Orange River Rafting Trip 2017

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Trip cost in 2017: R5300pp
Tour company: Gravity Adventures
Location: Onseepkans, Northern Cape, South Africa

Durban to Onseepkans and back again: 2836km
Distance on the river: +-30km

View of The Orange River.
Picture credit: Shelly Fraser.

After years of talking and “We should...”  “When will we?” and “We really must…”, we finally made the great trek from Durban all the way across South Africa to Onseepkans to do the Orange River rafting trip. We woke up early Friday morning so that we could get a start on the day: 3 weary travellers, excited for an adventure.

The drive from Durban on Onseepkans (where the adventure would begin) takes about 14 hours. This trip is do-able in one day but no one wants to start off an exciting holiday with a such laborious journey. The trip was broken by an overnight stop in Griekwastad. Where you ask? Griekwastad, and you are excused for never having heard of it. Griekwastad is a tiny town right bang in the middle of South Africa’s Northern Cape where not a whole lot is going on. Step one on arrival was to find salad and rolls for the braai that night - no such luck. Step two, phone a friend to bring salad and rolls for the braai that night - success! We made our way to our accommodation (we were sceptical as to what it was going to be like since Griekwastad did not have much going for it at this point) and were very pleasantly surprised when we arrived at a beautiful guest farm, Koekais Guest Farm, with a gorgeous little cabin that sleeps 6: en-suite bathrooms for everyone, a homely kitchen and a fantastic outdoor braai area with braai and fire-pit. We cracked open a beer while we waited for the others to arrive. After a jovial evening, a magnificent bonfire and a scrumptious meal we were off to bed as we still had to travel the next day.

Koekaise Guest Farm outside Griekwastad.
Picture credit: Oliver Rivett-Carnac

Our initial party of 3 slowly started to grow as we made our way closer to our final destination. At Griekwastad we became a party of 5 and by the time we reached Upington on Saturday morning we were a party of 13. A quick stop at Augrabies Falls, because we could not pass up the opportunity to be all the way on the other side of the country and not visit one of South Africa’s largest waterfalls, then on to Onseepkans.

Augrabies Falls
Picture credit: Oliver Rivett-Carnac and Diane Schultz

Saturday afternoon we finally arrived at Onseepkans, at Gravity Adventures, where we met up with the rest of the rafters (who were not part of our party of 13) as well as our very enthusiastic guides. We set up camp for the first night on the river bank had a refreshing swim in the river and watched baboons playing on the bridge. After a scrumptious braai prepared by our guides we spent the evening catching up with old friends and meeting new friends and speculating what we thought the next 4 days had in store for us.

Night 1, base camp at Gravit Adventure, Onseepkans
Picture credit: Oliver Rivett-Carnac and Shelly Fraser

4 days on the river, no cell reception, no civilisation, nothing but the peaceful flow of the water, the melody of the wilderness and the company of friends - Yes please!

Before we could embark on our 4 day journey down the river, however, there were a few crucial things that needed to take place: pack our dry-bags (this was tight, only 1 per person and everything has to fit in it), stock our cooler boxes with drinks (essential), load our boats, blow up Ron-Swanson the inflatable flamingo and finally attend the safety brief. Ian and his crew walked us through all aspects of safety for the trip, rule number 1: don’t behave like an idiot, the nearest hospital is 8 hours away.

Ron Swanson the Flamingo and packing our boats for the journey.
Picture credit: Oliver Rivett-Carnac

Each day on the river was new and exciting and each campsite was different to the last: from rocky banks to sandy beaches, from narrow banks flanked by a high mountain to wide open spaces. The variety was refreshing and meant that every day of the trip was unique. Days on the river were peaceful and the paddling pace fairly easy for everyone to keep up. There was plenty of time to swim and enough time to relax on the boat. King fishers fished near the reeds on the river’s edge and legavaans sunbathed on the rocks. The scenery constantly changed and the river widened then narrowed then widened again as the gentle current nudged us along. As we expeditioned down the river the rapids got progressively more exciting, day by day the guides coached us through each rapid and slowly prepared us for the slightly larger rapid we would tackle the following day finally culminating at the biggest rapid on day 3.

Rafting down the Orange River
Picture credit: Shelly Fraser

Evenings, after bathing in the river, were spent huddled in a circle reliving the day, reminiscing the past and talking about the future. One specific night we had two really interesting visitors: a solifugae (spider that looks like it has 10 legs but in fact has 8 legs and 2 pedipalps) as well as the largest firefly I have ever seen and they both hung around long enough for us to have a really good look at them. Ian gently picked up the solifugae for us all to get a closer look and the firefly was kind enough to perch on someone's arm and we all huddled round to marvel at its enormous, glowing bum.

What makes this trip so appealing and such a great holiday is not only the river and outdoors but the fantastic service of the guides. Mornings started off slowly and each day we woke up to a warm and welcoming breakfast prepared for us; lunch time was spent on the river bank under a marquee where a spread of food was laid out for us; and dinners were wholesome, homely meals beautifully prepared in rustic river-side conditions. Each meal was delicious and so much care was taken in the preparation, right down to gluten and lactose intolerances as well as allergies being taken into account. One evening we had climbed to the top of the rocky mountain surrounding our campsite to enjoy the panoramic view and as we were drinking in the sights one of the guides arrived at the top of the mountain with a decadent cheese and biscuit platter - now that’s what I call above-and -beyond service.

Fun on the river.
Picture credit: Shelly Fraser and Michael Tucker

After the relaxing rafting trip we made our way back towards Durban and were back to our initial party of 3, but broke the trip into 2 stops so as not to ruin our lovely, rejuvenating holiday. We drove from Onseepkans to Bloemfontein and spent the afternoon and evening at Isabella’s Guest House, a beautiful guest house and a relief for the back and hips to be sleeping in a bed rather than on the floor for the first time in 5 days. One of our biggest mistakes of the rafting trip was not taking something decent to sleep on; 5 days of sleeping on a yoga mat is not conducive to good sleeping conditions. After a good cleaning, a change of clothes and a cup of tea we made our way out for a lovely dinner and then flopped into our comfy beds.

Early the next morning we are up and on the move again, making our way towards Clarens. Back again, almost exactly a year after our month long South African trip of 2016 . After a beautiful drive and a stop at the cutest padstal, The Cabin and Farm, we arrived at yet another gorgeous little guest farm: Linwood Guest Farm. An intimate, rustic cabin with place for 4 to sleep, a lounge with an indoor fireplace as well as a cosy patio with braai area. We spent the next 2 days wandering around Clarens town square, drinking craft beef and absorbing the artsy vibe before we headed home to Durban.

A great trip, with great friends and a fantastic experience. September is a great time of year to embark on this adventure, the days are lovely and warm (around 30℃) the evenings are mild but lovely for camping and the water warm enough to swim. This is a holiday that I would highly recommend and is a great opportunity for family bonding or time with friends. We had an awesome experience under the guidance and care of the staff at Gravity adventures.