Author: Joyce

The afternoon trip went well for awhile.  The older kids teased that they had not flipped yet and they should take all the things that should stay dry. Unfortunately, as they rounded a bend, they discovered a downed tree they had not seen before, had no time to change course, and got caught in it. They all ended up in the water! Downed trees were then nicknamed “killer trees” for the rest of the trip.

It was 4:00 and the kids had been working hard all day.  They could not handle going any further.  We were so thankful that God provided a nice camp site very close to where the kids tipped over.  As we unpacked, we discovered that Andrea’s sleeping bag and our tent was soaking. Two dinners, two breakfasts and the larger bag of biltong were wet even though it was all stored in plastic bags and dry bags.  We lost Andrea’s hat, two pair of sunglasses and a water bottle.  We were  bruised from the rocks and sore from all the paddling.

We soon discovered that our campsite only had room for one tent.  Seven of us slept in a four man tent.  It was a little crowded, but we all rested very well.  The best part of it all, was in the middle of the night, we all got up and the kids talked and giggled like they were at a slumber party until we told them they needed to go to sleep!

Megan decided that she did not like the facilities at this camp site.  She refused to go to the bathroom unless someone carried her past the weeds that grew taller than her.

As “bad” as it all sounds, everyone was still excited about the trip.  They knew the next day would be lots better.

 

About 45 minutes into our trip, we had our first mishap.  Our canoe flipped with Megan and Adrian in it.  Adrian can dog paddle and both wore PFDs, the water was shallow but rocky; however, it was not too bad.  The kids were not scared and both willing got back into the canoe ready to go again.  Unfortunately, the newer camera, “safe” in a plastic bag, got wet and refused to work anymore.

Then, we totally missed the first float camp. We were welcomed into the second one by a snake sunning on a rock near by.  It was swampy and we were not impressed with the area at all.  So we moved on.

Because of the kid’s lack of experience, we walked most of the rapids-the rapids on our trip were either classified as I or II’s-but we also paddled through a few of them. On one of them, the kids were behind us, waiting for their turn. Somehow, Allan got snagged on a tree and as I got out to help him get free, the canoe tipped and dumped us all again.  This one scared Megan. I caught her as she went over, but she started talking about turning around and going home.  Tipping over never bothered Adrian. I held Megan tight for a little while and she was fine once we got everything put back together and had a snack.

After relaxing for awhile, we were ready to go again.  We noticed something floating downstream-Allan’s hat! After putting it on, we were ready to start our afternoon.

 

 

 

When talking to others about our trip, we knew that the first part of the river would be the toughest.  It is closed for part of the year and the river is narrower and harder to navigate than the rest of the trip we had planned.

The kids had been in canoes before; had learned how to paddle and how to steer some.  But they had never HAD to do it for hours at a time. So, when we were dropped off at the Thomasville access site, we understood it probably would be the most challenging part of our trip.

However, we had talked with a few different people and they said that the river would be fine for novices. We went into the trip with the encouragement of others who had canoed it before.

We figured that we would need about an hour to paddle two or three miles.  We wanted to enjoy each day, but we also wanted to get to a nice place for the evening.  We knew that there were float camps available, but were not sure what to expect.  So we planned to travel around 10 miles each day.

We left just after 9:30 with Megan and Adrian with Allan and me, while the bigger three were in their own canoe.  The scenery was gorgeous and we enjoyed watching for animals and how the area was always changing.

It did not take long for the kids to learn how to maneuver the canoe properly and they did a super job.  Mark always stayed in the back to steer and the girls swapped being in the front seat watching for obstacles and paddling. They spent the week learning new techniques and becoming stronger canoeists.

Our trip was starting out wonderfully!