Rubber duck trip down Orangeriver

[Mal Hannes]

Hi Toois ai am so so thankful you serviced and I praise God that everyone is safe.

If I may give uninvited advice and this is not aimed at minimizing your experience at all.

I have been on both sides of water tragedies and things are never clear cut.

I will first say that any member can abandon a trip at any time that you expected the tour leader to abandon the trip.

Further please allow the shock and horror of what you went through to calm down before making accusations.

I don't know either of you more than just on the forum and I have no skin in this.

Again I say I am so so very blessed you are all OK. Focus on that and on thanking God for seeing you through.

[duncang]

Look how quickly that poor girl drowned last month whilst tubing on the Orange river.....

[JLK]

Paddled the Orange in a K2 from Viooldrift to Oranjemund. (quit some time back)

Sambok rapid with normal levels is bit challenging, but in flood I doubt if you will even see.

I think the biggest challenge, with that river in flood,is to avoid those big eddies.

[River Rat]

Paddled the Orange in a K2 from Viooldrift to Oranjemund. (quit some time back)

Sambok rapid with normal levels is bit challenging, but in flood I doubt if you will even see.

I think the biggest challenging with that river in flood is to avoid those big ellies.

Johan we are not that old it was only 25 years ago.

[BushNomad]

.... eddies or ellies ?
🤔

[JLK]

.... eddies or ellies ?
🤔

yes eddies

[JLK]

Johan we are not that old it was only 25 years ago.

Isch. Thats a life time.

[Greenshields]

There is a good reason why experienced tour operators do not take tourists down the flooded Orange.
It's called being responsible and accountable.
Experienced,well kitted out adventurers are obviously in another category.

[Graham]

Interesting story.

please excuse my ignorance, I have no idea of the size of the river down there, or the surrounding banks, but, why did you drift down for five hours?
I would have thought the best option is to get out of the river as soon as possible in order to get back with the rest of the team?

[Tony Weaver]

please excuse my ignorance, I have no idea of the size of the river down there, or the surrounding banks, but, why did you drift down for five hours?
I would have thought the best option is to get out of the river as soon as possible in order to get back with the rest of the team?

The Orange in flood in the Richtersveld is a fearsome beast, and there are very few escape routes as the river flows through a series of gorges. Once you're in the mainstream, there is little option open to you other than to go with the flow, stay on your back with your feet first to lessen the chances of injury, and try and stay alive until it spits you out.
On a side issue - my understanding is that the entire transfrontier park area is a no-engine zone - how did the "operator" (if he can even vaguely be described as such) get clearance for engine use?

[Bex]

I am glad you made it ok.

I grew up rowing rivers with my dad and fishing the oceans with him in his Ski boat, in the last 23 years I have rowed the Orange 50 plus times, many times guiding a group.

There is now way you are getting me in a boat on the Orange when it is in flood.

[Commander]

Glad it turned out ok, seems like a very close shave indeed...

[Tooi]

Hi Toois ai am so so thankful you serviced and I praise God that everyone is safe.

If I may give uninvited advice and this is not aimed at minimizing your experience at all.

I have been on both sides of water tragedies and things are never clear cut.

I will first say that any member can abandon a trip at any time that you expected the tour leader to abandon the trip.

Further please allow the shock and horror of what you went through to calm down before making accusations.

I don't know either of you more than just on the forum and I have no skin in this.

Again I say I am so so very blessed you are all OK. Focus on that and on thanking God for seeing you through.

Thank you Mal Hannes,
I can assure you that I am making no accusations through shock & horror.
The mere fact that a qualified guide on the orange river suggested that Jan abandon the trip and was brushed off as "wat weet die klein snotkop" is the crucks of the matter.

[Tooi]

The Orange in flood in the Richtersveld is a fearsome beast, and there are very few escape routes as the river flows through a series of gorges. Once you're in the mainstream, there is little option open to you other than to go with the flow, stay on your back with your feet first to lessen the chances of injury, and try and stay alive until it spits you out.
On a side issue - my understanding is that the entire transfrontier park area is a no-engine zone - how did the "operator" (if he can even vaguely be described as such) get clearance for engine use?

Tony you are 100% correct.
I tried many times to swim with the current to almost the main land just to be taken by another stream back to the middle of the river again.

[lekhubu943]

Oom Tooi, so sorry you had to go through this trauma. But utterly grateful that you survived. Please make sure you work through the shock and process it completely.

[Luka]

Well said!

Hi Toois ai am so so thankful you serviced and I praise God that everyone is safe.

If I may give uninvited advice and this is not aimed at minimizing your experience at all.

I have been on both sides of water tragedies and things are never clear cut.

I will first say that any member can abandon a trip at any time that you expected the tour leader to abandon the trip.

Further please allow the shock and horror of what you went through to calm down before making accusations.

I don't know either of you more than just on the forum and I have no skin in this.

Again I say I am so so very blessed you are all OK. Focus on that and on thanking God for seeing you through.

[Nomadxc]

This is an epic story and you can be glad you survived to tell the tale. Most people are not so lucky - let it be a lesson to others.

I am a qualified and experienced river guide who guided many trips on the commercial section from Vioolsdrif down to Ausenkehr and further down to just past Gamkap rapid. When the water level on the Orange is at "high water" (Sjambok rapid is washed out), and even more so at the current flood level, the river becomes a different animal to the normal predictable and family friendly river people know. At high water levels, the waters edge is at the tree line and due to the continuous tree line and fast current its very difficult to find an open spot to beach the boat - and when you see an open spot that's big and safe enough to beach, it's too late - the current have pulled you past. If you capsize, and you become a swimmer, you are in trouble because you have to fight the current to get to the side and but also stay away from the trees - people getting caught in trees (referred to as "strainers") is a typical drowning scenario. Lastly, when things do go wrong, it goes wrong very very quickly and people and equipment becomes separated over long distances. It becomes a self rescue scenario and a case of every man for himself and hope for the best.

Tying boats together on a flooded river is a big no-no - getting into trouble is guaranteed.

On my bookshelf is the book Liquid Locomotive by John Long - the most epic stories relates to running rivers in flood. When the liquid locomotive takes you, there's no turning back...

Nomad

[River Rat]

From the book - The Dead Don't Dance by Charles Martin
"The river got its own rhythm and you either dance to it or you don't. Whether you're a man or woman matters not because the river leads, and if you're stepping out of time, it's your fault because the river changes its beat for no one."

Inexperienced people have no right to lead these types of adventures particularly if it's not only your life at stake as an old canoeist once told me "You can't dance with the river unless you know the steps."

[Colin Kaapschehoop]

Inexperienced people have no right to lead these types of adventures particularly if it's not only your life at stake as an old canoeist once told me "You can't dance with the river unless you know the steps."[/QUOTE]

I couldn’t agree more! Unscrupulous/under qualified operators could cause loss of life and consequently impact on legitimate people and businesses, which obviously and ultimately leads to loss of income, jobs, credibility/reputation etc. all the way from that area to the whole RSA tourism sector local and especially internationally which we need now like a hole in the head!

[Stan Weakley]

Piet du Toit, like all others contributing on this thread, I am so pleased you survived this ordeal. Thanks for posting, lessons to be learnt by all of us. Keep well!