HMMM, THOSE SUNSETS

TO LAZY DAYS AND BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE

We were packed and ready to go quite early for a change, but the camp was in a state of slumber. Pieter was nowhere to be found, and we had to settle the bill, so we waited. At around 10, Maria went to wake him up. Eventually, he opened the bar, and we stocked up on some cold drinks and ice. Pieter suggested we all have a "regmaker" which resulted in us sitting at the bar until well after 2pm. It was so nice; we almost decided to stay over again, because we had met some really cool people. Everybody started arriving for the girl's birthday party, and the mood was picking up from the laying low of before. Fresh souls were moving into the campsite. Pieter and Annemarie Knox were amongst them, and it was especially these two who made it difficult for me to leave. Lovely people.

We thought that even if we just paddled for an hour, at least we'd be moving, so we continued, said our good-bye's and got back into the water.
I got a bit drenched in some little rapids, where the water just spilled into my boat, but other than that, the water was amazing. We cruised on for about an hour or two, before we found a very nice spot to camp on the right hand side. We had to carry our gear for a bit, and hoped that our canoes would still be there when we needed them again in the morning.

Christo Meyer found us along the riverbank, because we had contacted him about the piece of land we were on, to find out whom it belonged to, and if it would be cool if we camped here. It was nice to see him, but he didn't stay long, just chatted for a while, and commented on the time it has taken us to get to this point. I could see how this could be so funny, because it has taken us 4 days to get here, which is at most a 2 day trip. We're not in a hurry however, and I'm more scared of missing anything, than getting to Bloemhof in record time.
We had a quick dinner, and an early night.

HADEDA CREEK

I would say we're getting better at this. It was around 3/4pm when we reached Hadeda Creek. Maria stayed on the kayak with the dogs, because Pieter has two beautiful big dogs named Simba and Tripod (he had lost a leg, hence the name), and we didn't know how they'd react towards each other. Turns out it was Pieter's 30th birthday. There were two big groups who had checked in when we arrived. The atmosphere was festive and we were quickly swept away into a lazy late afternoon of drinks at the bar. The mixture of sun, excitement and alcohol didn't quite agree with me. I felt heavily intoxicated, so I excused myself, unpacked my kayak and went in search of our room in the tented camp, which Pieter had organized for us.

I had to lie down for a while before I got my stuff together and headed towards the showers. Dinner was at 7pm. so that left me with less than 30mins, and I was so hungry, I could eat a horse!!! The food was divine to say the least. I dished up way more than I could handle, but I managed very well thank you very much. We had offered to run the bar if Pieter needed us to, seeing as it was his birthday. The atmosphere at the bar was playful and everyone was going for gold. When they started hoisting themselves upside down into a canoe which is attached to the roof, downing shots of tequila, that's when I started to get worried. I haven't recovered quite yet, so we agreed to disappear for a while, and come back later. The day has taken it's toll on all of us, so we chilled for a while, and retired to take a cat nap, but we only woke up again around 12pm and realized with a shock, that we had probably missed the entire party. I keeled over and went back to sleep.

DEPARTURE

We were packed and ready to rock by 9am, but waited for Awie to portage us back to the water. We all bid each other farewell, and today Awie brought a third person to help load the kayaks, less difficulties. Once we on the water, it was around 11am. The day was beautiful, and we paddled along every channel again, it was great fun. There were a couple of rapids, one on which I got stuck, but nothing serious, in fact it was fun. Once we got to a bigger one, we contemplated which way around, and after going through the whole scene of anticipating the waters, feeling that rush of fear, then the rush of adrenaline, and so on and so forth, we went down, this time a bit easier than before.

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.

RAPIDS & VICIOUS DOGS - A ROCKY START

We were up bright and early, making sure that everything is packed and ready. It was such a mission to decide what goes and what stays on the bike. Our previous river experience has taught us that everything could be lost in an instant, so we had to think carefully. We also had to double check that our bikes were packed and ready for transportation. I was sad to see old Silver go. I don't really like the idea of my bike going somewhere without me, but sure it wouldn't be too long before we were reunited...
Danie picked us up with a magical old Ford F250 which he had just bought at an auction. Bikes and canoes all had a place at the back of this old truck, so off we went. He dropped us off at Rocky Ridge, just outside town where we launched our canoes. He first had to show us how everything is tied to the top and gave us some pointers on safety and how to maneuver around the islands, before he put us in the water. This was the scary part, because never ever before had any one of us been on a sit on top kayak. We were used to the Croc, and this was a completely different ball game. I think Danie must've laughed himself silly, as we circled, and tried to keep our balance. We encountered a couple of rapids, mostly Class 1 and 2's, but got stuck on the rocks a couple of times, which was a bit scary in the beginning, because the pit kept filling with water, and so fast, I thought we were gonna sink. Katryn just looked at me as if to say, "well bloody do something and quick!” I had to launch myself on the rock and tried desperately to free the kayak, and once it was free, I had to jump in or be left behind, because the water was moving fast. The scary thing about getting stuck is that the water moves with such a force, and is pushed into the kayak from behind, and once it gets sucked in, especially sideways, you're done!!!

A couple of groups came past us, as we stopped before every rapid, because it was the safe thing to do, and Maria wasn't comfortable with gunning it yet. We have all the time in the world, so I guess a few stops here and there are fine.
By the time we got to SanWa, just before a Class 3 rapid named Gatsien, I was soaked, so we got out, and got some drinks from their bar, and the dogs ran off and played for a while, relieved to be off the water, or rather stuck on rocks. We contemplated staying over, but things didn't work out that way, so we had to go through the rapid. Maria suggested that she would take the cameras and other stuff to the other side, and I take the kayaks through the rapid. Without the dogs to worry about, I was quite keen.
I took my canoe through first, and it was exhilarating! Not as bad as it looks at all. Next I took Maria's kayak, but this time I wasn't as lucky. I went in, and just as I thought that I've made it, I flipped. I tried to remember about floating feet first downstream, but the kayak was getting away from me, and was lying on it's side, so I abandoned reason and swam for all I was worth to get to it. The life jacket made swimming rather cumbersome, and despite my efforts, it felt like I wasn't moving closer at all. Finally I got to it, but found that I couldn't flip it back, no matter how I tried, but then, thankfully, I drifted against a rock which I could lodge myself onto, and thus succeeding to flip the kayak on it's bottom. I couldn't get in though, so I had to swim it back to shore. Wasn't half bad, didn't get hurt, no harm done, so all's good.

It was getting dark, and I was drenched and shivering cold as we paddled towards the right, where we saw a house. We had no idea who lived there and thought that we would walk up and ask if there was anywhere we could camp. Maria walked up, but soon afterwards came down screaming for us to run. Following in her footsteps was a small little Dutch hound, but around the corner came a massive Boerbull. Once Maria reached the gate, she turned around and shouted at them to stay put! Funny enough, they did. I then volunteered to go up, because I thought they seemed nice enough dogs. I was chatting with them for a bit, moving closer, when I saw people walking down the path. I was relieved, because it spared me having to brave the dogs. Problem is, that with the lady and her kids came another Boerbull, and this one had no mercy. She came storming towards me, and I just stood still, I mean, what can one do??? Sjoe! There were moments when I stopped breathing as this dog just kept on charging. I told it to stop, but had to step a couple of paces back, or else it would've floored me. I think the owner got an even worse fright than me, but she was super friendly, and suggested we camped on an island nearby called De Graaff island, because the dogs would probably not like it if Dante and Katryn invaded their territory.
By the time we reached the island, I was frozen. The nights are still cold, and being soaked didn't help much. Maria found a spot to camp and offered to make dinner. I was relieved, so first I got rid of the wet clothes and got myself dry and warm, pitched the tent and lay in my sleeping bag for a bit before I joined Maria by the little fire on the rocks.
We sat there for a while, stars so close you can almost touch them, the sound of water cascading all around. I am thankful in this moment for the privilege to be here, and to be surrounded by all this. This moment, is why I do this...