THE LONG WAY DOWN TO DIMALICHITE

Awaiting us is a rapid which is very bony, has big rocks sticking out, and it has a steep downward slope. I think it is do-able, but I sense that Maria doesn't necessarily agree with me so slowly but surely, all horror stories of people drowning, and the force of the water snapping your kayak in half if you get stuck and turn sideways. I remember about washing machines, and suction power that renders you helpless. Okay, so I start agreeing with Maria, it does look a bit ominous.We opt to go around the side, lodge ourselves on the rocks and with the rope, slowly maneuver our kayaks down to the bottom. This only took forever, and quite frankly is much more dangerous than gunning it down the good old-fashioned way, but regardless, once we finally got to the bottom, we were hardly saying a word to each other, and my legs were banged up. The scenery was so fantastical, that we soon forgot our ordeal and just paddled on silently.


It is super enjoyable to cruise around in the little side streams, even if it means paddling all the way back. The sights are stunning, and the wildlife is something else. It's a bustling nest of activity in those narrow little channels in between the islands. The birds are gorgeous, I could observe them forever. It's as if everything is in unison, and for this instant I am a part of the equilibrium.
A serious wind starts blowing just off the side, which makes paddling seem useless, because it's a mission to keep the kayak straight, and I'm not even talking about moving forward. It is getting late, so we push forward, on the lookout for a place to camp, when DiMalichite appears on the left hand side. There were a few people camping along the riverbank, some chalets, and what looked like a shop. We paddled closer and Maria got out first, in search of an office of some kind. I stayed with the dogs, and they were so cute, waiting all patiently for Maria to return before they could get out. It's been a hot day, and we were all gagging to get out of the sun, but still we waited patiently. Maria came back in a little truck, and Awie and David helped us to pick the kayaks up onto the back, and took us to our camping spot. Awie is such a delight and thought we were crazy to paddle with such heavy packed kayaks, as it took 3 of us to lift it, with great difficulty.


We stopped by the shop to get some provisions, and found out more about DiMalichite, which is a family run business. It is great for camping, fly fishing, whitewater rafting, hiking, and all the other stuff that makes a holiday out in the wilderness a cool idea. The chalets are also really nice, and there's a swimming pool and Jacuzzi too. First thing I did after unpacking and setting up camp, was to have a bath. The bathroom was quite nice, and there were 2 baths and 3 showers.
Dante and Katryn were roaming around like they owned the place, and they were playing their silly little games, which made me smile and feel a little silly myself. Maria made a dashing supper consisting of chilli beef soya with onions, tomato and pasta. It was a beautiful night, the stars were bright, and I lay there listening to the sounds of silence for a long while before I drifted off to sleep.