Tugela River – Gorge
Tugela River – Gorge · kwazulu-natal
Grade
V
Length
23 km
Duration
6 hours, or easy 2 day trip
Type
gorge
About
Serious whitewater. Long dirt road to put-in and take-out becomes very slippery after rain. Bigger drops are concentrated in the middle gorge as the valley narrows. Unicorn to Four Man Hole is largely continuous — at high levels serious pour-overs must be avoided. Four Man Hole forms a big nasty pour-over across most of the river at high water; chicken run on the left. Competent paddlers can scout most rapids from the water at low flow; at high flow the major rapids must be scouted from the bank. Runnable in crocs at low levels; medium-high flows mean long swims in a croc. At high water it turns into big waves and holes. Below Spioenkop Dam, but significant tributaries enter downstream — dam releases have limited influence and levels can rise fast after rain anywhere in the upstream catchment. Two days or more recommended.
Access
Put-in
Take-out
Permits
None
Recent sessions
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