At first there were plenty of small rapids and log jams, nothing too tricky, but we knew that approximately 10-12kms into the trip there was an impassable set of rapids. The funny thing is that even though I knew jet boats, rafts and kayakers all carried their crafts around the rapids I still thought maybe on a SUP we could nail it. Jerry was almost paddling down it ready to tackle the rapids head on before we pulled him up. We went ashore and checked the rapid out and I have to say it was a pretty clear NO-GO no matter how hard you thought you were. There was no clear line at all and some absolutely massive boulders and rapids everywhere. No real discussion needed, we grabbed our boards and started the walk through the bush, taking us around this large and imposing obstacle. As we walked we were very glad our SUPs weighed only 7-10 kg as we wondered how the guys pushed their 350+kg jet boats through the mud and underbrush. We certainly had an easier task and 15 minutes later we were below the rapids and ready to go again.
The white water coming through the bottom of the rapids was impressive and there was certainly no way anyone would make it through that monster washing machine. The river sped up a little from here on in and we soon joined the Pyke River with the confluence again being an ‘interesting’ section of water to navigate. The log jams were incredibly thick, with trees the size of buses scattered along the rivers edge, sticking out at weird and dangerous angles. All of us had discussed the issue of having leg ropes attached if caught in a log jam and we had quick release set ups to allow us to ditch the leg rope and board easily if needed; the power of the water could easily turn a simple fall into an absolute nightmare.
