Gairezi Odyssey Part 2: Early News

27 December 2011 - Low Water

Very low water greeted us and the gang of paddlers at Molloys - the rendezvous and put-in for this 5-day trip, which is the second part of Laurie's source to sea project. Sadly, Laurie was laid up with a cracked pelvis (cycling accident) and I was in a leg-brace with a torn knee ligament (water-skiing).

Alan W, Sheryl W and I had driven down on the Zim side of the river to see the party off and camp with them for the first night. After correcting Laurie's waypoint for Molloy's with a quick radio call from Tom we met the crew on the river and waded across to join them on the Moz side of the river. They had driven in via Nyamapanda and Mutare the previous day and had been allocated two armed escorts, whose instructions had been to follow the paddlers along the banks of the river. It was politely suggested that the cars needed guarding, which these fellows agreed was a much more valuable use of their time.

The paddlers set off at 3pm for a short 10km paddle to "Camp 0". Ken and Cephas commenced the car shuffle back to Guro, and the three Zim supporters set off by dirt road and bush track to camp 0, which was set on the Moz/Zim border where the Gairezi leaves the border and goes into Moz. At 5:30 we received a radio call from Tom that they had decided to make camp for the night, and a check of their coordinates showed they were still 4km's away.

So Alan, Sheryl and I enjoyed a lovely evening by the campfire and left early the next morning to be back in Harare in time for meetings. We took the scenic route back via a long dirt road to Mutoko, and noticed that the Ruenya, Chivake and Sahavanhove rivers were flowing much stronger than the Gairezi, which bodes well for the paddlers.

More news to follow.

Zambezi - Batoka Gorge

3 November 2011 - Low and rising.

A swim at number 7 is probably a symptom of 6 months of zero paddling.

Brian H (rafting) and I did a trip with Adventure Zone. The water level was rising, and some of the rapids were getting very gnarly, but mostly still easily doable. I managed to surf a few waves, but fitness was an issue and by the time we got to number 7 I was dead tired. A swim after several unsuccessful rolls left me even more shattered, so the rest was an exercise in taking it easy.

Brian's raft (with all crew on board) managed a spectacular surf at number 17, after having spent several minutes caught in an eddy at 15.

The walk out at the finish was a real killer, and the beers and lunch at the top were most appreciated.

Shavas Gorge - on Foot

25 Jun 2011 - Low Level

The first drop at the start of the gorge has a potential hazard river centre!

I took a quick day trip out to build on our positive relationship with the local headman, Matthew, and hiked down the top section of the Shavanhove gorge, mainly to see what features caused the hole on the river right line of the first drop, and the first wave.

The photos are fairly revealing in this sense.  I was surprised to see that the river had eroded a tunnel under the main slab of granite, creating a siphon.  This video shows the entrance and this one shows the exit.  However, this mild hazard will only come into play at fairly low levels, and only if one takes the unusual centre line.  The usual river left line avoids this section altogether.  The real danger lies to those swimming in the flat water above (unlikely).

This is a picturesque part of the world and makes for a good hike, or mountain bike ride (there is an old track down to the start of the gorge.)

Matthew tells me that in the '70's and '80's various people used to regularly camp out near the start of the gorge - and the eroded track is evidence of that.  He even pointed out a spot where a "mad muzungu" used to "load up his pipe with mbanje" and then dive off the cliff into a deep pool (with a large boulder in evidence right in the center of the pool).  Sadly, the large trees which used to make this a magnificent camping and hiking area have all ended up in a fireplace.

Matthew also pointed out a damsite, complete with beacons, which was planned in the '70's.  Hopefully his prediction that there will never be the cash to build it remains true.

Gairezi Helps Wayne to Quit Smoking

28 May 11 - Low Level (below the markings on the Church Rd Bridge)

Wayne called me yesterday to say he'd been tempted to have a cigarette, but the spectre of the "Quit Smoking, Keep Paddling" walk had instantly banished the thought.

On Saturday, 28th May 11 at 9am, Wayne and I set off down a crystal clear and friendly looking Gairezi.  The creek-boats were proving worth the extra weight, and the scenery was excellent - unspoiled countryside, with magnificent trees on the hillsides.

Then we reached the "waterfall section".  We'd gained a lot of confidence from the fact that it only took us an hour to cover 5km's and, despite the copious white water visible on Google Earth, we'd only had to bank-scout two drops.  We checked in with Ken on the radio and sent him ahead to the take-out below the gorge, assuring him that we would be there pretty soon.

Two hours later we'd covered about 300m, most of it while clinging to the sides of steep, smooth boulders the side of your average Borrowdale mansion.  Wayne was colouring the sky with his language, and I was puffing and panting like a smoker too.

Which brings me back to the smoking thing.  Wayne had set himself the deadline of quitting smoking on Sunday the 29th.  I suggested he bring the quit date forward by a day and not restart after spending a whole day without smoking on the river.  Wayne agreed, and set about attempting to finish three packs in the two-hour drive before we started paddling in the morning, giving the rest to a grateful Ken.

Back to the waterfall portage: This section of river drops 40 meters in 350 meters, has sheer banks on the right, cliffs on the left, and is liberally sprinkled with huge boulders.  A few drops are runnable, but the larger ones are probably not.  Midway through the portage we did the arithmetic and decided we would run out of daylight well before the takeout.  Even if things settled down and we were able to get onto the river again, once in the gorge proper there was no walking out, so if we ran into an obstacle.....

So we radioed Ken to come back to the waterfall section, while we started up the extremely steep bank of the river.  The steep terrain was one thing, but the thorny vines were in a league of there own.  We made extremely slow progress for about an hour.  I'd hack at the undergrowth with my paddle, go forward/upward 20 paces, then haul my overweight boat up behind me - and repeat.  Wayne soldiered on silently below me, having the slight advantage of a cleared path.  Finally we made it to slightly less steep and overgrown terrain, having covered about 100 horizontal and 150 vertical meters.

Ken radioed to say he could see us, but he and the porters he'd hired were having difficulty finding a way down the mountain (on foot).   Wayne and I propped the boats up where the porters would see them, and set off on the 4km hike up a steep incline, and were soon overhauled by the porters carrying our boats.  I'd identified a less inclined path around the back of the mountain on Google Earth, and three hours after we started (five including the portage) we all collapsed at the Landy.  My legs were so worn out that I got cramps in my thigh from raising my foot on the accelerator on the drive back to the Hut.

Wayne swore he would never smoke again, and if he was tempted, the memory of that walk would soon cure him.

Next time we plan to be on the river earlier, take overnight kit, and possibly harnesses and climbing ropes to make the portages safer and easier.

Mukore Wave

22 May 11 - Low Water

Wayne and I enjoyed a morning on the river.  The usual wave (hole) was too small, so we ventured upstream to look for alternatives.  We found a nice abseil site for the river festival and spent a bit of time looking at how we could divert water for a slalom course, before finding a shallow but retentive hole, which resulted in about an hour of extended play.

That's it for the Nyagui this year I think, except for novice runs.  Time to settle down and plan next season, including Canoe Polo, Slalom, Dusi/Fish marathons and the Nyagui River Festival (Jan/Feb 2012).

Nyagui Mukore Section - Novices and Surfing

15 May 11 - Low, but the wave was still working, and not too shallow.

Ben B gathered a group of adventure racers, some with extreme hangovers, and we set off after 11am.  We lit a braai fire and conducted a safety briefing soon after arrival, and put the novices (Kevin, Brendan, Leigh and Jeeps) through the basics.  They all wanted to get on with it, so we were soon on the river, with much swimming undertaken by all.

Everyone showed great progress and soon they were surfing the wave (usually followed by a swim) and ferry-gliding like pros.

After a late lunch it was decided to run a short section of the river, with mainly grade 2 and 2+ drops.  We warmed up with a bit of canoe polo and then we were straight into the first drop, which ended in a bit of carnage, with boats sucked back into the hole and Kevin rearranging the rocks on the bottom of the river with his nose.  Welcome to the club Kevin!

The drive back to town seemed longer than usual, probably because I thought this was the last trip for the year, and we arrived after dark.  A fun day was had by all!

Mazowe: Sunungukai Camp to Hippo Pools

14 May 11 - 5cm over Hippo Pools Weir

Jan, Dave, Tom, Andy and the Fluid Fleet

Robin and Hugh put a curse on us! I arrived at the start of the trip without board-shorts and rashie.  David loaned me a T-shirt and Ken parted with his board-shorts (he had trousers on) before we set off on what should have been a gentle meander down a very different Mazowe at low level.  We ran the first big rapid effortlessly, taking note of all the boulders which cause so much drama at higher levels.

The first surf-wave wasn't great, but even more disappointingly, the Castle Rock Twins were sitting high and dry - not even their toes were in the water.  So we pressed on and I almost ran the second big rapid, having failed to recognise the approach at this low level.  The first part of the rapid has a few kicks and twists, with a smiling, retentive hole just below, so we all opted for a short portage, with Tom opting to walk the second drop as well.  The approach to the second drop was pretty boney which deflected Andy, Dave and I off the planned line, but we all managed to recover, David in his usual inimitable style.

At the island the river split and became pretty shallow.  We were forced to portage and opted to put back in on the previously un-run right channel.  I scouted a 2m drop and Andy once again led the way, over a small pourover.  Dave followed and I ran it badly, ending up with a bruise on my ribs.  Tom portaged.

From there the river was pretty slow moving, so we had to work hard for the last 4 or 5 km's, which meant the group was pretty tired by the finish.  The last 2km's after the dried up Mufurudzi were particularly unpleasant, with a steady head-wind to add to the challenge of looking for the grumpy hippo.

We'd spotted 2 hippos in the pool after the first wave (near the start of the trip), and saw another 3 in the pool at the main camp, giving them a wide berth.  The weir was too low to run and we trudged wearily back to the Landy, where Ken loaded up (after buying fresh fish from the locals) and we set of for the 2-hour drive home.  Conversation was muted as some snuck in a quick forty winks.

Nyagui Mukore Wave

22 & 24 April 11 - 8cm over Mukore Weir

I finally got to meet Tom D - a man who's undertaken some interesting trips on the Pungwe, Sanyati and Zambezi, mostly in the early 90's.  Hopefully we'll get some write-ups of those trips on the blog.

Tom, Nick H and I enjoyed the Mukore section at lower levels, with a short run and much time spent on the wave.  We all tried different boats and managed to pull some interesting moves.  We'd like to claim a few as planned moves, but click here to judge for yourself...

The Z-Rapid was run several times.  Tom managed to take an "interesting" line on his first attempt, and managed to boof the rock in the middle on his last.  I managed to screw up the second run, completing the last section upside-down as a result.

Click here for photo's of Nick H taking a swim, after 8 attempts to roll (tenacious young man!)

One of the local youngsters "Bigboy" decided to have a go - I held the boat steady while he surfed the shallow part of the wave.  He loved it and insisted on having a deck on, but I refused.  Unfortunately Nick was already on the water so we didn't get any photos.

Nyagui Mukore Section

18 April 11 - 10cm over the Mukore Pumphouse Weir

Happy Independence Day Zimbabwe!  Andy and I enjoyed the morning at the Mukore section, on low water.  We tried a few new lines, or lines that had been tried in the past and were not in common use.  Andy ran the left option in the Fluid Detox and then went back up part of the way and tried the Fluid Solo, running the Z-Rapid perfectly.  His verdict: he loves them both.

With no driver we were unable to explore further afield, so we settled for an extended play session on the wave.  Andy tried all three Fluid boats on the wave, ending with some lovely flat spins in the Nemesis.

I used the Nemesis both on the river run and on the wave.  It was fine on the river, a little edgy but controllable at this level, and very loose on the wave, allowing for easy turns and a couple of cartwheels and blunts.  I gave Andy a couple of moments of concern when I took my time to roll, even failing a few rolls, as I was still nursing my back and didn't want to overdo the hipsnap.

The road has been repaired in a few places, but is still slow going - it took us 90 minutes either way.

Zim Kayak Trip - Wrap-up

7-13 April 11

Robin and Hugh drove up on Wednesday afternoon, meeting Ken in Polokwane to help them through the border.  They were loaded with new boats and other paddling kit for the Zim paddlers, along with groceries for me.  Here's a photo of some of the stuff - before the arrival of Hugh with all his gear and Ben with a load of groceries (thanks Ben)!

The border wasn't too bad, and they spent the night at the Lion & Elephant.

The next morning they set off for Juliasdale, while Nick and I finalised preparations in Harare (such as fetching the keys for Echo Valley from way across Harare) and finally we were on our way too.  The race warmed up, and Nick and I only just managed to beat Robin, Hugh and Ken to Echo Valley.

After a quick off-load we left Andy's new boat on his bed, having hidden all the others, as it was his birthday present to himself.  We then set off on the long drive to have a look at the Gairezi.  After checking road conditions on the far bank and studying the map we agreed it would be a worthwhile run to take on - probably on Monday.  That meant we had a perfectly planned weekend:
Fri = Pungwe Commercial Section (with Andy trying his new boat - on his birthday!)
Sat = Pungwe Gorge to the Slide, where porters would meet us with tents etc.
Sun = Remainder of the Pungwe Gorge
Mon = Gairezi below the Church Rd bridge
Tue = Either more Gairezi or return to Harare for Nyagui or Mazowe.

We returned to Pine Tree Inn where we met Andy and his sons, and enjoyed a fine meal and several cold beers.

Friday, after a night of heavy rain, we did the Pungwe commercial run, mainly to get used to new boats, but also to await the rest of the trip crew for the gorge.  Friday evening we were back at Pine Tree Inn, having checked out the porter options, access trail to the gorge and the river levels.

And this is where our carefully laid plans started going pear-shaped.  Wayne and Troy pulled out of the trip citing work and neck injuries respectively, but Troy kindly loaned David C his truck so he could join us late that evening.

The day trips are all reported under separate blog entries.

On Saturday, after more heavy rain, the decision was made to try the Gairezi.  Andy wished us well and returned to Harare to a birthday party (this was pre-planned).  The Gairezi, while providing much humour on he way in, proved to be way too big, so David C suggested we try the Nyamingura.  Fortunately I'd purchased a couple of 1:50,000 maps so we soon found it and set off.  It proved to be a long day in the Landy, and the river was big, resulting in much unplanned stuff, like swimming and bending boats.

Sunday saw a return to the Nyamingura, for a much more successful day on the river.  We also checked out another river which runs past the old trout farm on the Juliasdale/Mutare Rd, as well as a slide on the opposite side - one was not navigable, while the other could be interesting.

On Monday morning I had a sore back, so it was down to Hugh and Robin, as David had to return to Harare.  We decided that the Mazowe and Nyagui would be more appropriate, so packed up and headed to Sunungukai, via the dirt road between Mucheke and Murewa.  It was another long day of driving, but the chaps enjoyed the river, and even the entertainment provided by the hippo.

Tuesday I introduced Robin and Hugh to the Mukore section of the Nyagui and they are very impressed with the potential of this piece of river - watch this space for details.  They ran the section to the weir, and then completed the first 3.5km of the gorge, before heading back to Harare to pack up for the long drive back to Joburg.

I'd like to express my sincere gratitude to all those who made this trip possible, especially to Robin and Hugh for travelling so far, and transporting our boats up; to the ever dependable local paddlers Andy and David; and to Ken, Nick and Mike who spend many hours on the river banks, searching for us, our drifting equipment, and who carry, load and unload our boats, and help us straighten out bent boats late at night.  You all make it possible to have the large amounts of fun we do!  YOU ROCK!

Nyagui Gorge

12 April 11 - Medium to Low

After two hours of driving, including an hour of dirt roads and rutted tracks, Robin and Hugh realised they'd left their paddles at home!  Eish!  Click here for the official explanation.

We had a late start because I felt a bit of a lie-in was justified on my birthday. We were using unfamiliar dirt roads on the east bank of the river, as opposed to the usual Mukore farm road (which has deteriorated badly this season), which proved pretty good, except for the last km or two.  The east bank option also allows us to break the gorge section into smaller pieces, as opposed to the traditional 25km run.

Due to slow driving by Robin the tortoise, navigational disputes and steep cliffs, Robin and Hugh put in at 10:50 just above the Mukore wave and ran the bottom part of the Mukore section, on to Merlyn's Siphon, Vespids and then about 3.5km of grade 2 and flat water, before dropping over the weir and into the gorge.  The first photos and video in the gorge were taken at 12:20, so I can only assume they made hard work of the flat water, or that Vespids stung them hard.

The first bit of video is of a drop to avoid.  The lads tell me things got gnarly right after the weir, and stayed that way (which supports all the other stories I've heard).  The feeling is that at any higher water it would be a very tough section - well done Andy, Ian, Adrian and the many others who've taken it on at high levels (and no wonder this section is known as a boat eater).

The plan was to complete the entire gorge run of about 6.5km, but by around 14:10 they radioed to say they were about still 1km from the first checkpoint, so it was agreed to end there.  I set about hiring porters, for which Hugh and Robin were most grateful as the walk to the car is pretty steep (up to Leonard and Samuel's village).  They arrived at 14:50, which is a total of 4 hours, of which about 3 would have been spent covering the 3.5km gorge section.

Here are a couple more videos of this section:
Hugh runs a straightforward looking drop,
Robin runs a similar rapid.

The timestamped photos help to tell the story.

Mazowe Gorge

11 April 11 - 15cm over Hippo Pools Weir

After considerable debate it was agreed that the Gairezi and Pungwe would probably still be too big, and as we were down to 2 paddlers it was felt that safety would be compromised.  So we packed up and set off to run something smaller - Mazowe.

I briefed Robin and Hugh on the lines, the hippos, and to take out 500m below the weir.  They set off after trying to convince Nick to join them, but he was intent on bird photography.  Apparently they ran everything, but agreed that there are several pinning opportunities on the big rapids, and a few more besides.  Click here for a clip of Hugh running the second big rapid, which Robin is pictured on below.

Mr Piggy-ears made an appearance at the headwaters of the weir, and he was in a foul mood.  Robin wasted no time getting onto dry land, but apparently Hugh didn't appreciate the urgency, until they spotted a "torpedo wave" heading towards him - at which time he performed feats of gymnastics, getting himself and his kayak out of harms way.  It turns out there is a new addition to the family, which explains the high level of aggression.

Having waited a while by the river (experiencing what Ken and Mike normally go through) I returned to the vehicle and the braai Ken had set up.  Not long after that the radio squawked to life, with Robin telling us they were 500 meters below the weir.  Sadly, that takeout is useless, so I told them to walk back to the weir where we were, and set about readying a hot meal (with cold beers).

I've included time-stamps on the photos to augment my rather meagre account of the trip.

Nyamingura - Take 2

10 April 11 - Medium Level

We woke to another cold morning and the crew was slow to get going.  The rain had persisted through the night, but there were signs it might be letting up.  We finally got underway at around 8:30 and wound our way down the mountain, stopping briefly at the old trout farm to have a look at the river (which drops quickly in that area, and has plenty of strainers).

Despite ridicule from my colleagues I held fast to my theory that my paddle was waiting in the eddy where I swam, and so I drove straight to the previous day's put-in.  We walked downriver a short way and Ken was soon heard chuckling jubilantly.  Sure enough, the paddle was sitting in the shallows of the eddy, almost 24 hours after I'd left it there.  How lucky is that!  I was ecstatic, and so was Ken at the prospect of receiving the $20 reward.

Hugh tried to talk us into going further upriver, but even though it was a lot lower, the rest of the gang was happy to start at the hydro intake (once operational the hydro system will divert a substantial amount of flow from the river for 2-3km).

Hugh, Robin and I set off on the first section, which is arguably the steepest.  The going was intense, with small eddies and one drop after the next.  Robin and I portaged twice, while Hugh executed a spectacular "rail slide" down a log and ran everything with great skill.

After the first bridge the gradient eased slightly and we set a good pace, right until Robin avoided a hangman's noose (a looped vine at neck height).  Robin was forced to roll under, on the edge of a small drop, which unfortunately resulted in a broken paddle and skinned knuckles.  He made a halfhearted attempt to roll (seeing as he still had the shaft and right-hand blade) but soon ejected for a short swim - fortunately he was in a smaller part of the river and he self-rescued while I trapped his boat on a rock.  Hugh located the broken paddle, which was left on the bank and Robin recovered it later.

At the second bridge I pulled out as my back was starting to play up.  David had decided to get in at the second bridge, where things get a little more sane, and he took over in the Solo.  From there it was a quick run to the third bridge and then on to the Pungwe confluence (Ken, Mike, Nick and I in the Landy made light work of it anyway).

Hugh some trouble extracting himself from his dry-top at the finish:

Once we saved him from certain death by asphyxiation, we set off up the mountain back to Juliasdale, stopping to explore the slide in the forest, north of the main road, which appears to be very runnable in a kayak.  The evening ended with an enjoyable braai and several cold beers around a warm fire.

Click here for the photo album.

Gairezi and Nyamingura - Take 1

9 April 11 - High Level

After another night of heavy rain, we woke early to a continuing guti (drizzling rain).  We'd had a look at the Pungwe falls the previous day and the decision was made to abandon the Pungwe Gorge attempt as the river was very high, and probably still rising.

By a dint of supreme logic Robin managed to convince us that the Gairezi would be less likely to be too high, so we agreed to run the 9km (steep) section below the Church Rd bridge.  After two hours of slow driving, removing 4 or 5 trees from the road, we arrived to a very swollen river.  I asked Mike if he thought Troy would run the gairezi at high level - here's his emphatic response, and below is a photo of Dave opting out.

We repaired to Troutbeck for tea and scones and the gang briefly considered a paddle on the pond, before consulting the maps and agreeing to take a look at the Nyamingura.  So we set off for another very long drive, arriving after 1pm at the EHPL gate.  We managed to talk our way into the estate and headed upriver as far as we could go (to the new hydro-electric project).

Apparently Brian Igo (son of the founder of the tea estates) used to run the river, and maybe others have done so too.

The Nyamingura runs directly from the flanks of Zimbabwe's highest mountain, and appears to run all year round, albeit at lower levels than what we experienced.  The level was certainly very high on this steep creek, with few pools to allow recovery of swimmers and gear.

The start was positive, but pretty soon David was struggling to roll, so I raced in to help.  Unfortunately, being in an unfamiliar boat, I was instantly edged and ended up pinned up against a rock, unable to roll either right (against the strong current) or left (into the rock).  Abandoning my paddle I attempted to handroll, and then to roll using the rock as support, but all to no avail, so I ended up taking a short swim.  David was also swimming by then.  I searched downstream for my paddle, before setting off to alert the support party who were waiting at the first bridge. (More about the paddle in the next blog entry).

After a couple of hours we recovered most of the equipment, including foam bulkheads, water bottles, sponges, boats and David's paddle.  Hugh had taken a mini-swim and the boats had drifted a long way before being recovered, taking quite a beating in the process.  Alas, my paddle was not found, despite a concerted effort by all.

We trudged wearily up the mountain in the rain, stopping briefly for beers and then to refuel the Landy.  While we were busy with fuel tanks Robin discovered a young bovine wandering around on the main road and took it upon himself to steer Betsy to a better place (apologies for the poor quality photo - just look for the glowing eyes).

Supper was a jolly affair at Pine Tree Inn, along with several beers, around the warm fire.  The night was not over though and we spent the next hour or two repairing bent boats using hot water, Ken's power and a wooden spoon.  I even tried "glute-force", which involves bouncing up and down on the area requiring adjustment.  Unfortunately the videos we took were underexposed.

I went to bed, sad about the loss of my favourite (and expensive) paddle, while maintaining my theory that it was sitting in the eddy where I swam, waiting for me.

Click here for the photo album.

Pungwe Commercial Section

8 Apr 11 - Medium Level

Today was Andy's birthday, and he'd given himself a new Fluid Detox as a present.  Ken and I outfitted Andy's new boat, while he made breakfast, Hugh entertained the boys and Robin kept a record.  Here's the video.

The excitement (and trepidation) was high as we made our way to the Pungwe after a night of heavy rain.  Robin and Hugh were pleased to be back on the water after a long drive from South Africa, and I was trying out a new Fluid Solo.

The day started on a lighter note with Hugh complaining about the rain - inside the Landy.  We drove higher up the hill, past the commercial put-in, to check out the porters walk-in to the overnight stop, and the steep, slippery road, which sheer drops on either side, resulted in raised pulse rates all round.  The walk-in was exceptionally treacherous and Robin soon did a wheels-up, so we took it very slowly.  From the fork it was a race to see which was the better option - the left fork won, and I can attest to it being a lot easier than the rocky right, mainly because the boat can be dragged more.

We scouted McGregors Pin, and all ran it without too much drama (except that Andy did part of it backwards).  Hugh managed to get himself caught in the hole above the blender, but extracted himself easily enough.

After a bit of indecision Hugh decided to run Four Clowns Folly.  For a brief instant we thought it would become 5 Clowns Folly, but he managed to pull through.

Andy's sons hopped in for a quick paddle at the takeout, and David promptly set off unattended down the river.  Hugh quietly raised the alarm, resulting in Andy and Robin setting off in hot pursuit.  The rescue was easy, but the walk back was rather tough.  Hugh meanwhile tied a rope to Luke's boat to prevent the same happening to him.

Click here for photo album.

Laurie's Gairezi Slide-show

30 March 11 - Mountain Club of Zimbabwe

WOW!  What an entertaining presentation by an interesting group of adventurers.  They tackled a relatively remote, and probably never-before paddled section of the Gairezi river, in inflatable canoes.  It must be said that Laurie and his team really did their homework before setting off, so they were well-prepared for what came along.

They covered a stretch of about 60km's, with quite a bit of flat water, and two gorges with lots of rapids.  The volume was pretty high (it was December 2010) and they set a pretty good pace.

I will most certainly be leading a kayak trip down all or parts of the same section of river.  We'll have a look at the river level next week and see if there's still enough water to do it this season!

Thanks to Laurie and his adventurers for sharing this experience with us through the medium of photographs, videos and Laurie's inimitable style!  Hopefully he'll post some material online.

Novice Sessions

22 & 29 March 11

Troy's house proved to be another excellent venue for a pool session and we have good turnouts on both occasions.  Several people successfully rolled, and all improved vastly in areas such boat control, paddle strokes and hipsnap.  Special mention must be made of Shane D who came along on the 29th and managed several paddle rolls - he claims he's never had any lessons!

Thanks Troy for the use of your place and for assisting with the coaching.

Thanks also to Andy, David and Murray for the loan of your equipment.

Planned Pungwe Gorge Trip 7-13 April

In 1989 David Chidzero wrecked his fiberglass boat and was forced to walk out of the Pungwe Gorge, using his paddle as a platform to walk on top of the impenetrable vegetation. The military chopper sent to find him failed to spot him and he walked to safety the next day.

During the 90's, four brave souls from Vic Falls ran the gorge and, once on the commercial section, they relaxed their guard long enough to name a rapid: "Four Clowns Folly".

In about 10 days time another batch of intrepid paddlerswill walk into the Gorge, looking forward to two days on one of the most unspoiled sections of wilderness river in the world (certainly in the warmer climates). The adrenaline will be coursing through their veins as they anticipate the steep and pristine waters before them. The roar of the Pungwe Falls will add to the backdrop, and induce just a little more adrenaline into the blood.

The confirmed intrepid paddlers are:
Robin Kock (RSA);
Hugh Du Preez (RSA);
Wayne Moss;
David Chidzero (round 2);
Troy Drummond; and
Jan Hart.

David assures me that his previous attempt sounds a whole lot more dramatic than it actually was, and he's looking forward to this trip. We will of course be much better prepared than previous outings, with more robust boats,spare paddles, swiftwater rescue experts (Wayne and Hugh) and prior river knowledge (David - top section & commercial, me - bottom section and comercial). We will also have two-way radio comms, GPS (yes I know Clyde - we don't need a GPS to find our way down the river - it is only used for evacuations), a small first aid kit, and best of all, porters will carry in an overnight camp to be set up near the slide.

I encourage the fence-sitters, those with doctors notes, work pressure, grumpy wives, or other perfectly valid excuses to emulate the Aussie surfers, "chuck a sickie" and join us. You will have the time of your life and stories to tell yourgrandchildren. For those in far-off places copied in this email - there's still time to book flights!

Novice paddlers, hikers, birders and campers who wish to join our porters on the walk in and share much exaggeratedstories of day 1 around the campfire are welcome. You will enjoy a steep walk through wild and scenic country, and a camp in the magical riparian forest of a spectacular river (birders - there may well be a rare bird or two calling).

As Andy can attest, every circus must have a fewsideshows, and this one is no exception. Here are the details:

Sideshow1: Wed 6 April - Robin, Hugh and any other "Sickie Chuckers" depart Pretoria at lunch time, with a load of creek boats for the Zim crowd. Overnight Lion & Elephant.

Sideshow2: Thu 7 April - Andy, Jan, last minute fly-ins and novices meet Robin in the Honde Valley around lunch time for a meander down a novice section, or the commercial section (if no novices), to try out the new boats and stretch tired legs. We'll spend the night at Echo Valley Cottage (near Pine Tree Inn). Andy returns to Harare Friday afternoon for a birthday party and I'm sure he would be happy to give people who need to be in Harare for the weekend a lift.

Sideshow3: Fri 8 April - we'll take a look at the Gairezi and probably run a short and moderate section, or run Pungwe Commercial section if the Gairezi is too low. We'll also make final preparations for porters etc.

The main act part1: Sat 9 April 05:30 - paddlers walk in from Pungwe View, while the porters, hikers, birders and hangers-on walk in from the Honde Valley to set up camp at The Slide.

Sideshow4: Sat 9 April - braai boerie, cold beverages, tall tales and scenic stars around the crackling campfire.

The main act part2: Sun 10 April - paddlers set off on the serious section below the slide, while the rest take their time breaking camp and hiking out, to meet the paddlers at the commercial take-out. There should be time to take novices down a flatter section. Overnight Echo Valley.

Sideshow5: Monday 11 April - some depart early to get back to work, while the remaining paddlers choose between Gairezi, Nyagui, and Mazowe.

Sideshow6: Tue 12 April - Nyagui or Mazowe. Overnight Harare.

Sideshow7: Wed 13 April - Robin and Hugh depart for Pretoria.

Ian, Andy, Squash, Foxy, Bryan, Celliers and other experienced paddlers, feel free to join us on all or just part of this adventure (airport transfers can be arranged!)

Hikers, birders, campers and novices, please let me know who's coming so we can confirm details.

Costs: Minimal - food, drink, contributions towards fuel and porters.

See you on the river!

Some Humour from the Land Down Under

30 Mar 11

Here's a humorous little anecdote received from my mate Clyde over in Perth, in response to my invitation to join us on the Pungwe Gorge. I've edited it slightly in an effort to make it more readable, hopefully without losing too much of Clyde's humorous turn of phrase.

Allo Mate

Sounds like a party but I am one of those weak as p!ss Ozzies who can't make it. We're struggling here, unlike you Zimbo farmers who've had an abundance of rain, which has led to bumper crops which = “The Big Bucks”. Finding a crust to eat is getting harder by the day.

Last week I was out at the back of Little Island [location Lat: -31.811091°, Lon: 115.704566°] in my Epic [fibre-glass surf-ski], when I caught a medium size wave and snapped the f@kker in half. The nose just exploded into many small pieces (2 many 2 collect). This led to me being rescued off the island after already doing warm ups in preparation for the big swim!

[So did the water coppers rescue you, and if so did you get slapped with a severe fine for not having PFD, flares, EPIRB, first aid kit, sunblock, sunglasses, hat and all that malarky?]

Nah, the fkn useless cops didn’t rescue me; too busy having coffee and muffins elsewhere! The tinny [small aluminium fishing boat] that picked me up was smaller than the half Epic I had on board.

It was embarrassing landing at Sorrento with half a boat under arm, believe me! I did ask to be dropped 500m offshore to be able to make a stealthy beach entry. Yes I know I'm a rude prick, but I did drop off a carton at the blokes house as a thank-you.

Popularity at home was already at a record low as the previous week I snapped my paddle behind the island and got towed home by my good mate Rob. [That's a 4km paddle to the landing spot, towing a surf-ski in ocean conditions which are known to be quite rough – well done Robbo!]

I'm now the proud owner of a brand spanking new Spirit PRS, along with paddle (very important) and would you believe; Sunnies! Yep, I lost them too.

Oh yeah I almost forgot me mate and I went out on Sunday to the best surf I have ever seen at the island, you missed a good sesh. Even though I was in that yellow puss-bucket of mine also known as the yellow submarine for obvious reasons [an ancient and much abused yellow plastic surf-ski with more holes than a good Swiss cheese.] We were getting 100-200m rides at full speed – it was perfect!

OK I got to go and catch some grass hoppers for dinner.

PS: Our Old Mate Tony didn’t come cos he had a sore back or toe or broke a nail – I cant remember, but is was another weak excuse at 5.30am. It appears he doesn’t like early mornings, sharks, or may be just doesn’t like me. Who Knows?

Got grasshoppers to catch, C ya.

Shavas Novice Run

27 Mar 11 - 1.0m Shavas Old Rd Bridge

Treehuggers, Swimmers and Smiling villagers.  A very pleasant and entertaining  day on the river (main rd to old rd), amongst the very friendly locals, followed by a humorous team lunch at Sitar.

Val C, Ramona WG and Zia T were already waiting when Ken and I pulled up at 6am, closely followed by Ben B.  We left our cars at Treetops and were off by 6:10am in the Landy.  The Shavas was at a mild level and the novices all had time to get used to their boats while putting to practice the concepts of ferry glides and eddying in and out.  We also discussed currents, eddies and obstacles, and the three golden rules of safe paddling.

The locals are warming to us and there was quite a crowd on the banks, with the kids yelling encouragement and laughing raucously at the swimmers, while the older folk smiled their broad smiles and shook their heads disconsolately at such lunacy.

Once the four novices were comfortable we waved goodbye to Ken and the locals to set off on our leisurely cruise.  We introduced Ramona to the wet exit and eskimo rescue on the flat sections, and demonstrated the dangers of not leaning downstream when hitting an obstacle (rule 2).  Trees and shrubs proved to be a real menace and Ramona managed to get herself stuck several times, grabbing onto them (against rule 3).  Zia had to buy beers all round at the finish as she was judged to have grabbed too many branches and reeds on the way past.

Val turned over at the start, and waited patiently for a rescue.  Zia and Ben yelled at me to provide a rescue, but I was busy bailing Ramona's boat, so she waited a long time before finally exiting, coughing and spluttering.

Ramona joined the ranks of the swimmers early on, and later had a rather unpleasant incident when she hung on to a tree and wash pushed under.  She quickly ejected and emerged, also coughing and spluttering, but she did remember to keep her feet up in the swim (rule 1).

Things settled after that and we all aced the three sisters, and the island rapid.  Val managed to drop into the trees at the very end, but was soon back on her way after a quick nudge.  Ben and I ran it a second time while the ladies took a comfort break.

The last drop was a breeze for all.  Ben and I had an extended play session on the wave, which was hard to get onto, but still pretty retentive.  Ken loaded up while we had a chat to Headman Matthew and the jovial crowd of locals who'd gathered to watch the mad muzungus.

A quick stop for ice cold amber liquid at the friendly local bottle store (Ken and I had to make do with bombers as they were out of pints) and we had a leisurely cruise home in the very clean Landy (Ken had washed it in the river while waiting for us).  A snap decision was made to have lunch at Sitar, which turned out to be a very pleasant affair.

Thanks to all of you for the excellent company!

Zia, Ben, Val, Jan & Treehugger Ramona

Pungwe Commercial Section

20 Mar 11 - High Level

I nervously asked Andy if we'd ever heard the roar of the Pungwe all the way from the start of the commercial walk-in.  Andy said "no", but I checked with Ken as well, hoping for a different answer, while knowing full well that few people are as familiar with this river as Andy.

Conversation was rather subdued during our thorough preparations, and I was strangely sad to say good-bye to Ken before setting off on the 1.2km trek to the river, on somewhat rubbery legs.  We took longer than usual to reach the river, in spite of the shortcut we took......

The river was certainly high, and brownish (possibly from the bracken/heath of Nyanga), but not quite as high as last March when Robin and I took it on.  At one of the later rapids I identified a point which indicated that the water was about half a meter lower than that trip.  There was plenty of evidence of recent floods about 4 meters higher than the present level!

Some of the early waves were washed out, so we were soon into the thick of it.  We scouted a few of the rapids, mainly due to the presence of trees, but none presented any problems, so we ran most of the usual lines.

The big rapid about halfway down was as impressive as ever, with the hole at the top looking very significant.  Andy ran it perfectly, while I managed to end up in the hole, which promptly tail-looped me.  I stayed inverted for a few seconds until I was sure I'd flushed out before running the main drop backwards, and then straight on into the "Blender", which is a large diagonal washing machine.

About 50 meters further on is a fairly gnarly rapid, where Dean McG apparently got pinned years ago.  The usual pinning rock was safe, but it had a nasty friend on the left, so we opted to keep right, which worked well.

The next rapid is usually a couple of holes on the left, followed by a drop into a pool, with the current in the pool pushing you into the wall on the left.  The holes above were super retentive, so we hung right and once again Andy made it look easy, while the fairly substantive hole at the bottom looped me (again).  I hung on to flush out and then made three attempts to roll against the wall, before finally setting up on the left to roll successfully.

We took a break so Andy could stock up on sugar and collect his customary white rocks (ballast for his PFD), before drifting into the next bumpy section.  A pair of trees looked to have formed a strainer, but it was a trick of the light and there was ample room between them.  We opted not to scout the slide, which had a very energetic wave at the bottom.

"Four-clowns Folly" was up next, and almost became "Five-clowns Folly" when a daydreaming Andy thought it was one drop further on.  It sure looked nasty at that level, except for a small tongue on the far right.  When I pointed this out to Andy he tossed a bit of driftwood in, which punched straight through on the right, after which he nonchalantly turned and asked if I was going to run it.  My reply was brief and emphatic.

I did put in on the back-end of the main washing machine to try and catch a very nice wave - sadly I missed it.  There were several waves and holes from here on and we played several as we meandered down to the take-out, which we reached by 10:30am.

We'd driven down to Will's cottage in Juliasdale on Saturday afternoon, which resulted in an early start and finish.  The Mutarazi Falls were spectacular, and appeared to have more water in the afternoon.  The long drive home was broken in Rusape by speed-cops (I managed to talk my way out of a fine) and lunch with Phil and Mandi, who farm near Peterhouse.

Chinyoka Novice Run & Domborembudzu Sundowners

13 Mar 11 - Flowing well, not very big volume

An eventful trip down the Chinyoka, followed by a drive up Domborembudzi to watch the sun set (and a very nerve-wracking descent in the dark).

Taking David's word for it, Troy, Beanie and I put in at the main road and told Ken to wait 30 minutes before going to the old road. Beanie has some paddling experience, and after running her through the basics we set off.

The first section is fairly technical, with a couple of drops. This is probably a section of river suited to novices who have the ability to confidently ferry and catch small eddies. Beanie isn't quite at that level and found the going hard, especially when I yelled at her to catch a small eddy just before a drop.

I attempted to radio Ken to abort the trip, but he'd left already, so we pressed on. The river flattened out somewhat, but was now sprinkled with shrubs and trees, which meant we had to keep alert to avoid getting pinned. A few more interesting drops, including a longish chute with three options, and we were at the final drop, with a nice little wave.

The run took about an hour and a half and is worth doing with intermediate paddlers when there is substantial water. Beanie acquitted herself very well and I hope she'll join us on more outings.

To cap off the day we drove up Domborembudzi, having first acquired the obligatory amber liquid. The climb was very steep, but the Landy didn't miss a beat (although our hearts did). We took a walk and watched the sunset from near the top (we didn't have time to get all the way to the top, having taken a look at a stream on the east side - which had dried up since Saturday).

We'd thought ahead and carefully planned the way down so we could find it after dark, but the guides were too nervous to allow the Landy near the steep drop we'd passed on the way up, so a new route was scouted while I sat with both feet on the brake pedal, with the Landy in gear and handbrake on. A nerve-wracking half hour of steep inclines followed before we made it back to flat ground, and the main road. All agreed that we need to organise a braai after a paddling session and spend the night on the Dombo - watch this space for details!

Beanie and the Landy on Domborembudzi (I wasn't dopped enough to upload the other one...)

Mazowe Gorge

12 Mar 11 - About 0.7m or more over Hippo Pools Weir

Expecting a low level, Andy LM and I arrived at Sunugukai to find a very high river. According to the locals it had suddenly come up in the night. With some trepidation we approached the first rapid and had a good look, before running a simple centre line. A very nice standing wave at the end of rapid invited me in, but noticed a very deep hole just after it out of the corner of my eye - and boy was the hole deep!

The second rapid (first big one, where David performed his cliff-hanger) looked more menacing than ever, with several pinning opportunities after the initial drop. We opted for the chicken run on the right, with a 2m portage, before negotiating the last few holes.

The next standing wave looked very good, but requires a lot of effort to get onto (a one-hit wonder with no eddy). We skirted the Hippo's, nervously, and spent a bit of time at the "Castle Rock Twins" - and they were as welcoming as ever. The left of centre part of the upper twin had turned into a very nice standing wave, and the lower Twin was easier to surf.

We didn't scout the second large rapid, opting for the chicken run on the right from the outset. Halfway down we stopped to take a look and it actually looked very runnable - all the holes and pour-overs were flushed out. If I was in a creek-boat I would have gone back and run it....

Andy agreed that the scenery is awesome, and the river has a good mix of waves and rapids to keep it interesting all the way down. We stopped to see Iain at Hippo Pools (but he wasn't in) and then ran the weir (left of centre).

Ken loaded up and we set off on the muddy dirt road (still in good condition). We admired the hills and valleys on the way to Murewa and we were home by 2pm.

Nyagui Mukore Section - Novices and Surfing

5 & 6 Mar 11 - 0.3m over the Mukore Weir

A spectacular evening under the stars, with Rob K discovering his profoundly philosophical side. The Mukore wave was in fine form and the novices made excellent progress.

We arrived at the river around 4pm on Saturday. The water level was perfect. Troy D and I introduced Zia T and Rob K to the basics in a large eddy, and Rob caught on to the hipsnap pretty quickly. I set about showing the novices how not to run the first section, but they ignored me and Rob had an early swim. Troy whisked him to safety and I managed to jam his boat on a rock. Rob decided to swim the narrow channel to his boat, which turned out to be a bad idea - he had a very long and tiring swim right down the guts of the next rapid.

We spent a while working on ferry glides and eddy hopping before Troy and I headed back to the wave for an extended session of surfing.

Ken and Mike had prepared a fine camp by then and Troy set about producing a gourmet meal of roast beef with all the trimmings, including salad (Zia) and a fine red wine (Rob). After dinner the discussion strayed onto topics which should probably normally be avoided in polite circles, much to the amusement of Ken and Mike. Later we wandered down to the still warm granite boulders and lay on our backs admiring the spectacular display of stars, to the music of the river. Rob came up with some profound statements, but unfortunately we can't remember what they were.

A late night with several beers didn't deter us from an early start. After tea and snacks Troy and I were soon on the wave again. Troy entertained us with an early swim, right over the big drop below the wave. We recovered his boat and set off to meet the others below Vespids to run the last easy section to the weir. Arriving at Vespids early we ran the left line, and Troy took another swim.

Rob and his son Nick attempted to body-board to a small wave, but that failed, so we spent another half hour on kayaking basics before setting off again. Rob did extremely well, managing to stay in his boat and waiting for several rescues without swimming, even managing a partial handroll to grab some air. He had one swim, only because no-one was near enough for an eskimo rescue.

Zia also did very well, managing to pick very good lines and staying out of trouble, except for 1 swim.

Ken and Nick collected us at the weir and we headed back to camp for an egg, bacon and boerie breakfast. During breakfast young Nick noticed that one of Rob's tyres was leaking air. The real problem was that Rob didn't have the key for the anti-theft wheel-nuts - so we couldn't change the wheel. Fortunately he had a tubeless puncture repair kit, so disaster was averted.

After his exertions Rob was ready for a beer and a snooze, while Troy and I walked up to the Mukore pump-house weir to run the "Killing Fields". The holes were quite grabby, but we stayed out of trouble, until Troy got tail-looped on the "Z Rapid" and had his third swim for the day. He self-rescued and we spent about an hour surfing and playing the wave, before packing up for the long drive home.

Sadly, the riparian forest is being chopped down at an alarming rate, mostly for firewood to cure tobacco. The local farmer Zurugo says he can't afford coal, and he's hoping that by chopping down the trees near his maize fields he can reduce the crop damage caused by monkeys! I hope the discussion I had with him about spreading his wood-harvesting over a wider area and not destroying the homes of his ancestral spirits, or the future of his children, might make a difference. But he really needs to be shown and alternative way to make an income, and needs to see the value of preserving the natural forests and animals. What responsibility do tobacco companies and smokers bear?

Shavas Novice Run

1 Mar 11 - 1.0m at Old Rd Bridge

The waves work well and Zia excels.

Zia T, Nick H, Troy D and I completed a quick novice run, as wave at the main road bridge wasn't working.  We introduced Zia to the basics and she cottoned on pretty quick, setting a blistering pace on the flat water sections.  "Three sisters" is the first challenge, and Zia took a swim, but only after attempting an eskimo rescue - well done!

Zia portaged the "Island Rapid" without mishap, while the rest of us had a couple of surfs each on the wave.  Nick managed a very composed roll in a strong current (after I accidentally knocked him over during a cartwheel).  The little wave after the "Island Rapid" was excellent and Nick, Troy and I enjoyed 15 minutes of surfing, before pressing on.

Zia ran the last drop in style and Nick took a few photos in the setting sun, while Troy and I enjoyed the wave for about half an hour.  The beers at the bottle store were very cold and the regulars were happy to see us (even though it was well after dark).

Shavas Gorge

27 Feb 11 - 1.35m at the old road bridge

Andy and I completed a lightning fast run, after first getting bogged down trying to find a good take-out.

It was a week of changes.  The Thursday afternoon trip to Nyagui failed to materialise, and the Pungwe trip was cancelled at the last minute due to Wayne having car trouble (which meant no shuttle driver from him and Ken is away in South Africa).  Fortunately it had been raining the last few days, and Matthew called from the Shavas on Friday afternoon to say it was up at 1.7m.

It was a toss-up between the St Pauls run and the gorge, but as Andy hadn't done the gorge yet, that option won.  The wave at the main road was working very nicely, but we didn't stop for a play as Andy was pressed for time.  We set off for the gorge take-out to show our stand-in driver, Dzingai, the take-out.  Having spotted a better take-out track on Google Earth than the one found by Ken last time, we almost made it to the river before getting a bit bogged on the edge of a ground-nut field.  The winch was put to work and we decided the Landy would wait further from the river (400m walk).  Unfortunately we had to head back through the same section, and even though we packed the muddy area with branches and used more speed, we got stuck again.  Fortunately there was a tree within reach of the winch cable on both occasions.

Back at the old road bridge the locals were all very happy to see us.  We had quite a crowd to see us off, with much ululating and laughter when we ran the first drop.  Despite the rowdy sendoff, the trip was fairly uneventful.  Andy isn't a big fan of portaging or bank-scouting, so we only stopped three times.  After a quick look at the first drop ("Oh F@ck!") we ran it using the left bank chicken run.  Then it was into the Gorge and Andy just went at it without so much as a "what's the line?".  He did very well, except that I wanted to take more time on the two very nice play waves about halfway down.  I did manage to spend a few seconds in each before racing off to make sure Andy wasn't getting himself into trouble.  Andy avoided the hole on river right near the end of the gorge section, and we played on another wave at the exit from the gorge.

We soon arrived at the second major rapid which we portaged right.  Andy had thought about running it, but when he saw the depths of the holes he demurred that portaging was wise.

The third drop looks good on the right, but the last hole is deep and retentive.  There may also be an option to slide down the rocks near the left bank.  After a quick bank scout we opted for a medium-sized chute up against the left bank, which starts as a trickle but builds quite a bit before it drops over the edge.  There is a small chance of being pushed into a boulder on the left bank, if you start the drop too far left, but both of us made it look easy.

The fourth drop ("F@cksakes!") was also scouted briefly before we both ran it down the right channel.  Both of us got flipped by the second stopper, and recovered before the pillow wave.  I allowed myself to be pushed up against the rock to test the danger and it would seem that even if you were upside down the force isn't much.  In fact, the pillow wave deflected me away from the rock without me even touching it.

We tried another play wave further down, which was a little fast and flushy, before we drifted down to the final runnable drop - a river-wide slide with a nice tongue to ride through the stopper on.  We took out soon after on the right bank, loaded up and headed back to thank Matthew for calling us.  The run only took us 1.5 hours.

The short drive home was punctuated by beef rolls and discussions about Gairesi, Musengesi and other runs to be tried soon.

Here's a picture of the river just above the main road bridge.

Nyagui Gorge: 6.5km Section Near Start

20 Feb 11 - Water-level mid to low

Wayne gets a close-up look at the inner workings of a washing machine.  And when things go bad, they go really bad: Wayne falls flat on his arse, repeats the trick, cooks his bare feet on the rocks, falls flat on his arse, misses the takeout, gets lost on the walk-out, falls flat on his arse, suffers severe sunburn and ends up cramming his by-now well-bruised arse into the jumpseat for the drive home.

Troy, Wayne and I set off, with Ken in support, to run the Nyagui Gorge, from below the weir at Mukore. On the way in Troy and I took turns in the jumpseat – and Wayne suggested that anyone who swum today would sit in the jumpseat all the way home – words he would later regret.

Andy LM had warned that the first 6km of the Nyagui Gorge is very hairy, after which it flattens out just a bit. We decided to drive in via Murewa to the east bank as that side offers several egress options. The roads were pretty good, and after showing Ken the take-out parking spot (2km from the river) we headed for the put-in parking spot, hired porters and set off on the 1.5km walk-in, joining the river about 3.5km below the weir.

The water level was fairly low, so we hoped for an easy run. But we were soon bank-scouting, and made slow progress as there were some difficult sections. Not long into the day Wayne decided to run a fairly big rapid (photos here), which Troy managed to capture on video. Troy and I portaged the first section and did the last drop. A little further there was a drop with a rooster tail, caused by a small boulder in the main flow, which Wayne and I discovered with our backsides (not counted as one of Wayne's 4 spectacular wheels-ups, but I'm sure it added to his bruises).

We were making slow progress and I became impatient, boat-scouting as close to drops as I could, which led me down a tough line once or twice. On one occasion I managed to take out and video Troy and Wayne running a rock-slide, which I was unable to go back and run as I was too far down another line (and had to portage a rocky drop).

Below the slide was one large, evil rapid, which I almost accidentally boat-scouted myself into – some hard paddling was called for to get back from the lip. We spent an hour scouting the various options, but all lines started or ended with something nasty, from massive holes to undercuts, siphons or waterfalls. We finally decided to run a fairly daunting line down the right bank.

Wayne felt that the big drop halfway down this chosen option could be run on the main flow, but I opted for a slide down the right. Unfortunately the slide has a kick to the left and I almost got swallowed by the hole, managing to avoid it by employing frantic draw strokes (and no small amount of luck). I built up speed to punch the second hole, and for a moment I thought I'd skirted it, but it reeled me back in me and welcomed me into its depths for a brief butt-kicking session.

I'd like to think I was in control, staying upright while trying to work towards a flush point, but in reality I was stuck in a violent hole, with no real options. After a short while she flipped me and partially flushed me. A quick roll and some hard paddling saw me escape a further beating. Troy managed to capture this all on camera, including his and Wayne's laughter (thanks for the concern chaps!) With pounding heart and heavy breath, I hauled myself onto the bank to await Wayne's effort.

Meanwhile, Troy's boat inexplicably vanished (but we have evidence of foul play), so he was unable to complete this rapid. Miraculously his boat reappeared below the big stuff later on, complete with paddle and other removables....  Maybe the would-be thief watched Wayne and had a change of heart?

Wayne followed my line and, well, here's the video clip. Apologies for the abrupt and shaky end – Troy was running for the throw-bag. (I later asked Troy what he was going to do with the throw-bag, given that Wayne was in no position to call for a rope – he wasn't sure but felt like he was helping.  Troy has agreed that in future the camera-man will focus on the filming and leave the rescue to the victim and other parties.)

The same kick in the slide pushed Wayne left and into the hole – to receive a severe workout. Even after he ejected he stayed in the hole, underwater. We estimate his down-time was about 30 seconds, with no breather. That's a long time to be cuffed about the ears by your own boat, without fresh air!

Both Wayne and the boat flushed out, with Wayne swimming to safety and the boat stuck in an eddy next to the hole. I dived in (lower down) to rescue Wayne's paddle and only just managed to scramble out on the rocks before the next gnarly drop. This is when it got interesting. 

Three local chaps leapt into the water and swam across to the rocks below Wayne's boat. They clambered over the rocks and grabbed the boat, but were unable to haul it out on the slippery rocks. We eventually managed to drag it around and return it to Wayne using the ropes. When we offered the swimmers the use of ropes to get them safely back across they just laughed, dived in and swam across again.

The rapid described above has been dubbed "Big Rapid 2" for now, but I propose naming it "Hyena's Arse" in honour of the laughter from Wayne and Troy when I got worked, combined with the three falls on his arse that Wayne displayed in this vicinity.

We paddled down a calm trickle of water river right, and paused to scout another slide. Wayne borrowed one of Troy's booties to mitigate the burning of the rocks, and promptly demonstrated how to fall on your arse properly when said bootie slipped on the rocks. See the footage of Jan and Wayne on the slide here (unfortunately the video camera missed all 4 of Wayne's wheels-ups).

A bit more bump and grind down the smaller right-bank current of water and we rejoined the main flow of a now much flatter river. A radio call to Ken confirmed we were near the takeout, so Troy and I were having a bit of a play on the last few waves. Wayne, exhausted, was paddling and drifting ahead (and having a smoke too), when I spotted Ken on the bank far to our right, by which time Wayne was out of sight and earshot. Ken went after him and carried his boat back.

Wayne became instantly depressed when Ken told us about the two big hill-climbs on the way to the car. We cooled off in the river, donned tackies and set off in pursuit of Ken, Samuel and Leonard (our porters), who were setting a blistering pace. I kept them in sight and shouted route-turns back to Troy and Wayne. When the porters paused to cool off in a stream, having almost lost Wayne to a wrong turn already, I handed him one of the radios. Which was just as well because he missed another turn and ended up so far off course he couldn't hear us shouting, whistling or hooting (just imagine - poor bugger might have come to be known as the "Mad Murungu of Murewa", wandering aimlessly in the hills and laughing uncontrollably at passersby).

Wayne produced boerie rolls (thanks to Jethro) and we stopped in Murewa for the obligatory beers, plus mangoes for Mike (who was unable to join us today as he had to take Troy's dog to the vet). True to his word, Wayne sat in the jumpseat and only complained a little towards the end. I think he was hoping for a quiet little sleep, but we kept him awake reliving his nightmare to the sound of our ribald laughter. The nice thing about video is that we can keep sharing the moment, with many other people too! Enjoy – here's the link again in case you missed it further up.

Here are all the links to photos and videos again:

Photos of "Big Rapid 1"

Videos:

Wayne doing well on "Big Rapid 1"

Troy on the first slide

Wayne on the first slide

Jan getting worked

Troy's boat going walkabout

Wayne getting spanked

Jan on the second slide

Wayne on the second slide

And just in case you missed it:

Wayne getting spanked

See you on the water!

Mazowe: Sunungukai Camp to Hippo Pools

13 Feb 11

David presents a cliff-hanger, while Nick flat-spins a "Rainbow Reaction", breaks a paddle, spots the hippos and fights off a man-eating hole. The rest of us had almost as much fun.

Troy D, Wayne M, David C, Nick M and I set off in the company of Riana, Aiden and friend, and of course, Mike and Ken.

We travelled mostly on tar road via Murewa this time, which was a lot more comfortable (but that may also be because we weren't in the Landy).  After dropping us off, Riana and the drivers did an admirable job in locating Hippo Pools on a road none if us had travelled before, using a single GPS waypoint and rough directions (derived from Google Earth).

Meanwhile, back on the river, the warm-up rapid had completely changed character (with the water being about 30cm lower).  The centre option was gone, while the right ended in a proper waterfall - which we of course discovered too late.  We beat a hasty retreat, with minimal scouting options, back to the centre/left combined flow. David ended up taking a swim, and Nick did well to get him out of the current before the big drop. David then entertained us all by rock-climbing along the left bank, which is pretty much a cliff at this point, to get around the rapid.  We didn't think it was possible, but then David has amazing climbing skills.

Wayne then ran the first drop of the big rapid, but opted to portage the last bit.  Naming suggestions are therefore:
"Wayne's Drop" for the first part of the first big rapid and,
"David's Walk" for the (impossible) left bank portage.

The first wave after the rapid was no good, and the second, with no eddy, proved hard to stay on.  Nick managed to break his paddle, and while drifting downriver to find the missing blade he spotted a pair of hippo.  David loaned Nick a spare paddle and we set off, with Wayne well in the rearguard, to skirt around the Hippo, which proved easy as there was a shallow channel around the back of them.

Three hundred meters further on the "Castle Rock Twins" were waiting to welcome us into their fluffy depths, to hold and spin us, windowshade and flip us, and generally entertain us with their allround awesomeness. We spent an hour or more playing on "The Twins", until we we were sapped of all excess energy.  Nick even managed several flat spins is the rather long "Rainbow Reaction".

Wayne, Nick and I had a good look at the next big rapid, and in the end decided on the chicken run river right.  There are just too many gnarly holes to spank you properly if you screw it up.  Wayne and I managed to stay on water all the way down the chicken run, rejoining the main flow about two thirds of the way down, avoiding the hole that spanked me last week and styling the last drop.  No sandcastles this time, but I'm sure Troy was standing by with a bucket and spade in case my boat happened to drop in unattended.

Nick took a swim a little further down, but we recovered easily and handed his broken paddle, which had apparently prevented him rolling, to a passerby to carry to Hippo Pools.  There were a few more good waves.  One wave in particular, which I sat on for some time, was wide enough for 3 or 4 people.

Nick went on to demonstrate tremendous skill by staying calm in a very retentive hole, eventually flushing out after going over.  I presented him my bow for an eskimo rescue and had to paddle hard to keep us both from getting sucked back in.

Cold beers and a lovely packed lunch awaited us at the end. Well done Riana and the drivers!  The trip home was a breeze on good dirt and tar, and a beer stop in Murewa.

Pool Rolling Session

9 Feb 11

Lisa and Sara showed much improvement in their rolling basics, while Troy not only mastered the handroll, he managed to enter his kayak upside-down, fit the skirt and handroll!  Another very enjoyable evening with a fine meal and social afterwards.

Next session 1 March 11.

Mazowe First Descent – Sunungukai Camp to Hippo Pools

6 Feb 11 - 1.2m at Hippo Pools

An excellent piece of the Mazowe river, with awesome scenery and rapids just big enough to be challenging and continuous enough to avoid boredom. There were three or four very good surf waves too.

Squash, Troy and I set off from Harare in the company of Kenny, Mike, Margy and Jen in the Landy, and three other vehicles full of river rafters led by Laurie W. We left the rafters (including Margy and Jen) at the Nyagui Bridge near Shamva, where they ran a 6km run several times, enjoying themselves immensely. 

Our put-in has a road all the way to the river bank, to the now derelict Sunungukai bush camp at the point where the Mazowe does a 90 degree left turn through a range of hills. Eager locals pointed us at the river and gave us directions on how to (expertly) run the waterfall about 400m downstream. We disappointed the locals by taking the centre line on the approach (right and left would also have worked) and opting to portage the last drop. An easy portage on river right was followed by a few more drops, nothing too difficult, and a very nice wave further down.

The next big rapid may have been possible to run left of centre, and Squash, having opted for a difficult portage river left, ran the last part very successfully. If you screw it up on the approach or first stopper you'd be in for a hard swim or a workout in at least two holes. Troy and I opted for the chicken run river right, which took us about halfway down the rapid, before we rejoined the main rapid. Rejoining the main flow is much easier from the right, if you could avoid the two pour-overs, which I failed to do, receiving a small beating from the first, and spending time negotiating my release from the second.

Troy, observing the treatment I'd received, pretended to drop his boat which made it's way through the first pour-over, skirted the second and landed in the eddy where Squash and I were waiting. This qualifies as a swim Troy! I got bored with waiting and used the time to build Troy a nice sand-castle on his seat – which he was inexplicably grumpy about. Some people have no appreciation for art.... He complained all the way to the finish about the sand getting into his undies and chafing him.  Focus on the positive things in life Troy!

The rest of the run was eventful, with several more rapids, all of which we were able to boat-scout, completing the 9km trip in under three hours. Sadly, Kenny had misunderstood our instructions and we had to wait about 2 hours for the vehicle to arrive. Squash, whose pink ticket expired at 4pm sharp, was therefore in the soup, and my better half was also getting a little concerned for our safety, though just enough to appreciate me more when I got home...

Apparently there is a better road for egress on river right, which we'll try next time. The road via Shamva and Madziwa to Hippo Pools is rather long and rough.

Thanks Laurie W and Iain J for suggesting this run – according to them it hasn't been run before (and Iain has been at Hippo Pools for 29 years, so should know.)

Failure on Two Fronts

5 Feb 11 - Well below the marker at the Shavas old rd bridge

Troy, Nick M, Val (novice) and I experienced two large failures on today's trip. In the first case we had decided to form a new cult, just because it seems to be the done thing these days (why have an ordinary club or association when you can have a cult?!) Naturally, it had to be a kayaking cult, and would require a charismatic leader with a fetish for young girls. We would all have to prostrate ourselves before the leader and call him “Great Kayaking Master Guru” and invoke his blessings before trips and events.

By the end of today's trip, on the novice section of the Shavas, we'd given up on ever finding a suitable leader, so the idea died a stillborn death.

The second failure came about when we attempted to name the last drop on the novice section. So far we have a name for “The Three Sisters” - the first challenge on the novice section, as well as for the “Island Rapid”.  “The Three Sisters” has three channels – the one on the left is a siphon, the middle one requires the paddler to bounce of two rocks while the right option has a rock in the middle of the best line, which adds a degree of difficulty at most levels. “The Island" has a nice wave halfway down, with only the tiniest of eddies, but it also has a sting in the tail at higher levels – you need to make a hard right at the end to avoid ending up in a boulder garden sprinkled with trees and pinning opportunities.

The last drop is just above the old road bridge. We decided to paddle it backwards and name it “Backwards Rapid” but that could be a problem as there is a mild pinning opportunity at the bottom, which is easy to avoid, unless you're going backwards. So we decided that if one of us could surf the wave long enough to open a can of amber liquid and take a sip, we would name the rapid after said amber liquid. But even though we managed to get onto the wave several times (which in itself is a feat) we failed to get comfortable long enough to open the can.

Besides these failures it was a very pleasant day on the river, with Nick M working out a few cobwebs and Troy practicing his rolling in anticipation of tomorrow's trip. Val enjoyed herself and mastered some of the basics of safe kayaking, including a wet exit while rearranging the rocks with her head protection. A cloudburst at the takeout failed to dampen our spirits and the beautiful sunset made the cold beers on the way home all the more enjoyable.