50 Years of Umko 1966 - 2016 1966 - 2016 | Page 43

The stretch to Josephine’s saw several less
dramatic changes. Below Josephine’s we enter
one of Africa’s most scenic and dramatic valleys
with towering cliffs and virgin forests where only
the paddler has access to this secret wilderness.
The rapids are virtually non-stop but milder than
the poo-inducing Hella Hella stretch.
The names - Arthur’s, Old Buck, Captain
Honk’s . . . reflect the experiences of the pioneers.
After Riverside the valley becomes more
populated and the flat stretches longer but with
some serious drops in between. Mpompomani
being a notorious one with its difficult approach
and the river funnelling into a narrow spout
spilling out in a series of big stoppers.
Then there was the Waterfall - an enormous
drop shot by mistake only once and deliberately
and successfully only once. The portage on the
left was the recommended line! Further on came
Whirlpool which has punished some of the best in
the land. Our late beloved Pope had a bad swim
there and luminaries such as Springbok former
winners and aces Chris Greef and Shaun Rice
both had dramatic goofs caught on film by SABC
TV crew with the latter performing an amazing
eskimo roll in his K2. Men were men!
Gulley was a long tricky rapid in a vast field of
bedrock, with several sneaks including one near
the top of the main drop - but if you missed it…!!
Sadly Peter Marlin drowned here in the race of
1988.
Just below Gulley came the ironically named
No Name Rapid - a notorious boat breaker. If
you survived this then a couple of kilometres
downstream came the Finish-To-Top-All-Finishes:
Goodenough’s Weir. The crowd of supporters
and seconds stood like spectators at the Forum
in ancient Rome with craned necks waiting for
the next gladiators to be slaughtered. There was
only one spot to shoot it and the survival rate was
about 50:50! Many great pictures were taken as
photographers had easy access.
Thereafter (if the race went on beyond
Goodenough’s) the river mellowed and the
challenge was aching bones and dry mouths and
the endless sandbanks. Unless of course you could
read the river and find the channels to avoid the
dreaded sound of sandpaper on the hull.
And the sea and relief in sight.
To paraphrase Churchill: Some River, Some
Trek!

Map by Andre Hawarden

1.© 1981 William Nealy - Whitewater Home Companion. Menasha Ridge Press

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UMKO 50 Years