Orange River – Vioolsdrif down
Orange River – Vioolsdrif down · northern cape
Grade
II
Length
75 or 120 or 160 km
Duration
4 to 8 days
About
Multi-day trip through the Richtersveld Mountains. 75, 120 or 160km depending on take-out, 4-8 days. Flow controlled by Vanderkloof and Bloemhof Dams. Largely flat with occasional small rapids and frequent channels between islands. Major rapid: Sjambok funnels through a narrow gap with waves and side whirlpools — not difficult but known for flipping open canoes. Immediately after, the river enters the Richtersveld National Park canyons. Take-outs: Aussenkehr farm (~4 days), Fish River confluence (+2 days) or Sendelingsdrif. Aussenkehr and Fish are on the Namibian bank — requires border-post crossing at Vioolsdrif and put-in on the northern bank. Sendelingsdrif is on the SA side. Beyond Aussenkehr there are more rapids and channels but still easy. Sendelingsdrif to the sea is fully flat; permission to exit at Alexander Bay is hard to obtain.
Access
Put-in
Take-out
Permits
None
Recent sessions
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