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The green machine

Last Sunday I took the new lime-green Skua out for its maiden paddle around Gordon’s Bay. We ducked into the old harbour, sheltered from a cloud burst under the NSRI station for a while, cruised over to Harbour Island and weaved through the marina, and then powered across gray glass to the seals at Seal Cove. The water was very quiet with little sea life evident. I was hoping to spot a whale or two, but there were none to be seen despite the excellent visibility.

The boat feels rock-solid, but lively. Total paddling distance was 14.5 km.

This Sunday, Deon and I each took our Skuas out to the seals (man, can those guys fart in their sleep!) and then around the point to Steenbras mouth. We were looking for whales again, but again there were none. The swell and the reflected waves made for lumpy seas, so we headed back instead of attempting the river entrance.

On the way back, just off the Gordon’s Bay reef I decided to ride some of the larger swells. I caught one easily but was then rolled (see Capsized! place mark on the Google Map below). The water was quite cold and after struggling to re-enter the kayak and having to be helped by Deon before we both got trashed on the reef, I realise that the solo re-entry skill is one I am going to have to practice. It would be very difficult in rough conditions, so a paddle float may be the safe option…

Once again the weather was very fine, windless, glass and azure skies. Total paddling distance was 16.5 km.

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Or download solo kayak trails kmz file and view in Google Earth

Gordon's Bay from the green machine

The green machine - Copyright Deon Myburgh. All rights reserved.

The green machine - Copyright Deon Myburgh. All rights reserved.

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3. Paddling up the Steenbras There isn’t actually much of the Steenbras River to paddle...

Pausing off Steenbras mouth

There isn’t actually much of the Steenbras River to paddle up, even on a kayak – only about 300 metres. Rather it’s the 13 km round-trip paddle from Gordon’s Bay harbour and the usually benign, but spectacular, rivermouth entrance that is most of the fun. On this last Sunday morning, the paddle was breathtaking. Schools of harders rippled the glass, clouds of jellyfish swayed in the currents and the seals at Seal Cove were particularly laid back, unconcerned by our presence. But best of all was the presence of millions of minnows in the Steenbras, larger ones in the deeper water, clearly visible against the river’s “new” sandy bottom, and tiny ones in the shallows. I assume that this proves that healthy rivers are fecund nurseries of fish. Photos and a Google Earth track follow …

Minnows in Steenbras - can someone identify them?	Visitors from the sea
Approaching the mouth	Steenbras

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3. Kayak Rooiels-Pringle Bay, Kogelberg Coast On this crisp morning, Deon and I launched at Rooiels...

Rooiels coast

On this crisp morning, Deon and I launched at Rooiels and paddled out to look for the first Southern Right whales of the season, but it seems it’s still too early. So we settled for a paddle down the coast to Pringle Bay and brunch.

A fairly heavy swell was running and we gave the point break at Rooiels, the scene of an earlier mishap, a wide berth and settled into an easy rhythm. Although glassy, the waves that reflected off the rocky coast made the water confused. We were none too keen to risk the beach break at Pringle Bay, but we found a sheltered, rocky channel behind the kelp beds and landed easily. A short walk followed by a healthy brunch in the sun meant that we were well into a perfect day. Helped by a following sea and a light southerly we powered back to Rooiels, beached without mishap and so exorcised the ghosts. A round-trip of 15 km. It was silent on the water save for the rumble of surf on rock – and thankfully the motorbike fraternity doesn’t seem to do Saturdays…

The Google Earth map follows below…

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1. Sea kayaking in the Kogelberg Biosphere Reserve On most weekends, Deon and I paddle and sail this...
2. Paddling up the Steenbras There isn’t actually much of the Steenbras River to paddle...
3. Hiking in Kogelberg The Kogelberg Biosphere and Nature Reserve is my playground. When...

1. at 80 km in length, the Klein River is the river with the shortest distance between its origin and its mouth in the world – 5 km as the crow flies (according to the Stanford Tourism Bureau)
2. the bird sanctuary, that is located where the river enters the vlei, harbours more species of birds than any other place in the southern region of South Africa (according to the SA Venues website).

Deon and I didn’t know this when we paddled from the mouth to Stanford (almost) and back, a distance of over 30km. We do know, however, that we criss-crossed the bird sanctuary for quite a while and distance trying to find the main channel, as you can see from the Google Earth paddling track. The relatively high water level means that there are now plenty of false channels and an expanded delta – a water labyrinth in reality. The experience of two previous trips up and down the river seems to have taught us little.

We were also trying out a different sail design, which may have contributed to our aimless meandering (the previous one was lost off Rooiels is a stiff south-easter when a line parted and its design made de-rigging from the cockpit impossible). This sail is simpler and easier to stow but doesn’t reach well and seems to be a little unstable when the wind freshens. But at least it propelled us upriver at a steady 4-6 km/h in a moderate breeze from astern.

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We spent a pleasant and tranquil few hours hearing only the swish of our paddles, the contented honks of the geese and ducks and the hiss of the breeze in the reeds . The 10-km haul from the river down the lagoon back to the launch site, into the breeze, proved to be a bit of an endurance test, however, to which stiff shoulders and aching muscles can attest.

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The island is but a jumble of granite crowned by dry woodland including baobabs, pod mahogany and rock figs, and barely a kilometre in diameter. I preceded a week’s work with the university team in support of the development of tropical agriculture in Lilongwe with a weekend on Mumbo, a place I have always wanted to visit since meeting Kayak Africa’s owners some twelve years ago. Kayak Africa runs island getaways and kayaking and diving activities on Mumbo and Domwe Islands in the Lake Malawi National Park.

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Below is a Google Earth 3D map of my kayak and walking tracks on and off Mumbo, with geotagged photos. Although a boat plies the 10km stretch between Kayak Africa’s base at Chembe and Mumbo, I elected to paddle to the island with Akim, my guide, in the “engine room”.

Alternatively, download the GE track here.

Mumbo means “elephant” and was so named after the missionaries at Chembe’s Livingstonia mission happened upon a lone bull elephant on the island in 1876 – and proceeded to hunt it over a number of days. The poor animal had swum the lake’s deep waters to find solitude only to be hounded and shot. They found an old iron bullet lodged in its body, which may partially explain why it fled the mainland.

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Another interesting historical story is that Cape Maclear was once a stopover for BOAC’s Springbok Solent Service, a flying boat service between Southampton in the UK and the Vaal Dam in South Africa. The trip took 3-and-a-half days to complete with landings on the Nile, Lake Victoria, Lake Malawi and the Zambezi. The service operated for two years from 1949 to 1950 before falling victim to the new, economical, long-distance airliners. But it must have been an exciting and romantic interlude…

There are occurrences of bilharzia in the lake, but the area around Mumbo has been spared because the protected area has until now prevented fishermen from casting nets and fishing out the fish, Placodon, which preys on the snails.

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Malawi is truly the “warm heart of Africa”. The people are humble, friendly and hospitable. One of them put this paranoid South African’s mind at rest by assuring me that “there is no clime in Malawi”. Malawians pronounce an “r” as an “l”.

References:
Cole-King, PA. 1968. Cape Maclear. Malawi Department of Antiquities.

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Spring is whale season off the South Africa’s Cape coast.

A Southern Right whale surfaces close to Deon off Steenbras mouth

The Southern Rights cruise the sanctuaries in their hundreds. On this day Deon and I paddled around to Steenbras River Mouth from Gordons Bay half hoping to see some. In the mouth in about 20m of inky water we almost paddled over a pair of adults.

They tolerated us for a while as we snapped some photos, and then slipped away as silently as they had appeared.

Below is a Google Earth track of some of our trips along the Kogelberg coastline.

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For a while we used a triangular sail on the double kayak, but lost it off Rooiels when a line came undone in a nasty south-easter and it proved too difficult to derig from the cockpit. We have plans to rig our own sail of a different design. The kayak is a lot of fun under sail and we have reached speeds of 13 km/h in an 11 knot breeze – but the sail must be manageable when things get rough…

Here’s a slideshow of photos from these weekend trips:

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3. Sea kayaking from Hangklip to Gordons Bay A 40km paddle along some of the most beautiful coastline...

South Africa (the Eden to Addo Mega-hike jump-off point is close by). Humans have occupied the rocky promontory for the past 120000 years, probably because of a wealth of caves and the rich marine resources. A large Cape fur seal colony noisily occupies the sheer, sheltered northern shore. “Rob” is Dutch/Afrikaans for “seal” and “berg” is a “mountain”.  The high vantage points are ideal for spotting whales and dolphins. We spotted many hammerhead sharks while kayaking. Their dorsal fins criss-crossed the bay and patrolled behind the surf line off crowded beaches.

Or view the Robberg kayaking and hiking tracks in Google Earth.

I am impressed with the new kayak sail. Not only can we run before the wind but we reached across Plett at a good clip (5-6 km/h) in a light breeze. It survived a good roll in the surf too – not recommended.

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The fire-scarred mountains between Pringle Bay and Rooiels beckon. Deon gives his best piratanical scowl.

Rooiels from the sea. The mountains of the Kogelberg Nature Reserve rise green in the distance. The reserve is now a World Heritage Site.

Rooiels beach - about halfway. We estimate that we paddled 40+ kms in total. It took us about 5 hours.

Rooiels beach - time for a beer. We would need all that energy despite the apparent tranquillity in the background.

This is some of the most beautiful coastline in South Africa. Unfortunately, bikers roar along the coast road most weekends. Out on the water it's silent except for the reflected scream of the bikes. It's not as if they're enjoying the scenery; how can they at 140km/h? The mentality defeats me...

Kogel Bay mountains. The sea is calm and cormorants, seals, Cape gannets and penguins share it with us. But an hour later the water became confused as the onshore swell and chop reflected off the sea cliffs. We had to paddle solidly for 2 hours to stay upright. A diver tells me later that a dive site north of Steenbras is known as the "washing machine".

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Or download the GPS track and open in Google Earth

Related posts:

1. Sea kayaking in the Kogelberg Biosphere Reserve On most weekends, Deon and I paddle and sail this...
2. Kayak Rooiels-Pringle Bay, Kogelberg Coast On this crisp morning, Deon and I launched at Rooiels...
3. Paddling up the Steenbras There isn’t actually much of the Steenbras River to paddle...