First Ascend: Waterhoutboom River

Why do men want to boldly go where no man has gone before?

The Induna Adventure boys tried to answer this question with first ascend down the Waterhoutboom River, half way between Hazyview and Graskop, with white water kayaks.
Andre v.d. Burgh and Jaco Lubbe took the morning off at Induna for an anticipated 3 hours paddle on a 10km stretch (as the crow fly) down the unknown waterhoutboom river. Their 3 hours planned trip, turned out to be a 9 hour adventure. They met the (worried) back-up crew at the take out with aching bodies, scratched and scared; but with the most rewarding smiles on earth. Even they were not sure if they were smiling, because they were happy to see the back-up, or just stocked of the amazing experience, maybe both?

Apparently the river thawed everything at them, endless snaking sections in the catchment areas that was partially blogged and sometimes totally blogged with over hanging trees and strainers. They clawed and climbed through these sections, waiting for the river to turn the cards and he did. 2-3m drops and long rock slides all over the show with long rolling rocky drops under the canopy of the most amazing indigenous bush.

The high was a 4m gap slotting the river with water pouring from either side. The safest line was to ride a lateral wave to the right trying to avoid the centre witch drops into some where you can’t really see; then hold on and hope to land upright in the pool ready for the next rapid around the corner

So why did they go there?

“It makes me feel alive. It’s the most fun I had in a long time” Said Jaco Lubbe