Umzimkulu River – Drakensberg Gardens to Second Coleford bridge, aka Drakensberg Challenge

About

A 60km small-river course with long flats and technical rapids, grade 1 to 3, used mainly by K1 racers and hosting the annual two-day Drakensberg Challenge. The start is not far from the source, with the river fed by small tributaries that grow it downstream; the upper water runs clear and the escarpment is visible. The first major rapid, Andrew's Delight, comes soon after the start and grows at high water. The river then enters the infamous Valley of a Thousand Rapids, where a steep gradient and numerous boulders slow progress; most rapids are readable from the top. The biggest rapid — Black Murray — follows a dark forest and demands tight turning. Several fun rapids such as Bus Stop follow before the Trout Hatcheries, marking the end of the Valley of a Thousand Rapids and a shift to more open, shelf-type rapids with reduced gradient. The only remaining obstacle is Taylor's weir, shot left of centre at low water or extreme left at high water. In very low years the upper section is unrunnable, and the race starts at the Trout Hatcheries, omitting the biggest rapids. The overnight stopover is usually Scotston bridge below Underberg, reached via the dirt road beside the Spar in town. Day two is shorter with beautiful long pools. The first obstacle, a high weir roughly 500m after the start, can be shot down a central fish chute in low-to-medium conditions but not at full flow; the easy right-bank portage is advisable at all levels. Smaller rapids precede the Underberg gorge, which holds nice grade 2 rapids and ends in a bigger one best run with the main flow. The river eases until the Glenhaven picnic site, where a nasty rapid was formed when a hillside dam broke in a thunderstorm, leaving a boulder garden with no clear line — portage on the right. The first Coleford bridge follows as another access point. Long calm pools with small rapids run until 5km before the second Coleford bridge, where a second gorge brings tighter, steeper rapids and two larger ones: first a rocky natural weir shot on the right, then Heaven and Hell after a calm pool — avoid the sheer drop on the right; aim for the chute to the left of it or the chicken run further left. The river flattens for the final 4km to the take-out. Throughout the race the walk-out is always to the left to the nearest road. The bridges shown on the map serve as access points for shorter trips.

Permits

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