| Darin McQuoid | Blog | Reviews | Tutorials | River Directory |
The
White Nile - Itunda, Hypoxia, Kalagala
Itunda, Hypoxia and Kalagala Falls are three separate channels of one section of river. For our trip we drove straight to Itunda, a classic big water proving piece.
A view from the NRE bar in the evening.
Itunda has quite a variety of lines. So many that it's actually rather hard to scout the entrance. We were a bit early in the day, and at the end of a long dry spell, so flows were "low" which is a relative term on the White Nile.
Hendri leads the way into Itunda.
Hendri again ferrying out from the right side.
Hendri about to try out "The Ashtray" hole.
Hendri surfs out of The Ashtray
Ben follows behind, flirting with The Cuban, which is above The Ashtray.
Itunda is classic White Nile, ending in what's basically a lake.
After enjoying Itunda, we
paddled across to the middle channel. This place is quite a phenomenon,
Itunda is the right channel, Hypoxia the middle and Kalagala Falls the
left channel. We ferried in below Hypoxia and advanced up the river
with a mix of attainments and hiking. At the base of Hypoxia it was
about like we expected. Not a rapid that goes at low flows, and we had
low flows. It was just a massive hole with no big flushing shoulder on
the right. No flushing anything from the look of it. No takers today.
A bit more ferrying and attaining and we are scouting Kalagala. It's been described as class II with V consequences. In many ways the consequences aren't really that bad, as long as you manage to hold onto your paddle and roll up. Who knows though, as it does have a reputation for breaking paddles.
A bit more ferrying and attaining and we are scouting Kalagala. It's been described as class II with V consequences. In many ways the consequences aren't really that bad, as long as you manage to hold onto your paddle and roll up. Who knows though, as it does have a reputation for breaking paddles.
Dramatic clouds form overhead as Hendri enters Kalagala.
Lose all the gradient in one swift blow: Kalagala
The vegetation is just crazy here, Jesse probably not noticing that at the moment.
Jesse ferries across with a big grin.
Done paddling Kalagala we paddled back across above the three big river channels and headed to NRE for our last night in the region.
A few African random images.
Lifestylin'
Thanks to First Ascent for sponsoring this trip, and to Jackson Kayak, Kokatat, Werner and Bomber Gear for supplying some wonderful gear.