Source to Sea, Done

Day 5

Two voice notes came through today. By 10:30am the river had reached Malgas and crossed into the tidal section — flat water, barely any current, and a curious seal for company. Impressive, given there was still 60km to the coast. (Zambezi sharks were briefly a topic of concern in the comments — but historically, the wrong time of year.)

By midday, 30km still to go, waiting it out at the boat house. Touch and go whether today would be the day, but it was time to go for broke — the original plan had allowed until Friday or Saturday to finish, so the schedule was already well beaten.

Then, live messages from the water: “I am about 2km from the sea. All hell has broken loose. Cold front has arrived with a vengeance. The water is solid white spray. Can see nothing. Got rolled twice. Had to beach and hide in the bushes. Sitting here like a wet cat feeling very sorry for myself. So bloody close……. It’s at least 40 knots. I can barely stand up against it.” A cup of soup to warm up, and the board dragged the last stretch by hand.

The mouth was reached — but on the wrong side of the river, with crossing impossible in the conditions. For a moment it looked like one more night out camping until things eased.

And then…… Done! The mouth of the Breede River, reached solo and unsupported — source to sea, mission accomplished. Because 73km apparently wasn’t enough for one day, there was still a hill to climb just to find enough signal to send the news.

Distance covered: 72.77km
Total: roughly 330km over 5 days
Finish: the mouth of the Breede River, Witsand