Boats and Boating: Boat motors - "Canoeing In The Foothills Of The Drakensberg In South Africa" |
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Planning a holiday in the Drakensberg Mountains in the South African winter? This little gem is a “something completely different” day-trip. So your Drakensberg holiday doesn’t have to be all walking.
There are other ways of getting around. Like bobbing through the Weenen Game Reserve in an inflatable canoe. I hear you say “Hold it. Game reserve?”. Relax, no lions. But that’s about all it’s short of.
The Bushman’s River sources in the high Drakensberg of Giant’s Castle. At altitude, its crystal-clear rock pools refresh overheated hikers. Lower down it feeds the Weenan Canal - built 100 years ago to provide irrigation for the farmlands. While the river rushes and tumbles over rocks, the canal is much less imposing. Only a metre deep and no more than a few metres wide. But it’s 12 kilometres long, traversing rough and hilly terrain. Don’t be too quick to jump in though – its cold, winter-green colour tells you it hasn’t been in liquid form for long.
Your river guides will have everything ready for you. Lie back in your boat. And bob. It’s warm in the sunshine but cool in the shade. You’ve got paddles but you don’t need them. En route there are three not-so-large steel pipes through which the water has been channeled. You either stop, pick up your boat and portage. Or you lie back with the steel tunnel only inches from your face. It’s dark and you can feel the heat radiating from the surface. Grit your teeth. Go with the flow. Breath relief when you suddenly pop out into the sunshine again.
There’s a driverless boat behind you. This is the drinks trolley. And very welcome it is too. At around lunchtime you’ll come upon a feast spread out on a group of rocks next to the canal. Scotch eggs, asparagus wrapped in ham, chicken wings, quiche, salad, fruit, and cheese. The lunch fairy’s been and gone.
After lunch you move into the Weenen Game Reserve. The sharp, mountainous Drakensberg terrain has given way to undulating thornveld valleys. The canal rejoins a now fairly sluggish and narrow Bushman’s River. You need to paddle a little, and duck under the odd tree as you drift through a spectacular gorge. There’s a huge diversity of bird life and antelope. Buffalo and black and white rhino. Being on the water means you’re less noticeable, and less of a threat to the bird-life and the animals. So you can get close without startling them. And you don’t need a $10,000 lens.
Once through the Game Reserve, you disembark just before the main road into Weenen with the tall thatching grass glowing orange in the fading light. Your river guides have arranged transport back to your starting point.
This is different.
Canoeing is a wonderful family vacation idea. It can be a real family-type adventure that is challenging yet not too difficult. Besides being a distinctly fun activity, it is also a form of travel. With a canoe you have the means to safely access wilderness areas that otherwise might not be possible for a family. In more touristy places you have the means to slip off across the river or lake for more private family fun.
If you have your own canoe, great. It is easily carried on your car to where you will be using it. Or you can rent
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Ernest Hemingway, the Nobel laureate author of “Old Man And The Sea,” loved to go on fishing expeditions off the Cuban coast in a sailboat that was well stocked with rum.
James Bond, the legendary British spy, loved to spend intimate moments with his newfound female companion on a yacht near a remote island in the Caribbean.
Away from the maddening crowd, in complete isolation, is what the fictional celebrity, and the celebrated fiction-writer, sought after every hectic assignment – Bond chasing enemies and Hemmingway chasing real-life action.
In real life, the rich and famous all over the world often
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Have you considered investing in a boat merely for the joy of being able to take it out on the water whenever you feel like it and not having to worry about costs when it comes to renting one? If this is the way you have been able to enjoy your love for being on the water you know that renting a boat even just for a few hours can take a big chunk out of your wallet. One thing that can be agreed upon is that there is no better feeling than to be able to cruise the waters
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If you’re the type of person that enjoys an outdoor adventure, river rafting trips are right up your alley. Until you’ve tried it, you can never understand the exhilaration of shooting the rapids one minute, while taking in some of the world’s most breathtaking scenery the next. Many rafting companies can provide all the equipment you need, plus the benefit of a skilled guide to navigate your family or group through an incredible river rafting experience. From white water to smooth sailing, river rafting trips have to be experienced to be believed.
If you’re
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The sport of river rafting was practically invented in Colorado. In the late 1960s Bill Dvorak came up with many safety standards for equipment and many guidelines for proper rafting technique. His Dvorak Expeditions company was the first licensed river recreation outfitter in the country.
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