Tradouw River
Tradouw River · western cape
Grade
V
Length
11km
Duration
6 hours
Type
continuous
About
11km creek-boat run. Grade 4-5, ~6 hrs. Continuous creeking with some big holes. Permission to park at put-in required from the farm at Bronze Grove. Only runs about once every two years; holds water for up to three days after good rain. Tradouw Pass parallels the first few kilometres, then the river enters a committing gorge — once 3km in, escape is almost impossible. Continuous, rapids stacked close together. Biggest rapids are in the first few kilometres; if comfortable on those, the downstream commitment is manageable. Lower rapids are smaller but technical and demanding. About halfway down, an unrun waterfall has a boulder at its base — portage. Eddies fill with natural foam from the flora (not pollution). Avoid eddies where foam is over head-high — swimming in it is dangerous.
Access
Put-in
Take-out
Permits
Bronze Grove for permission to park at put in.
Recent sessions
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