walking into the old farm house you are greeted with an assortment kayaking prints up on the wall, depicting all the great spots in the area. Something that really wets your appetite for a bit of paddling, especially seeing as the Tsitsa river and the first class V run is right on the doorstep of the backpackers, right below the spectacular Upper Tsitsa Falls. After a hard day’s paddle you are greeted by a roaring fire and everyone is eager to hear about the day’s war stories; and at times there are plenty to tell. While waiting for the rivers to rise or for those who don’t paddle there is plenty to do; be it hiking, swimming, mountain biking, bouldering – the list can go on and on. In short it is the perfect place to unwind.
While there we ran the three major runs in the area – namely; the Pot river, the Upper Tsitsa and, the now famous, Inxu river.
The Pot
The Pot is one of those rivers that can be downright scary, even for the experienced creeker. The higher the river the more terrifying it becomes. With many sticky spots, surprises and lots of wood, the Pot is not a run to be taken lightly. At the same time, for those that can handle it, it is a real gem and possibly my favourite paddleable stretch in the country. It starts off as a typical pool-drop section but a third of the way down is the Mooi river confluence and the nature of the river changes, becoming very continuous and technical; not to mention the volume can sometimes double. This makes the Pot a real big volume run when there is a lot of rain. For the three of us paddling, the day was fairly uneventful, with no beatings which have characterized our past runs of the same river. Maybe we’re getting to know it better. It was a good start for the trip. AD even managed to arrange a few porters to carry our boats for the takeout, which is one of the worst walk’s a paddler can do at the end of a full day of paddling. So much so that one of the porters flatout refused the job once he got down the gorge to the river, and who could blame him really.
Inxu first attempt
The Inxu is one of those rivers which Craig and I had been keen to run from the first moment its first descent article reached the pages of the Fluid kayaks website. The last time we were in the area the river was too high for us to paddle it, much to our disappointment. With two massive waterfalls, a must run gorge and a host of fantastic rapids; the Inxu is a favourite piece of whitewater in the country for the few that have run it. Despite this the logistics for a day on the Inxu takes some careful planning, as both the put in and take out are fairly remote and difficult to find. This we found out the hard way by underestimating the time we’d need to reach the take out by car and by losing a paddle from out the back of our truck. The 14:00 hour rang and we were still not on the river, forcing us to abandon our much anticipated run of the Inxu for the second time. With no rain in the foreseeable future we had to surrender to the fact that we might not be able to paddle the Inxu during this trip. My mood in the car on the way back to the Falls Backpackers was less than happy.
Upper Tsitsa
We awoke the next morning to a swollen Tsitsa river. With the put in right in front of the house and the take out only about 3km away it was a very relaxed morning getting our act together; however once on the water it was anything but relaxed. While it is a short section with easy access from the backpackers this stretch is one of the more demanding runs around, having claimed more than its fair share of shoulder dislocations and bad swims, even though people have only been running it (and not that often I might add) for the last couple of years or so. The Upper Tsitsa is peppered with siphons and undercuts from the first rapid right below the big waterfall right up until the takeout, scouting is difficult and has to be done largely from the boat and the second you relax will be the second you see your arse. Nevertheless, if you are careful and keep your wits about you (or have AD along to show you the lines down) the Upper Tsitsa is truly gratifying. By the time you reach the take out your heart rate will still be racing making the steep walk out rather easy - well almost. With home being just around the corner, we opened the door to a wonderful fire and lunch waiting on the table, which just confirmed why I love this place so much.
The Inxu River (finally)
Our 5th day saw us wake early, we did the usual – check the river levels, play with the goat and tuck into a bit of food. While sipping on coffee we made the decision, the Inxu may well be very low but it would be worth a try. Imagine our surprise to find the river at a perfect flow at the put in. Like little kids at Christmas we hurried our gear on, had a lame photo and got on the water. It was only Craig and I as AD had some admin to do for the day, but he did agree to run shuttle for us at the takeout. Needless to say he was extremely jealous and would be even more so by the end of the day.
The river starts off easy and gradually gets more difficult as the gradient picks up and the gorges get deeper and more boxed in. The rapids are all runnable, difficult and fun; albeit a few are a bit pushy but not as demanding as the Pot or Upper Tsitsa. After about 6km we rounded a bend and were faced with a river wide horizon line and misty spray. We’d reached the 15m/50ft drop that has come to characterize this stretch. Upon putting on the river Craig and I thought it more than likely that we’d portage it, seeing as there were only two of us. However, one look at the drop and we both knew we could not let the opportunity pass.
Now, a few things about this drop: Looking at pictures the lead in appears straight forward and friendly (and it is). The issue comes in at the base where a monstrous boil rises and falls, making the landing incredibly hard. Of the three successful runs prior to us only one of those ended without incident (quite rightly it was AD). This trip would continue this trend.
Craig hit it up first; while getting into his boat the concentration was plain to see on his face and he soon peeled out into the current. His entry was perfect and he tucked early, I could hear the smack of his boat as it crashed into the boil at the bottom and disappeared. He popped up a few metres down stream and rolled up with a fist pump and a grin on his face that we couldn’t wipe off for days.
My turn started off much the same as his, stripping my mind of doubt as I peeled into the moving current. Coming over the lip one gets a proper perspective just how high something like that really is and I even had time for a few thoughts before smashing into the bottom. I had pitch-pulled slightly to the side and my paddle caught the water, smashing into my face and getting ripped from my hands. Happy to be conscious, I soon realized that I was being beaten behind the curtain and could do nothing but hang on. After a very long 10 second thrashing it took me three attempts to get my hand roll and I surfaced with a busted nose, bruised ribs, a sprained hand and the same idiot grin that Craig had.
In short the drop looks straightforward but there is something very menacing about it which I urge you to bear in mind if you do run the Inxu. The weird thing is, is that the waterfall was only the half way point. Downstream lay more technical rapids and the 13m/35ft waterfall. I chose to give this one a miss in aid of my battered body and left it to Craig to style. And style the drop he did with a flawless line down the centre.
After a few more days of relaxing at the Backpackers the rivers were down and it was time for us to head off in different directions for Christmas. Nonetheless, I returned to the Falls Backpackers twice more in the following month chasing rain; as well as returning to Natal, a favourite stomping ground for us. More on that later…
From us at LifeByWater.com we shout out a massive thank you to AD and Angela for their awesome hospitality. You guys really do have a spectacular home and we are very glad to call you our friends.
We wish them all the best and a hearty congratulations on the birth of little Nika and we cannot wait to see what is going to happen to the place with the allocation of the grant from the EU.
Much love,
Scotty R
