Pakistan - Indus 2025

The infamous Indus, with a rich history linked to the Silk Road, fabled interactions of Genghis Khan and the Shahs of Persia and the more recent history of the whitewater exploration that seemingly begun with the ‘Taming the Lion’ expedition in 1990. Although there were attempted descents in the 50s and 70s in various watercraft. My personal knowledge of the river prior to going to Pakistan was snippets of the trip in 2008 and similar from Aniol’s series of trips from 2016. In more recent years its been great to see some more Kiwi boaters, Harry, Manu, Will, Archer and others I am sure, finding their way to Pakistan and experience what I will now say is the most incredible river I have had the pleasure of paddling. 

Ari and I (Jordy) had our team slip away from us in the months leading up to our trip, but fortunately in the witching hour DK (Ryan O’Connor) signed on and made us three. All kiwis too, which is always cool when it happens. That said, this would be our first piece of advice for the indus:

1. Ideal numbers would be 4-6, less and you’re isolated running rapids and more might add too much time.  That said, the American crew who lit up the Indus while we were there had 7 and their second lap was 3 days and only 5 portages. 

We planned two weeks in country, which turned out to be plenty for what we were trying to achieve on this trip. There is a lot to do if you had longer, Hunza, Astore, Shyok, Upper Indus, Gilgit and thats not even getting obscure yet. In terms on logistics, the answer is simple and the second piece of advice:

2. Contact Golden Peak Tour - Ali Khan. They will give you a loose itinerary and a reasonable estimate. You can change it on the fly if required. They provide transport, permits, organise camps or guesthouses, sort food and everything. They even have a stock of boats people can hire AND/or store the boats people leave behind so people can buy them to avoid the risk of flying (not flying) with one. 

We opted to fly to Skardu and warm up on the Upper Indus and Shyok, where the Americans did the 2 (short) day drive up from Islamabad and warmed up on the Hunza. The value of the second approach, maybe, is then you drive up the Indus to put on. So you get to see sections of the river. That said, I kind of liked the surprise of not really knowing whats coming next. 

We got kinda tangled up in bureaucracy going to the Upper Indus, it’s a little tighter there as it is the closest border to India. No issues, just burning time. We paddled a short section but it was late in the day so wanted to move on, but it sounds like there is more to enjoy above what we did. The next day we did the Shyok which was a great warm up, but both these rivers mainly left us with one thought… they both felt big and they come together to from the Indus which drops into the Rhondu Gorge. 

Staging for the Indus you will be in Skardu and I would suggest (although Ali/Golden Peak will sort) staying with Ayaz at K2 Paradise. This was the best accomodation up in Gilgit-Baltistan we had. There is decent food in Skardu and plenty of supplies… although you do arrive to camp every day with everything prepared for you while on the river. That said, the third piece of advice is

3. Take some bars/river snacks you’re used to. There are plenty of dried fruit, nuts and chocolate bars but I was stoked to have some OSMs for the river. The camp kitchen does provide a lunch to take on the river, such as Roti and boiled eggs or an omelette but we found simple bars to be best. 

From here we were pretty keen to put on the Indus as it just felt like we were waiting, so we put on a day behind the American crew. Prior to putting on we knew we higher flows, we flicked Aniol a message and his beta was simple, “Rhondu goes better with higher flows, get it”.  Being a day being the Americans turned out to be quite cool as we shared camp with them and exchanged stories from our days. It sounds odd writing this, but we did about 3-5 hours per day on the river. Erring on the 3-4 end. And so did the Americans. It was generally putting on around 10am and taking off 2pm, and this felt like enough. It’s hard to believe when paddling it, but the first 2-3 days are the easier days. But make no mistake, the Indus can always get you. Owen and Gibby found that out, after running a rapid and giving the boys a thumbs up… just to fall victim to an innocuous MASSIVE hole that swam them. I got lit up running a sneak… which turned out to be 100m of steep high-water Whitcombe like rapids. 

At camp you can generally get a message out to love ones if thats your style. Depending who you are and what you’re preference around connectivity is, this is probably a good place for our fourth piece of advice:

4. SCOM is the only telecommunications provider that works in the Rhondu and overall is superior in Gilgit-Baltistan. You dont get this provider via your ESIM, but you can go into the store in Skardu and get a physical SIM card. The process is a little convoluted, requiring passport, visa, some top up cards etc.. but your driver/team will help you with this. 

Ryan definitely was definitely firing the hardest the first couple of days, running a few that Ari and I elected to portage. But before we got to Malupa, Ari had adjusted to the sheer size of things and he was beginning to become more bold. Ari and Ryan had clean lines through Malupa and I decided it wasn’t for me that day. The next day, morning of day 4, I think, our small team size became an issue. We had taken out above Natural Progression the day prior and that was to be the breakfast rapid. I planned to run it first, followed by Ryan as safety for one another and Ari taking media. I got absolutely tossed, but came through all good, Ryan actually had a better line but in the process of getting power flipped caught his recently injured left shoulder and strained it. Once Ari paddled down we decided to have a short/lay over day in the hopes Ryan would recover and be able to paddle some. 

Unfortunately a nights rest did not quite give Ryan the confidence in his shoulder he needed to put on the river, so Ari and I had a day with just the two of us. This really changed the dynamic of things, may more isolated, running stuff 1-2, no media (except Ryan roadside with the team) and the thought in the back of our minds that any event now might actually end the trip for everyone. That all said, we had a good day and made up a lot of ground we had lost by taking a layover day. It was impressive to see Will Paytons drop, Ari thought about running the second part but it was blood high and quickly feed into the stuff downstream. 

Another night at camp with ample Pakistani Chai (tea) and DK was actually feeling a lot better. He had better range of motion of his left arm and so figured he would put on and see how it went. It became a slightly more conservative approach but that only goes so far on the Indus. Ari was carrying the team as we entered the last day. Jordy had previously had a deep swim having failed to get left of a big pour over and Ryan was still protecting his shoulder some. The drone had broken, Ari had resigned to not carrying his camera and we were keen to punch it out and get it finished. We portaged the impressive Next Generation and then paddled down the left side of “Lost in the Indus’, as instructed by the Americans. Again, the sneak was long and massive and Jordy was selected as the 1 of 3 for quite a full on beat down and swim. That was quickly tided up by DK. From here we safely got down to the confluence which heralded the takeout. This place is unique in that it is where the Himalaya, Hindu Kush and Karakoram all come together. For somewhere so monumental, it was kind of odd to just sit with the three of us to reflect on the previous days. 

All in all The Rhondu Gorge section of this Indus is like nothing else we have experienced. The shear size of things, the number of rapids and how well most stuff goes is unfathomable. Essentially everything is optional and Aniol was right, maybe, in that it’s better at higher water. 

Traditionally when we finish a big river trip we would partake in some form of celebratory drink, but with Pakistan being Islamic there are very few offerings available for this. Which is out final piece of advice:

5. Foreigner can take in a measured amount of alcohol for personal comsuption. 1-2 bottles would be acceptable. We actually enjoyed the lack of after river beers while in Pakistan, but definitely felt the void once completing the Indus. Also, we were invited to a prominent persons house at the end of our trip and it would of been nice to provide them with some liquor to share, as they delved into their own personal stocks while hosting us. 

For those who have made it all the way to the bottom of this post, there is a reward. In lieu of not having celebratory bubbles like the Saryjaz or beers like the stikine or imported liquour like after your first Myrkdalen… we had to make do with what we had. And the was a sodden pack of R6s that DK had in his dry bag. So here is it, the first and only cigarette Ari and I will ever smoke. A moment for many reasons the 3 of us will never forget. 

Devil Postpile - Arguably the best High Sierra run.

During a smash and grab Cali trip in 2025, Ari and Jordy managed to tick off the lesser known Devils Postpile of the Middle San Joaquin. The lads ended up doing it as a gruesome two-some at what locals thought was at the higher end of the flow range for the run. Adding a little more complexity, the road down to rainbow falls was shut so they had to hike in via mammoth pass. 

Putting on at 190, the flow held/went up and it was early season so there was a lot of flow coming in from the side creeks. This was a PERFECT flow. 

Overall the run is world class, endless epic whitewater that for the most part was optional. That said, very little portaging other than some obvious ones. Here are same gems of beta that might be useful for teams going in, but for a much more detailed rundown look at Darin McQuiods write up or speak to the infamous Six-Seven Kevin if you can track him down. 

1. We suggest not putting on at rainbow falls, keep walking down the trail past lower rainbow falls and then follow Darins portage guide. We put in at 37.582061,-119.094163 by walking down a crack/gully. This is where we would suit up. If you do put on, you end up doing the portage below low rainbow in your dry gear, and sweat it all out and the lower rainbow falls isn’t really worth it. 

Lower rainbow falls

We camped at this drop, kinda early but we were tired

2. The whitewater crux is on day 2, what we called the Serpent Gorge (Ari seen two rattle snakes scouting high of river right, so we paddled opposed to portage). It’s just after boof-o-matic gorge. There is 2-3 drops back to back, the first is a watery boof into a corridor on the left, which has a nasty pocket eddy that a swim could be terminal. Stay more centre/right in the corridor if possible. This drops into a small pool/eddy before a 3rd drop which is very sticky and likely to beat/swim people. We portaged the third drop easily on the right. 

Slides for days 

Boof-o-matic

That drop, unsure of its name. 

3.  It sounds like people have been getting out at the bridge on river right and portaging the first part of the crucible gorge/section. It’s confusing where to go, the trail kinda heads upstream… do not follow this. Kinda climb up the rocks in line with the bridge and eventually you will find some rock cairns, these lead you over a ridge, down through some trees and we put on here. 37.482097,-119.211705.

4. Further down there are several portages, per Darins blog one looks easier to start on the left but there are some ledges/potholes on the right that give you access to walking along a low angle granite wall. This side is MUCH easier, you will see when portaging. Starting here 37.481508,-119.217075

5. The crucible inner, just below balloon dome camp, its good to go. You can scout the first two on the right, and with high water was could paddle down the right opposed to the middle for the first one. Broken arrow is straight forward. The third drop you boof middle and then drive back to the right for another boof above the “must run”. You can easily get out and scout this in a crack on the left, we set a line from a tree and wrapped down to the ledge below the drop safely. This is a good option for one person to do to set safety or for people to portage if required. The river came up 6 inches overnight while we were camped at balloon dome, and this didnt cause any issue. 

Balloon dome camp, just above to “Crux of the cruicble

Other than this beta, you can work out the rest. Maybe have Darins URL/page downloaded on your phone if you’re keen to have an idea of whats coming up, we did it and it kinda helped us mentally map out the upcoming day. 

Tanzania: Kiwira and a failed mission, or was it?

 In late March and April in 2025, Ari and Jordan teamed up with their Africa concubine Dewet Michau for another look into South Africa. There were many ideas thrown around for where to go but we ultimately settled for an area in Western Tanzania, north of Lake Malawi. Logistics were pretty simple, Ari and Jordy would fly into Mbeya and Dewet would meet them there with a pre-organised vehicle and driver. From there we planned to further explore a section of river Dewet had paddled a in a previous trip and then head to destination X [keeping is secret as we don’t want people cutting out lunch] for a 4-5 day first descent. We loosely kept to this plan, although the intended first descent was flooded and impassable and it turns out the upper reaches of the Kiwira would take over a week to safely breakdown. 

Our vehicle situation was fairly typical for our trips, we turned up and our driver and his companion (unsure why there was a companion) had essentially filled the back of the vehicle with their belongings so there was very little room for our stuff. All that said, we got to the river and managed to paddle the section Dewet had previous paddled but with a lot more water this time. It was world class waterfalls. 

The following few days we added on a section above the previously run sections and then extended down to the lower takeout, with ari running a 60+ foot first D. The character was wall to wall jungle river, which made it hard to scout but there was so many quality drops. 

While in this area our time was GREATLY improved having been welcomed into the home of Rob and Petra, a couple of avocado farmers who Dewet connected with via mutual friends. It was their generosity that really made the intial time in the Kiwira work for us. 

We had to break out of the Kiwira, the river had more to give but we really needed to go to check out our project. We shook off the extra person and reduced the amount of stuff in the vehicle as much as possible and hit the road. 

… but when we got there the river was FLOODING. Bank to bank, and not what we needed for a multi-day jungle first descent. So we had to audible and we got lucky enough to find a first descent in a dryer region. Was a single overnight but had good water and some good drops throughout. 

After this we were in a bit of an impasse, the region we have planned to explore was way to high to paddle and there was so much uncertainty about going further afield to try and find paddling. Our driver did not like the idea of going to the Congo so we decided to head back to Kiwira and explore the upper reaches. This would turn out to be a great decision and was spent a further week breaking down multiple bridge to bridge sections of the river. 

We really focused on drone and the nature of the river made it harder to get pictures of the drops, but the several sections were fantastic. Hard to work out, but all linked together nicely. There was a section of runnable/unrunnable giants in the middle, that will likely need a slightly different flows and a crew who’s prefrontal cortex has yet to completely develop. 

We’re heading back in late 2025 to try and get our initial intended mission complete and we will have a look at the lower Kiwira, from where we finished to above where the schistosomiasis/bilharzia begins. And for Christmas with Rob and Petra! 

Mexico - short and sharp in Tlapacoyan

In November/December 2023, Ari, TT (Chris Atkinson), Dubby, Wookie (Chris Loughran) and Jordy did a smash and grab to the famed Tlapacoyan. Ari had been for a similar trip with Evan Moore in 2017 so we kind of had the lay of the land. That said, we needlessly hired 2 nice vehicles and ultimately used Aventure Rec for all of our shuttled etc. We suggest getting them to do an airport transfer, it might save you getting shaken down by the Police like we did. During the trip we all got sick, a sequential 12 hours each. Although TTs illness kinda lingered. We were confined to the Alseseca due to flows, but had an epic time on the road-side section..

Several big banana alps, Tomata 1 and then the seven sisters.

We rang the bell plenty, those who know will know, had the privalage of getting some beta and assistance from the “Gaviner”, Gav Barker, and overall had a decent trip. Unfortunately left plenty to go back for but that’s okay, we will get onto the yoga and strength the spines for another trip. 

Zimbabwe

It has been a tumultuous last couple of weeks here for all of us in New Zealand, and for me it has been a great time to reflect on our recent trip to Africa. Africa. The word itself means different things to different people, but I feel the constant association with Africa is the opportunity for exploration. Be it the wildlife parks of the Serengeti, cultural immersion in ancient cities like Casablanca, self-exploration by way of experiencing vastly different cultures forging their existence or exploring the rivers that provide life to all the occupants of the african landmass. For Ari Walker, Dewet Michau and myself, it was the latter that would draw us to Africa. To be fair Dewet is actually from South Africa, but his motivation for exploring and experiencing other parts of his home continent aligns with ours… we want to know, experience and be shaped by Africa. And this first expedition, of many if this Covid thing ever relents, would begin our journey.

In the interest of keeping this ‘brief’ I will summarize or skip over large parts of the trip, which was only 26 days but each day would almost have enough for write-up on its own. The trip seemed to start off without an issue, all our bags arrived, phones sorted, linked up with Dewet and our driver arrived with our kayaks that somehow made it from Pyranha UK → Cape Town → somewhere else in South Africa → overland to Bulowayo → Harare, Zimbabwe. Thanks Matt, Andrew K and all involved. Our driver was an eccentric Zimbo called Zuga, who arrived in an impressively decorated 1990 Hiace. A Hiace that we would essentially spend the first 10 days in, driving around trying to find rivers in the Eastern Highlands but to no avail. The drought in the Honde Valley was running deep into the  wet-season, the rivers were dry. We were so desperate to kayak and equally adamant not to turn this into a Zambezi trip, that we literally looked at a rain radar for Southern Africa and drove to where there was gradient and water. This would take us to Mulanje, Malawi. Getting to and from there was maybe the most ridiculous part of the trip. 

image: Ari Walker

On the way we had to go through the Nyampanda border-crossing into Mozambique and then out the Zobue border-crossing into Malawi. A series of events led to us not making the push through Mozambique before the latter border closed. So without any money or information we had to try to find a place to stay on the main road. I managed to dredge up some portuguese from our trips to Brazil and organized to camp at a security guards house, well at least that is what I thought I had achieved. We gave some chicken and supplies to a small boy we found alone at ‘the’ property, who he was we will never know but we do know he was a happy chappy. Later that night we were woken by a large group of people, some jovial voices and some less so. Either way they didn’t directly bother us, thankfully. Early the next morning, we made a hasty departure but not before I spoke, haphazardly, with someone who seemed to be a leader and who was definitely not that security guard. We shook-hands and then left. We made it through the next border and to the salvation of Malawi.

Image: Ari Walker

image: Ari Walker

Back to at least some spoken english, friendly people, food and what would turn out to be our first whitewater of the trip. After scouting a section of the Shire  (thankfully we did not run into crocs, hippos or snakes while walking through the long grass) we rallied over to Mount Mulanje in hope of paddling Likhubula Falls or any of the rivers that ran off the unique little mountain range. We weedled our way into the Likhubula park and after some 4-wheel sending in the van, I took over driving for that part, we made it most of the way to the falls. Two persistent local lads followed us and basically joined us by osmosis. Self-proclaimed local guides, we gave them a token donation for them to walk with us but we didn’t employ them. Electing to carry all our gear and just talking to the boys are the area during the hike in. At the falls it was the classic, ‘we have driven all this way… but god damn it is dubious’. Cue Ari. He figured, “it’s not bad a go”. So after some fairly thorough scouting, planning, considering… Ari sent her, straight down the only possible line. The hit at the bottom was not nearly as savage as we envisaged, with Ari hand rolling in the pool and surfacing with two thumbs up. I knew what that meant, my turn. Same line, same result. Poor old Dewet. Something this tall with all its risks just gave out two seamless lines, enough to twist a kayakers arm but still. Would it give a third? 

image: Dewet Michau

image: Ari Walker

Dewet couldn’t resist and put into the lonely little eddy above the falls. ‘Whoop, whoop’, safety was set, cameras on and the local lads were fired up to see another crazy mzungu (white-man) fall off their local attraction. Dewet dropped in, and took off. Literally. Carrying in a bunch of speed and flying off the drop, flat as a pancake. Luckily he was tucked forward and his back was strong. Stoked on our first descent

we’d treat ourselves to some actual food, finally, and even a few beers at the local. Turns out mzungu’s do not go to ‘the local’, but we did, they will remember us and we will be most welcome back next time we are in town. 

image: Jordy Searle

The next day we popped up the main southern drainage of the Mulange ranges, we didn't have the flow required to get the best out of the river. But still, we did find an epic section of class III-IV (or more if you got the flows) that you can drive to the put in and pick up fresh cut tea from the source at take-out. After this, we checked out the northern drainage but that would need a biblical amount of rain. After another great night of sleep we figured, let's leave Malawi. The affordable, safe, happy, whitewater little paradise we had discovered and head back into Mozambique? To a river we picked on the map in the middle of absolutely nowhere. Fun fact, if the river is in the middle of nowhere in Mozambique… you will probably not be able to access it.

image: Jordy Searle

image: Jordy Searle

So after a 4 hour debacle at the Muloza Border crossing, over the production year of the US $100 we were paying with (you need the new blue ones in Mozambique), we were on our way back to Zimbabwe. Kinda off. Turns out the highway we planned on and then went through was a dirt road that took 10 hours, through a Renamo (militant political party) stronghold and was under some heavy construction. Somehow we made it, after re-attaching our clutch in the middle of a rain storm and managing to find petrol in the most lawless town any of us have ever been in. As we popped out off the N322 highway (do not ever take this road) to the main road, there was an armed checkpoint that was definitely not expecting us to pop out in the middle of the night. After a quick shakedown looking for guns, drugs or whatever we were on our way. We spent two days in Chimoio, not a bad part of Mozambique, and then the next saga began. Our drive lost his shit. That is kiwi for, he became inconsolably angry. We weren’t sure why but in reflection we can understand somewhat. He thought we were going kayaking like the Zambezi kayakers he knew… but two days earlier we had driven him through a militant strong-hold as well as driving his van up 4wd walking tracks, multi-border crossings, questionable ‘camping’ and a lot of banter. After some negotiating we came to an agreement that he would take us back to Harere, thankfully, and that day would be maybe the most awkward in my life. But we got back, dumped with all our gear and not sure what to do. So, we had a beer with Jan and his wife Amy. Jan is an OG Zimbabwe kayaker and knows everyone. His neighbour Hamish came over, and he had a beer too. Ultimately Hamish gave us his wifes egg-delivery van to use for the remaining 10 days of the trip, lucky Bridget was a down-to-earth kiwi and even made sure the vehicle was full of petrol before we disembarked. 

Image: Ari Walker

It looked as if our fortunes were changing, but at this point all 3 of us were cautious in believing that. Before Hamish (Bridget really) came to the rescue we really were considering just calling it quits and coming back another year. I had to snap my mind out of it, nothing bad had happened. We had just been dealt a few bad hands, but we had a few chips left on the table and to be fair, coming to Africa wasn’t exactly based around playing it safe. So we climbed into the 1300cc Toyota Lite-ace

egg delivery cart and headed back to the highlands. The first check-point went better than any previously and it looked as if rain was on the way. We were heading back to the Honde Valley.

image: Ari Walker

We had been in touch with Chris Craig, manager of Aberfoyle Lodge, administrator for Far and Wide, organiser of the Sky Run Ultra,  avid kayaker and resident in the Honde Valley. He was telling us that the rivers were high, and he was not wrong. Rolling into the valley there was water filling every little depression in the previous parched landscape. Several of the road bridges were just above the rich-red flood waters, it was on. Dewet, thankfully, convinced us to just start out by paddling the commercial section of the Pungwe. The hike down through banana plantations was beautiful, but I couldn’t help but wonder if we were about to get skunked at the other end of the spectrum, would it be too high? The river was definitely swollen, so much so we couldn’t get out enough to see downstream. Dewet had been down at moderate flows but even he was uncertain. As a reader it might seem absurd to put on a massive swollen river with no idea of exactly what is downstream but there is more to it than 3 bold fella’s trying to risk it for some adrenaline fix. I knew rafts go down it, meaning the river is not going to be too steep overall and from where I was sitting the river looked very wide. I confirmed with Dewet there are no specific sections where it constricts drastically, where a dangerous feature could form. Most importantly we were a good team so as I began to don my gear both Ari and Dewet did the same. All three of us knew we were putting on for the right reasons, and thank god we did. The saying ‘big brown monster’ is a term a lot of kayakers use to describe flooded rivers, well this monster was a dragon. Initially smooth and beautiful, with a surging power beneath the hulls of our kayaks. Then once we rounded the first corner, it was on. Crazy big laterals and features, some you wanted to let move you laterally to avoid things, while others would take you to places you did not want to be. I scouted one long section for the boys but couldn’t put it into words, it was a ‘follow me’ scenario with a flippant, “get right at the bottom, even if I don’t make it there myself’. Powerful low angle slides, unavoidable ledge holes and two must make boofs. The river was frothing. Even writing this I am getting goosebumps, a phenomenal river. People that know me can attest to the fact I despise unwarranted superlatives, this truly was one of the best sections of river I had ever kayaked. 

We arrived at the take-out to a huge crowd of locals excited to welcome us. Dewet and I got out at the bridge but Ari paused. So, Dewet and I routed him through the massive rapid below the bridge. He made it, the crowd erupted in elation and we were now welcome in the Honde Valley. On the way up to Chris’ house, our base for the next few days, we paddled the Nymangura. Again super high, but this threw to Ari and my skill set. Steep creeking, it was like paddling the Turnbull at a decent flow. An incredible day, that was topped off with some steak and beers with Chris and his partner Chanti. We spent the next few days doing several sections of the Pungwe, including the dewatered section below a hydro-scheme. Living was good. We even managed to take Chanti down a lower section of the Pungwe, a little loose by all accounts but she champed it and will never forget her first step up to class flooded class III+ with us. We had the flow to ride out the rest of our time in the Honde Valley but we also wanted to paddle the ultra-classic Garezi River. This risk of commiting to go over there was that the river could be too high, meaning more lost days paddling wise, cash, admin and stress. But we decided to go anyway. 

image: Ari Walker

Leaving early to take into account finding petrol, the constant struggle in Zimbabwe, we made it to the river around midday. Dewet was concerned about the amount of water in reference to the gauge at the

put in bridge and I could see Ari beginning to get frustrated. This river was a different consideration to the Pungwe, it was steep, tight, technical and substantially more isolated. It didn't look like much water from the bridge but it was a foot higher than when Dewet hadpreviously paddled it, ‘high’. I was thinking Fastasy Falls gauge, it never looks that high… but I would never consider putting on a foot higher than the high flows I have been through there before. After two hours of needless bartering by Dewet and Myself, this almost broke Ari, we saved $5 on a cabin. The local house-keeper sourced us a ‘village chicken’, imagine a chicken with just enough functional muscle to survive… that is what we got to add to our now normal dinner of onions, tomato, some form of spice and sadza (a maize wash/grain). 

image: Ari Walker

The next day we awoke to incredible weather and would have a nice early start on the river. The cabin was upstream of the bridge but we were putting on regardless of flow, unless it came up guess guess? Anyway, as we floated under the bridge the flow had dropped, by about 6 inches. We would have taken any drop, of course, but this lifted our spirits. It took a couple of km’s for the river to reveal its hidden treasures but once it did, it was incredible. And hard. It has been a few years since I have found a river to be very hard, as an overall average for the river. Steep, tight and technical with a very healthy flow pushing you downstream. Lots of scouting and safety but the majority of it was good to go. Then suddenly you arrive as a series of progressively steepening slides, stacked and consequential. We paddled all of them, although one triple set I portaged as the middle looked very unpredictable and there would be no safety downstream. I set safety and the boys ran it, both having cleaning but somewhat dubious moments in that middle section. With this, the run was done and we just had to paddle 5km down to the bridge. A hilarious finish as once Ari and I caught Dewet at the bridge he apologised for not waiting for us, but what for? Turns out there was a crocodile risk in the flat and pools of the paddle out… during which ari and I were lazily floating most of. We will not be doing that next time we are in africa.

image: Jordy Searle

image: Jordy Searle

With the Garezi complete so too was the trip. We made our way back to Harare, slowly in the poor little Hiace, and would then take a couple of days to derig, clean the vehicle and our equipment before parting ways. It gave us a good chance to reflect on the trip, during which we unanimously felt compelled to come back to Southern Africa next season. Africa was a hard one, which I think is the appeal. During all the trials and tribulations of this trip we were only 8-10 hours from the Zambezi, one of the best sections of reliable whitewater in the world. But even now, I think if we went there at the first sign of trouble I would not have had my authentic experience of Africa. Kayaking is important, the driver. But it is the context in which we get to kayak and travel that really makes it what it is. We’re thankful for a safe journey through Africa and all the  people that helped make it happen. There were plans to go back December 2020 but with the current environment we have decided to push that out 12 months and make a more sound plan for the next expedition… but all 3 of us now know that even the best laid plans will fall apart. And I for one are looking forward to it. 

Stay Safe,

Jordy