Kayaking down the Kouga RI CH A R D C O WL IN G
It’s hard to imagine, in this decade of drought, kayaking down fast-flowing rivers on the Kouga coast. But the rains will come again, and there is a bundle of fun out there for those willing to risk the wildness of our rivers. © RI C H A RD C OWL I NG Our most doable river for white-water kayaking is the Kouga, which rises in the western Kouga Mountains near Uniondale and joins the Gamtoos River below the now near-empty Kouga Dam. From the Stuurmanskraal causeway, west of Joubertina, to Doodsklip campsite, at the head of the dam in the Baviaanskloof Nature Reserve, there is about 100 km of navigable river. Another jump-in spot is Brandekraal causeway, where the Suuranys road from
Kareedouw crosses the river. From there to Doodsklip is 70 km of wild country with no vehicle access.
T HE S CENERY I S S P E C TACULAR. THE K O U GA RI V ER HAS , S IN C E THE BREAKU P O F GONDWANA A B O U T 140 M I LLI ON Y E A R S AGO, CUT A D E E P CANY ON T HR O UGH THE 29
