Rafting the Usutu River - Swaziland

The Great Usutu River flows thru Swaziland and is the largest river in Swaziland. It flows from the Mkonda River and with the Pongola River into the Rio Maputo in souther Mozambique. It is well known for the awesome white water kayaking and rafting that it offers. I took the opportunity to hook myself up with a Swazi-Trails river guide to take on what they claim are up to grade 4 rapids. The day started out at the Swazli-Trails office where we jumped into a van with a couple of "croc boats" on top. These are basically inflatable canoes which take two people per boat in a similar fashion as a regular canoe; front man for stroke power and the rear man for steering and stroke power.

The river ride lasted a full day and included a break at a big waterfall for lunch. We ended up portaging the waterfall as it was almost suicidal to try and run it. The stories of crocodiles ensured that I was determined to not let our "croc boat" flip and end up in the drink. I am happy to say that Gustav's earlier instruction on picking lines thru rapids paid off well, my boat never went over. There was also a fair amount of calm water paddling which helped to make the day a good shoulder workout.

Unfortunately I didn't have a dry bag nor a waterproof case for my camera so I am limited on the photos. Sorry folks, I guess I'll just have to go back and do it again with Gustav and some kayaks!