Why wake up at 05h30 on a Sunday morning(the only sleep late day of the week) and drive 100km into the middle of a mountain range?
Why hike up into a mountain for a further 5km carrying a loaded backpack and a wetsuit only to clamber down into a ravine again?
Why stuff your already hot and sweaty body into an even hotter and stuffier wetsuit?
Why jump into the icy cold mountain water, crawl over ledges , dive under overhangs, jump down 9m cliffs, swim between boulders and slide on slippery stones to make your way down a river?
Why Kloof?
Because it’s a total BLAST and probably the most fun you can have in a wetsuit.
Wikipedia describes 'kloofing as an adventure activity typically involves the descent of a deep ravine or watercourse that may be dry or wet. The defining factor is usually that the ravine is several times deeper than it is wide. All manner of walking, scrambling, climbing, swimming, plunging, jumping, bumslides or abseiling (rappelling) could be involved.’
Cmon thats hardly a jump
The name ‘Kloofing’ is derived from the Afrikaans word ‘kloof’, meaning ‘gorge’ or ‘ravine’ and is also known as canyoning. The sport is mostly suited for the summer months when the rivers are lower and the temperatures are higher but there are rivers suitable for kloofing in winter too. Ideally it would not be a great idea to try kloofing when the rivers are in full flow as you may end up in the ocean or in some farmers watering dam.
Beautiful surrounds, lots of water, what more could you want
In South Africa there are numerous places to go kloofing, all with different difficulty levels and challenges. In most of the harder kloofing routes you will inevitably be faced with an obstacle referred to as the point of no return. Go any further, and you will no longer be able to go back to your starting point, the only way out is forward. This point of no return is usually in the form of a jump where there is no way back to the top once you have gone over. Some of the rivers provide very advanced kloofing conditions where specialized climbing equipment is even needed. Due to the safety issues it is advisable to go kloofing with experienced guides or people who are very familiar with the intended route.
Fun for the whole family
Our trip on Sunday was a little shorter than we anticipated as we were faced with unsafe conditions at the first ‘point of no return’. The unexpected rain had left a tricky ledge too slippery to traverse so the trip leader made the call that all adventure seekers despise. It’s a tough call that all of us have to face some time or another in our quest for adventure.
The call that ended it all
0 comments:
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)