Fish River done and dusted
Gauteng paddlers take on the Fish after learning on the limited Highveld rivers at low winter levels.
Keith Smith and Colin van Heerden, locals from Krugersdorp, who only recently started learning river skills, finished their first A Grade river race at the Fish River in Cradock on 7 and 8 October.
The 80km Hansa Fish River Marathon has huge, fast, steep chutes, as well as enormous wave trains and massive rapids.
First timers and both novices in the K2 boat, the Krugersdorp paddlers managed extremely well, and clinched their first medal, finishing in a time of seven hours 31 minutes over the two days.
The race took place in Cradock in the Eastern Cape, from Grassridge Dam, and has a guaranteed water release as the dam sends water down the river for a couple of weeks in October to assist farmers who fill their dams and use the water for the planting season in Spring.
It is usually the first A Grade white-water river that Gauteng paddlers take on after learning on the limited Highveld rivers at low winter levels.
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