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...
