Caledon River

About

The Caledon below Welbedacht Dam is a surprisingly demanding K1 run. It is a large river when in flow with several big rapids that should not be underestimated, though usually it is too low to paddle. Welbedacht Dam is small, deep and silts up regularly; releases follow good rains. The section is normally paddled only for races when organisers arrange a dam release. The start is just below the dam wall. About 1km downstream is a 1.5m weir, shootable via chutes in the middle or far right; it can be scouted by road before the race. Around 5km of flat water follows before one of the larger rapids, whose drop and wave train is awkward in a K1. The next major rapid, with a 1m drop, sits directly in front of an iron bridge about 3km further on; run it on the far left. A further 3km down, 'Yster se hek' lies on a right-hand bend. Soon after, the river splits around an island with interesting but non-serious rapids on both sides. About 2km of flat water ends at a weir, shootable on the far right; beware rocks at the bottom. The next 8km is flat and uneventful. A relatively big rapid ends the flat with a tight turn at the bottom. Small rapids follow for roughly a kilometre, culminating in a slightly bigger rapid with a drop at the base, run more or less on the left. The last few kilometres to the race take-out are flat. The take-out on 'Klein Holstein' farm is marked by a round stone-built pumphouse. The river remains completely flat from there down to the N6.

Access

Permits

Permission from farmer at take-out (race organisers take care of that)

Recent sessions