Nyagui Gorge Ends in Tears

8 March 2015 - Low Water

An exciting day on a river which is big, even at low water. Wayne apparently needs counselling after being cussed by Jan.

Wayne, Amy, Max, Grant and Aiden set off from the Mukore Weir in the raft, with Dave and Jan in kayaks.  The chicken run was not an option due to low water, so the waterfall was portaged.  The next few drops provided a bit of humour and a couple of swims.  Some of the drops are quite big, but the raft handled them well, with the kayakers taking more conservative lines.  Jan followed the raft down a big drop and ended up under it in a hole, resulting in a cut to Wayne's lip from trying to help Jan up, and swim by Jan.

The "Horse-shoe & Nail" saw the raft being knocked off its line early on, which ended in a big drop and a nasty swim by all.  David and Jan ran the right-hand line in a hurry to provide assistance and gather up the flotsam.  Wayne later laughed at his crew for looking like a group of bush-baby's - big eyes all round!

The drops leading up to the slide provided no real problem, although they were all large (even at low water).  The slide was run well by the raft and kayaks, and provided for much enjoyment by all.

Then came "Hyena's Bottom", made infamous by Wayne Moss in 2011 (click here to see the write-up). Jan portaged without even looking at the rapid, Wayne was tempted to run it in the raft, but ghosted the raft down instead, and Dave surprised us all by announcing that he would run it.

Dave's approaching line was excellent, and I was sure he would put all our fears to bed at last. But at the last instant things went pear-shaped. Dave was flipped over by the diagonal at the lip of the drop, and he went over the drop inverted, sustaining 2 cracked ribs in the process.  Fortunately he flushed straight out (unlike Wayne in 2011) and ended up in the secondary hole. The spectators scrambled to his rescue and whipped him off to hospital, where he was x-rayed and pronounced fine, except for the cracked ribs.  During the rescue there was much shouting of instructions, so I  suspect some of the rescuers, and Dave, may also require counselling.

Hyena's Bottom 2, HAKA 1!

The Pros Take to the Raft

1 March 2015 Mazoe River - Even Lower Water

Teaspoon Paddling and an Epic Walk by Jan After the Rendezvous Was Missed!

Troy, Wayne, Jan and Aiden rafted the Mazoe again, with Squash in the safety kayak.

We set off from Sunungukai and ran the first rapid on a perfect line. "Head Banger" provided some entertainment, ending with the raft pinned next to the gnarly hole, and all paddlers taking a swim.  The rest of the run was interesting but uneventful, save that the driver was not at the agreed take-out.

We continued downriver, hoping to meet the driver, but after another km decided to pull out and look for him.  Jan ended up walking 5 or 6 kilometers and eventually found the driver at the agreed location - he had gotten bogged near the drop-off and had only just arrived. The only accessible take-out was further downstream, so Jan had to walk about a kilometer upstream again to guide the gang and take them the pump (Troy had deflated the raft already). 

In Jan's absence the others had reviewed the video footage and subsequently accused the hero of the day of teaspoon paddling! And then set about whining that he hadn't walked back in with food and drink! Unbelievable!!

The Raft is Launched

22 February 2015 Mazoe River - Low Water

Squash Renames "Big Rapid 2".

On the 21st, late evening, a bunch of us, including kids and novices, bobbed down the very low Umfurudzi.  Afterwards we camped the night in a lovely Umfurudzi campsite.

The next morning Hamish Ross kindly dropped us off at Castle Rock and took some stunning photos.  The road was heavy going and the truck with all the equipment came close to bogging down.

The raft was launched while some of us played on the waves near Castle Rocks (the "Castle Rock Twins"). 



Once master raft guide Wayne had briefed the crew (Chantal, Jacqui, Brett & Jess) we set off to tackle the river.

Squash ran a great line down Big Rapid 2, but promptly renamed it to "The Head-banger" because the top wave gave him a thorough slap, knocking his helmet to the back of his head. Jan followed on a less than perfect line, opting to miss the previously swum hole by taking the chicken run on the right for the last portion.

The raft followed and almost waxed the line,, with no real mishaps to report. But Ryan confirmed Squash's renaming of the rapid by dropping into the gnarly hole at the bottom and emerging with severe rock-rash to the upper face.

The Pros Swim the Novice Run

15 Feb 2015 - Low Water

The Novices Fared Much Better!

Jan and Ryan decided to take 3 novices, Chantal, Jess and Brett, on a brief course down the Novice section. After the usual intro and basic skills they set off and had a chilled session, all the way to 3 sisters.  Ryan was in full "Steven Spielberg" mode with his Go-Pro, and decided to park in the eddy halfway down the rapid.

Actually it's more of a boil than an eddy, which saw him being undone and ended in a swim.  Not much further along, still in "Spielberg" mode, Ryn dropped into the hole halfway down "The Island" rapid, which ended in another swim.

Our all-conquering instructor Jan, while attempting to rescue Ryan's boat, got himself sucked into a small whirlpool and pinned against a rock.....  

Novice section 3, Pros 0.

After a quick lunch the group set off to run the top half of the gorge.  All went well, with the odd novice swimming, and only just avoiding the last hole. Then all hell broke loose while keeping them away from "The Black Syphon" - it seemed as if all wanted to go into it...  Brett almost swam Quadratic - in fact it is not possible to come closer to the drop-in without actually swimming it. Jess had to be hauled past the syphon, and then Chantal did an unsupervised ferry just above Quadratic, which almost ended in tears.